Automated System Feature Explanations - Continued

This explains the completely automated features of your Home Automation Control System.

Video Projector
You can use a video projector to produce an extremely large image o a screen. These devices can be mounted on the ceiling, in the ceiling on a lift mechanism, or built into furniture. There are several different types of units and the cost is directly proportional to the image quality and brightness.

Motorized Projection Screen
This is a motorized screen that can drop from the ceiling or raise from the floor to provide a normally hidden large screen image.

Humidity Sensor
This is a sensor that measures the amount of water vapor in the air and tells the Climate control system when it is time to add or remove moisture.

Fountain Control
Should you have a decorative fountain your system can activate or control it so that it can run on a schedule or as part of a housewide scene (for instance: evening party).

With the system activating the water and mist systems and controlling colored lighting effects, the fountain can become the centerpiece of a party.

Motorized Skylights
Your system can control skylights to provide ventilation as well as additional natural lighting, in the event of rain they would be closed automatically to prevent water damage to rooms and furnishings.

Motorized Indoor Window Treatments
Your system can control drapes or blinds that can be decorative as well as function to open or close them at your wish, on a preset time schedule, as part of a scene, or as part of an energy management mode.

Motorized Outdoor Awnings
Your system can control awnings to provide automatic shading and energy savings while having the ability to automatically roll them up in the event of bad weather and associated high winds.

Motorized Security Shutters
Your system can control steel or Kevlar security shutters that can be closed over doors or windows to provide protection from vandals or hurricane like weather.

Motorized Furniture
Your control system can control any type of motorized system and make it part of a scene or mood in your home. At the touch of a button a library can become a home theater by raising speaker columns from the floor, lowering a projector and screen from the ceiling and rotating a bookcase to reveal hidden audio/video components.

Your motorized window treatments, skylights, and awnings can be controlled by the system. You may remotely open or close these window treatments using your touch screens, telephones, hand-held remotes, touch switches, or voice recognition. In addition these devices can be automatically activated to close during inclement weather. This type of control gives you the added benefit of energy conservation; the system can close the blinds in unoccupied rooms to lower the heat load from the sun in air conditioning weather.

The motorized furniture (speaker lifts, hidden television sets, ceiling or floor mounted video projectors, doors, projection screens, motorized touch screens, pool covers, beer dispensers. Etc.) can be controlled by the system. You may remotely operate these devices using your touch screens, telephones, hand-held remotes, touch switches, or voice recognition.

Remote Controlled Indoor Bath
Your system can fill your master bathroom (or any) bath to your desired level and temperature. This feature can be activated by touch screen, touch pad, telephone, voice recognition, or hand held remote control. Your system can announce through spoken responses when your bath is ready.

Climate Control Interface
Your system increases comfort and saves energy by allowing you to control the temperature, and optionally the humidity, throughout your home. The Climate Control system is currently designed for multiple zones of control. Each of your heating and cooling zones will have an associated thermostat. The thermostats for formal rooms can be located in the control room and be used only as a back-up control device. Temperature in these selected zones will be monitored using an unobtrusive temperature sensor. Your Climate Control system can also sense the outside temperature.

Your control system will interface with the Climate Control subsystem to control your forced air heating and cooling subsystem and radiant heating subsystem. Each area can be controlled using a touch screen floor plan display. You may select which area you wish to control, and set the normal and setback temperatures by pressing up and down icons, or you can also manually put an unused area into setback.

Pool Control
Your system can remotely or by schedule control your pool heater, pumps, or spa controls. This allows you to remotely activate the spa or activate the pool heat (pool heaters may take anywhere from a day to a week to warm a pool, depending on the size) so that your pool or spa is at the desired temperature and ready for your arrival.

Keypad, Access
An access keypad works the same way that a security system keypad works and in fact can actually be a security system keypad that is locking or unlocking a door. Most access control keypads will also log entries and exits.

Elevator Control
Your system can call an elevator to the floor you desire with a simple command from a touch screen, touch pad, telephone, voice recognition, or hand held remote control.

Entry Gate Control
After determining who is at the front gate with the telephone system intercom and observing the video image, you may remotely open or close your entry gate (or gates) with a touch screen, touch switch, or telephone command.

Water Alerts
Your security subsystem can detect water on the floor of selected rooms. If water is detected, your system can automatically display the location of the water on your touch screen floor plan and can make an announcement over the audio subsystem. The security subsystem will call your monitoring service for help if the house is unoccupied.

Occupancy Sensing
From a touch screen security floor plan or room list, you can tell which rooms are occupied in the home. When an occupancy sensor has been activated by movement in a room, that zone on the touch screen will display as an occupied zone, instantly giving you feedback as to which rooms indicate motion.

Optionally your control system can turn lighting on automatically if someone enters a monitored room. An extremely sensitive motion detector will be installed that will tell the control system when anyone enters. The control system will signal the lighting system to turn on the lights and will then monitor the sensor. A short time after all motion ceases the system will turn off the lights.

Automatic Snow and Ice Removal
Should you so desire, snow sensing can be installed to automatically activate snow melting systems in walkways and driveways. This can greatly increase safety in the snow belt as well as allowing you to return to a snow and ice free residence. This feature can be activated remotely or locally by touch screen, telephone control, hand held remote, touch pad, or voice recognition.

Environmental Features
A group of features such as gray water management, super insulation, electricity windmills, and solar heating that save energy and help to conserve our environment.

Remote Shower Control
Your system can turn on your master bathroom (or any) shower and set it to your desired temperature. This feature can be activated by touch screen, touch pad, telephone, voice recognition, or hand held remote control.