Enjoy These Features in Your Lafayette HomeLighting control is one of the most sought-after features in a smart home – mainly because it is so convenient. There are actually many benefits you may not even know about. Installing smart lighting will not only make your home look bright and beautiful, but it can also help your family save energy, money, and increase safety in your Lafayette, LA home. Keep reading to learn more.

1. Save EnergyAccording to Lutron, installing dimmers in your home can you up to 20% on energy. The reason for this is that dimmers allow you to lower your lighting levels so they don’t turn on to full capacity every time to lift a switch. Dimming lights down to at least 30% can dramatically increase your energy savings and affect your electric bill. Lighting uses up the most energy, followed by the heating and cooling system, and then electronics, so this is the biggest area for savings. Another way to save energy with lighting is by adding occupancy sensors. Timers were quite popular at one point, but occupancy sensors work even better by detecting when a person is in the room. As soon as you leave, the lights shut off. Electricity will never be wasted and you’ll have one less thing to worry about.

2. Save TimeTime is precious; most of us have busy schedules. We’re always running in and out of the house. You probably spend a fair amount of time running around the house turning off all the lights before you leave, and if you’re in a hurry, the lights stay on and you waste energy. You can save time and energy by using lighting controls that tie all of your lights together. Imagine hitting one button at the front door before you leave in the morning and all of the lights turn off. Not to mention, it’s extremely convenient to be able to hit one button on your phone or wall to light up your home, or get ready for bed.

3. Save Your HomeBelieve it or not, lights can play a part in protecting your home from intruders. Place lights with sensors around the perimeter of your home so they turn on when a person approaches. If a stranger walks up in the middle of the night, you’ll be alerted with the light immediately, and it will likely deter them from continuing. We can also integrate lights with your security system so lights turn on with the alarm if it’s ever triggered in the evening. As a precautionary measure, our team can also create a “mockupancy” setting that turns lights on and off at varying times to make it seem as if a person is home while you are away. Robbers will think twice about entering you home if they think someone is there.

Enjoy These Smart Features in Your Baton Rouge HomeWe all love staying connected today and using our phones for many different activities. Today you can brew a cup of coffee, start the laundry, and roast a turkey with your iPhone. And while these smart items may look and sound cool, there are some other more pragmatic connected systems you should consider investing in for your Baton Rouge, LA home. Motorized shades, for one, are not only convenient to control with a mobile device, but they can also help you save energy, protect your home, and simplify your lifestyle. Here are our top three reasons why we recommend you invest in our smart shading solutions.

SEE ALSO: QMotion Motorized Shades Bring Big Benefits to Your Louisiana Home#1: Save EnergySure caring about the environment seems super trendy right now, but you’ll be surprised by how easy it can be to save energy. Making your home “green” may seem overwhelming and complicated, but in reality, all you need is a plan on how to make the most of your home electronics. Since you can control your shades with your phone, you can easily raise and lower them at any time of day to take pressure off your HVAC system. Lower solar shades, which block UV rays, during the day and keep the house cool without even turning the AC on. We can put your shades on a schedule so they raise and lower at specific times of day, or put sensors in place that detect the sun and trigger them to work when they detect sunlight. Our motorized shades can be integrated with smart lighting and your thermostat to save even more energy. We’ll help you create an energy-saving plan that will not only save our planet’s precious resources, but also lower costs on monthly utilities.

#2: Save TimeWhether you have a lot of windows or not, opening and closing shades can be quite time consuming. Not to mention, it can be frustrating if those windows are hard to reach. Many homes have skylights or high windows to create a more open and airy feel. Connecting your shades to a wireless remote or mobile device allows you to quickly open and close them at any time – even if you’re not in the house! You can group rooms together so all you have to do is hit one button an activate them, or control each and every one. For example, help wake up your kids in the morning by opening all the shades in the bedrooms and letting in the morning sun. Close them all as you leave the house for work. We can also install double roller applications, which include two different types of shades for one window. Lower the solar shade during the day, and the blackout shades at night. Switch them quickly and easily just by hitting a button. You won’t have to wrestle with those blinds anymore, or reach over far to close the drapes.

#3 Protect Your HomeYou probably wouldn’t naturally think that shades could help protect your home, but you can use them in coordination with a security system. First, shades add privacy keeping onlookers from peering into your home, and they also make you feel safer. Second, shades can be coordinated with audio, video, and lights to make it seem as if someone is home while you are away. The shades will go up and down at varying times to simulate your normal habits. Potential invaders will stay away thinking you are there.

Use These 3 Whole House Audio/Video SolutionsWhether you are a tech geek, or are just starting to learn more about what the term smart home means, the phrase “whole house audio/video” can still be a foreign term to people. What exactly does that mean? We’re here to share that it doesn’t simply mean that you have audio and video products in every room. It means that your audio and video systems are interconnected, giving you sophisticated controls to enact sophisticated sequences. Continue reading to discover what a whole house audio/video system would look like in your Covington, Louisiana home.

SEE ALSO: Top 3 Benefits of a Whole House Audio/Video SystemWhole House AudioSure you could put a wireless speaker in every room and call it “whole house audio” but the system is more complex than that. You could easily put speakers in every room, but that doesn’t mean they will be interconnected. By working with a professional like us, you can install speakers in every room and they play the same song on all of them. So as you move from room to room you can hear the tune everywhere. The sound will also be evenly distributed. We know exactly where the speakers should go to give you a uniform sound. With whole house audio, you can also group certain speakers together. For example, dad can listen to sports radio outside on the patio while mom listens to pop hits inside while making lunch. Each person has control over what they want to listen to and where. One added benefit of using our systems is that you can expand music options with streaming services like Pandora, Tidal, and Sirius XM Radio.

Whole House VideoWhole house video works in a similar fashion to the audio system, but the application is different. Typically you’ll sit in one room to watch something whereas the location isn’t as important with audio; you can move around and still enjoy it. One unique thing you can do however, is easily change rooms mid-program. So for example if you start watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens in your media room downstairs, but then halfway through you decide you want to finish it in bed, you can pause the movie, turn the TV off, walk upstairs, and start it up again in your room without having to take the Blu-ray disc with you.

The reason this is unique is because all of your cable boxes, Blu-ray players, and other video components are stored inside a closet or other area. Matrix switches direct the content from room to room without having to move discs between players. Not only will this save you time setting up the movie, but it will also take away all that extra clutter. All the wires and boxes are hidden out of sight. If you want to play the same program on all your TVs in the house, you can do that too. It would be a perfect solutions for when you have friends over to watch a baseball or football game. Some guests can watch outside, while others hang out in the kitchen or living room.

Elevate Your Home Security with Control4 Solutions in Baton Rouge

A security system connected to your smart home automation system is quite different from simply having an alarm or a few security cameras around your Baton Rouge, LA, home. Since we are certified Control4 dealers, we install their security and surveillance solutions because they are versatile and easy to use. While there are different ways to install a security system in your house, in this blog, we’ll give you an overview of how Control4 systems differ and why they have additional benefits over traditional systems.

SEE ALSO: How to Protect Your New Orleans Home with Security & Surveillance Systems

Smart Integration for Comprehensive Baton Rouge Home Security Systems

When you have a Control4 smart home, your security isn’t a standalone system – it’s integrated with every other feature of your house. For example, you’ll be able to set your alarm, shut the blinds, and turn off the lights all by pressing one button. It’s also easily expandable, so if you want us to install smart locks or more security cameras later on, we can easily tie them into your home.

Wireless Technology: Stay Connected to Your Baton Rouge Property

Plenty of alarm systems can be controlled by your phone today, but what about your smartwatch? Do you get automatic alerts based on smart sensors? Control4 systems are capable of much more because you can receive notifications on your phone, smartwatch, or computer the second something isn’t right – like a pipe leaking or a garage door that is left open. The benefit is that your smart home keeps an eye on every part of your home for you and alerts you when something goes awry. With wireless technology at your fingertips, you can quickly check on your home while you’re away by opening up real-time video footage, looking at past videos via cloud-based memory, and seeing the status of door locks on your user interface.

Mockupancy: Simulate Occupancy to Protect Your Baton Rouge Home

“Mockupancy” simply means that your home will look occupied when it’s actually empty. Create a scene with your Control4 app by setting certain features to turn on a varying times. For example, your smart home will lower the shades at noon and raise them at 3 p.m. As soon as it gets dark, the lights and TVs will turn on to simulate you’re there. By simulating your family’s routine everyday activities, you’ll have additional peace of mind while you’re away.

Discover All the Incredible Features of Control4 Smart Home AutomationWhen you hear the phrase “smart home” you may think of refrigerators that tell you you’re out of milk, computers that announce your arrival when you come home, or other smart gadgets that make you feel like you’re living in luxury. However, smart home automation goes beyond just “connected living”. The Internet of Things simply means that your dishwasher can connect to the internet, but that doesn’t exactly equate to living in a smart home – at least by our definition.

Acadian Home Theater and Automation would love to explain and show you what it means to live in a smart home in your hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. Keep reading to find out for those of you who are new to living an electronic lifestyle.

SEE ALSO: Reasons Why You Should Hire a Professional Smart Home InstallerExactly what is a smart home?Predictions over what a smart home would look like have ranged greatly. Take a look at The Jetsons or Back to the Future Part 2 and you’ll get an idea of it. But smart home automation is simply about connecting all of your electronics together so that you can start and turn off multiple things at once. It also means that your shades, lighting, security system and more can automatically turn on and off at varying time throughout the day based upon your specifications. Tell your smart home to turn off all the lights at 10 p.m. every night and it will do it for you. All you have to do is hit a button on your phone, tablet, or wall switch (some electronics allow you to use voice activation as well). Living in a smart home also means that you’ll have wireless access to every function. You can connect all of your electronics to your phone so you can control them from anywhere. So even though your smart home may have a fancy refrigerator that can tell you the weather or if you need to buy more milk, smart home automation encapsulates much more.Customizable ControlsControl4 is one of our top smart home partners. They have developed an easy-to-use system that anyone in the family can access – from 9 year olds to your 99-year-old grandmother. With Control4 smart home installation, you can automate your lighting, shading, security and surveillance system, smart locks, home theater, speakers, and the thermostat. Every room can come to life by creating “scenes”. Scenes are saved settings that create specific environments based on your personal needs and desires. For example, create a “Wake-up scene” by using the Control4 app and choosing the motorized drapes to draw and your favorite music playlist to turn on at 7 a.m. The sunlight and music will help you wake up and start the day. Have a pool party coming up? Create a music playlist and save it for the special day, choose a lighting level for your backyard, and a temperature for the pool and hot tub. Every space can be customized to your everyday life.

We hope this blog has been informative and started you on your journey towards smart living. We have much more to share! Send us your questions, comments or orders through the contact form on the website or just give us a call at 225-906-2589.