Trends
How the Lutron RadioRA 2 Can Revolutionize Your Home
30/01/12 23:45
Are you looking for creative and cost-effective ways to save energy, reduce utility bills, upgrade your home’s technological framework? Lutron makes this more than possible with its RadioRA 2 -- also known as wireless total home control.
The system provides you the power to adjust the amount of daylight and electric light, room/home temperature, and energy utilized by all of the appliances and electronics room-by-room or throughout your entire home.
To help you better understand the Lutron RadioRA 2, we hope the following outline of its benefits will reveal the value it can hold within your household:
Saves Major Amounts of Energy. The system includes a combination of light, shade, temperature, and appliance control to significantly reduce the amount of energy you utilize each day.
Ease of Use. With the push of a single button, it is possible to create the perfect combination of energy saving elements that can include adjusting room lights, shades, and temperature to the exact level that you desire. This can either include room-by-room control or throughout the entire home.
Ambiance Control. RadioRA 2 is an amazing tool for creating the exact ambiance you are looking for at any time. For instance, when you fire up the flat screen TV for one of your favourite movies, you can set the system to automatically dim the lights, close the window shades, and adjust the temperature to a comfortable level.
Appliance Control. It is possible to control all of the appliances in your home such as computers, monitors, televisions, and air purifiers by placing them on standby. By utilizing this functionality, you can save an estimated 10 percent of the energy you normally use on a monthly basis.
Custom Technology. The system can be built out to meet your specific needs. You can control settings via wall panels, tabletop controls, or handheld devices. It is also possible to access controls remotely when you are on the road or out of the country by utilizing your iPad or PC Tablet.
The opportunities are endless with Lutron’s RadioRA 2, thus the key to discovering the right mix within your home environment is to assess all of your lighting fixtures, lamps, electronics devices, and appliances and dreaming up the right solution for you.
Also, you should think about how you would like to control your system. Would you prefer wall panels, desktop and/or handheld controls, mobile device controls, or all of the above?
At Digital Smart Homes, we offer the entire Lutron RadioRA 2 system and can help you find the best solution that will best fit your needs. We can also visit your home and provide ideas for helping you create a cutting-edge and efficient home environment. For more information, we invite you to visit our certified showroom or call our team at 604-375-3474.
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Homeowners Are Turning to Smart Technology to Streamline Their Lives and Reduce Energy Use
04/12/11 15:33
Article by Amanda Ash, Contributor for eHow
Long gone are the days when we read by candlelight and cooked dinner on a wood-burning stove. And for many North American homes as of 2011, the acts of flipping light switches and manually controlling thermostats are going the way of the dinosaurs.
The Green Revolution, coupled with incredible technological advances, has spawned tech-savvy "smart homes": digitally outfitted dwellings that may be programmed to do just about anything you can think of, except maybe clean your room.
Harry Saini, who owns Digital Smart Homes of Canada and has wired his Vancouver condominium to the hilt, believes that automating your home not only simplifies your life but also reduces energy consumption. Home automation technology is becoming more accessible every day, allowing the average person to transform a home into something straight out of "Star Trek."
"If you were looking at home automation five years ago, you'd easily be looking at 10 times the cost compared to now," Saini said. "And the number of dealers and retailers that are able to support that technology compared to five, six years ago has doubled---tripled, even.
"People used to think home automation is for lazy people, but that's not what it is. Essentially, everything talks to one another. Your lights talk to your stereo. Your alarm knows what your garage is doing. All your devices know what's going on."
Read More...
What is Home Automation or a Smart Home?
04/12/11 15:32
In today’s ultra-complicated and fast-paced world, home automation and smart home technologies were developed to simplify life! Thanks to revolutionary devices, you can now link and control all of the electronics and systems in your home from a single digital interface.
Digital Smart Homes links together onto one operating platform the following technologies and more:
- Home theatre systems
- Multi-room music & video
- Smart lighting & shades
- Advanced temperature control
- Safety and security devices
Transforming your living environment into a “smart home” not only makes life more manageable, it makes it more secure. For instance, let’s say that you head out of town for a weekend trip and you realize a few hours out of town that you forgot to arm the security system and program the porch lights to illuminate at dusk. All you have to do is pull out your iPhone, bring up the Control4 interface, and push a few buttons to secure your alarm & program your lights.
Is Home Automation Scalable? As you revolutionize and grow your home technologies, you may be wondering if home automation is scalable. This is actually the beauty of a system like Control4. You can begin with one or two technologies and then scale out to meet additional needs. For example, if you have an amazing home theatre setup and a security system, you can begin there and then add to your setup as time progresses.
What’s in a Smart Home Console? This is where the fun begins! Just to give you an idea, here are some of the things that Control4 can accomplish:
- Control your home theatre
- Dim the lights as the opening credits roll
- Turn off all your TVs when your kids should be studying
- Alert you when the garage door is open…and then close it
- Manage your lights, window coverings, and thermostats
- Monitor your locks, lighting, and security cameras
- Allow you to play music in any room of the house
Visit our fully featured hi-tech showroom in Vancouver at 1385 West 6th Avenue.
Connect with your music like never before with Cambridge Audio's Network Music Player (NP30)
28/11/11 01:00
Good things come in small packages. The Cambridge Audio NP30 all-in-one network audio player however isn't just good: it's an amazing sounding, brilliantly versatile, very compact and, of course, a perfect example of what contemporary music in the home is all about. Music downloads, high-resolution music files, internet radio, network music, UPnP servers, iPod/MP3 players, USB Music, Wi-Fi streaming - everything that the new era of music delivery can throw at it, the NP30 can play.
Network music players are fast replacing CD players at the heart of many hi-fi systems.
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Introducing The LaunchPort System. The first Inductive charging system for iPad
10/11/11 07:36
The LaunchPort system is a revolutionary way to mount and charge your iPad 2 anywhere. The system consists of a Station and PowerShuttle. Any PowerShuttle can work with any Station, LaunchPort uses the magic of magnets and induction charging (charging through the air), it's like magic.
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Don’t just sit and watch your TV – get up and interact with it! Introducing ActionMount from OmniMount
10/11/11 07:34
The ActionMount PLAY series is an affordable interactive TV mount designed to accommodate most active TV positioning. Sit. Stand. Stretch. Play – all at the perfect angle. The ActionMount Series by OmniMount takes interactivity with your TV to the next level. With a full range of movement, the PLAY series allows you to interact with your TV when watching movies, gaming, exercising and more. The PLAY40 & PLAY70 is equipped with Ergotron's patented Constant Force technology, providing fluid, light-touch adjustments for effortless arm movement.
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The Android App for Yamaha Network receivers is now available on the Android Market
29/09/11 15:29
This AV Controller application will turn your Android device into a Wi-Fi enabled remote control for your YAMAHA network products. This Android application provides you the flexibility to control the available inputs, volume, mute and power commands. It lets users change a song from Internet Radio, USB and command FM/AM tuners or any other internally available source. Using this application you can even control all AV receiver zones that are available such as powering on and changing input for each zone. This application not only controls AV receiver but also Yamaha blu-ray players. It supports various functions including Play, Stop, Forward. Available in English, French, German, Spanish and Russian. It’s great to have all this control at your fingertips - and best of all it’s FREE!
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Control4 Home Automation System Demo of Smart Home Technology
25/05/11 13:06
Join us on a tour of a Control4 home automation system in McKinney, Texas. Control4 dealer Byron Baird of Diem Digital Interiors & homeowner Jeff Layn provide a home automation demo of Jeff's townhouse located on a golf resort called Craig Ranch.
Jeff's smart home technology controls multiple zones of audio, multiple televisions with DVRs for every family member, fireplaces, ceiling fans, thermostats, & IP cameras. He started small and has been adding on to the system over time.
What's great about this Dallas palace are the endless custom touches. When Jeff arrives home and opens the garage door, his home control system turns on the lights & the television turns on to his favourite channel (ESPN).
Jeff also has a personalized microchip key chain that has his personal settings programmed into it. He waves it over the 'wand' behind the door which then brings up his personal settings of how he wants to live his life when he comes in the house.
Want this for your home? Contact me for a personalized quote.
How home audio systems are reinventing the way we design our homes in the 21st century
02/01/11 09:56
Large. Heavy. Overbearing. The imagery of our original CD home audio systems is not a pleasant one. During a time when aesthetics were completely void of a stereo systems’ design, figuring out where to place them in our homes was often a daunting task. However, in the 21st century, the advanced technology of our hi-fi home audio systems is not only reinventing the way we listen to music, but also the way we approach interior design in our homes. Read More...
All-weather TVs are gaining in popularity
26/07/10 17:34
Entertaining in the outdoors is a huge trend in the west coast. I have seen an increase year over year outdoor Audio and Video systems. Clients like the option to be able to watch movies, TV shows, sporting events and listening to their favourite music while lounging outside, barbecuing or relaxing in the hut tub. Products from Pantel and SunbriteTV can stand up to the elements of rain, bugs, humidity and temperature swings and allow for the possibilities of outdoor entertainment. Outdoor audio video systems offers homeowners one more spot to catch a hockey game or a movie. Contact me to find out more. Read More...
SÉURA sets sail on the Luxury yacht "Remeber When"
14/07/10 15:07
Television mirrors bring space-saving luxury to yacht
[by SÉURA]
Christensen Shipyards, Ltd. of Vancouver, Washington recently completed the 162’ luxury yacht, “Remember When”. Slated to debut at the Fort Lauderdale Show in October, the ship features six spacious cabins, including the Owners Cabin, VIP cabin, and four guest cabins which allow for up to 12 guests. The interior was designed by Carol Williamson and Associates and showcases custom woodwork and stonework by Christensen’s own craftsmen. Read More...
Social networking comes to the world of home-control systems
09/06/10 14:22
Home Automation companies like the one we carry, Control4, are increasingly building social-networking functions into their product lines. Control4 is developing a system that will allow users to tap into websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube right from their home-control interfaces. Read More...
Surround Sound 101
11/05/10 14:56
Why is surround sound important in a home-theater setup?
Surround sound is one of the two crucial components of a home theater, the other being HDTV. Surround sound makes it easier to catch the dialogue in your favorite prime-time TV show and experience the action while watching a movie. Read More...