Automated Home

I started working at Control4 in January. We make home automation products. One of the perks of the job is that I get free stuff to put in our home. I recently finished replacing all the light switches in our house with automated dimmers and also automated the TV, DVD player, satellite receiver, and even the garage door. I also got a thermostat, a touch-screen, several keypads, two speaker points, and several remotes (one for each of the kids).

Once something is automated you can control it from any of the remotes, from the touch screen, from one of the keypads or from some other event. It's hard to get your mind around exactly what the system can do unless you see it in action, but let me try to give you a few examples of things that you can do:

• Kenna has a button on her wall that will automatically turn on her music and play her playlist that she has defined.
• There is a button with a light on it on the wall in our bedroom. If the light is red it means the garage door is open. Push the button and it will close.
• There is a button on the wall in the kitchen that will pause the currently playing TV show or DVD--great for when it's time to bless the food.
• When Todd goes to sleep he programs a "wake-up" that will turn on his light and play music when it's time to get out of bed the next morning.
• The outdoor lights automatically turn on at sunset and then turn off at 10:00 pm.

Here is what is on the wall in the TV room:
The right switch is for the light. The middle switch is for the ceiling fan. The six buttons on the left control the dining room light, control the kitchen light, control the basement light, turn on the TV to Dish satellite, control the three outdoor lights, and pause the TV/DVD.

It's all customizable to whatever arrangement you want. (It's actually less work to change what a button does than it is to change the label on the button.) Plus, you can access and control any of it over the internet or even from your iPhone. (Too bad we don't have one.) I, of course, think it's all totally cool. But the funny thing is how much Kenna loves it. She helped me install most of the dimmers and loves to change what the buttons in her room do.

If you come over to our house I apologize now for trying to give you an extended show-and-tell.