For people who aren’t familiar with Crestron programming or with smart home programming in general, it can be difficult to get their heads around what it is our company does exactly. We’ve had people who think we do home security system installations or that we install home theater systems. It’s understandable why people would think that. We often work with companies who do these types of installations. In fact, they’re typically the companies that hire us as subcontractors when they need AV programming for certain projects, but what we do is the behind-the-scenes programming work that gives home systems customized functionality.
The best way we have come up with to explain what we do is to say that we provide homeowners with one big remote that controls all of their home’s systems. AVPA owner Matthew Grisafe talked a little bit about this in his recent interview with SuperbCrew.
If you’re like most homeowners, you likely already have (or are at least familiar with) a remote that controls various pieces of AV equipment such as your television, streaming device, receiver, and DVD player. With a single remote, you can turn on your television, stream your favorite movie, turn the volume up or down, and then switch to watching live sports once your movie is over.
When we come in to do Crestron programming in a home, we can integrate all of the systems in your home—not just your AV system—and allow you to control them from one central location. That central location can be a wall-mounted touchpanel, a tablet, or even your smartphone. With one device, you can control and automate everything from your heating and cooling system, to your lighting, to your whole-house audio system. You can also do things like monitor your home’s energy and water consumption. It really is like having one single remote for your whole home!
What homeowners seem to love the most about the programming we do is the ability to set up “scenes.” For example, you can set up a room or multiple rooms exactly how you want them to look and feel for a dinner party—with things like warm lighting, soft music, and the perfect air temperature—and then tell your system to remember that specific “scene.” Later, with the push of one button, you can recreate that scene for your next dinner party.
If all of this sounds confusing or complicated to use, it’s not! You don’t have to be tech savvy to operate a smart home system that’s controlled by Crestron. We program systems to be extremely user friendly. If you can operate a smartphone, you can likely operate a smart home system that we program with a minimal amount of training. Apple products, such as iPads and iPhones, work particularly well for controlling smart homes, and since many people are already familiar with these devices, we use them frequently as control devices.
In a nutshell, Crestron programming is for homeowners who want custom features in their smart home and the ability to control all of their home’s systems on a single device. If this sounds like something you want, contact us! We’re happy to talk to you about your vision for your home and how we can help!
