Why Automate Your Lights?

Since opening in 2009, AV Solutions of Atlanta has become the go-to company for automating homes and companies in the Metro Atlanta region. Our home automation team is a huge fan of home automation lighting controls as they provide solutions in security, in lowering electric bills, and ease of use.

Advantages of Lighting Control

1. Minimize Electric Utility Expenses.

Estimates are that in the average American home, lighting makes up about 10 percent of utility costs – that amounts to nearly $200 per year. Businesses use far more lighting than homes with the average cost for lighting running at about 39%.

2. Never worry about not turning off your lights again. 

The cheapest and most inexpensive way to reduce lighting expense is to shut off lights when they are not needed. But, as humans, it is not unusual for us to forget to do this. That is where home automation lighting controls comes in. Sensors can tell when an area is not occupied and shut lights off automatically. 

3. Create an Ambience.

You and your partner have enjoyed romantic dinner at a great restaurant. You want the mood to continue when you get home. With lighting control, you can take out your smartphone and  change your home lighting to make for a romantic ambience when you arrive.

Businesses such as restaurants and lounges also can use automation lighting control to change ambience that ranges from a party atmosphere to an intimate romantic setting. Owners may even decide to have dramatic lighting for team spirit using team colors, which can also be controlled from a single remote or smartphone app.

4. Enhance Security.

Automated home lighting adds security by allowing you to program an “away” lighting which turns lights on and off to give the appearance that a home or business is occupied. Additionally, you can turn on security lights and interior lighting while away from the premises using a smartphone application.

AV Solutions can help you find the best solutions for home automation lighting control.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment. 

Home Automation Shade Control Benefits

1. Easy Access. 

You will gain the ease of raising and lowering blinds throughout your home from a central spot, in or outside of your home. 

2. More Security. 

For security reasons, intelligent motorized blinds and shade control is a great tool. You can automatically set your window coverings to close at night, either at a pre-selected time or when darkness falls. In combination with automated lighting, this gives the appearance of your home being occupied and is an added deterrent to potential intruders.

3. Save on Utilities. 

You can set your blinds to open or close according to the seasons. During the summer, pre-set your blinds to block the sun from adding heat to your home. Motorized blinds can be set to open as the sun moves from the window. During the winter, automated shades can open window coverings to let the sunlight in and help heat your home, closing them when the sun leaves.

Regulating cold and heat transmission through windows can lead to significant savings on your utility bills. Automated shades can reduce interior temperatures by an amazing 20 degrees on a hot day.

4. Enjoy Privacy. 

With the touch of a button on your remote control or smartphone, you can close window shades when would like some privacy such as when you’re dressing or bathing. Automated window shades can be used on virtually any type of covering including:

– Shutters
– Shades
– Regular Venetian blinds
– Vertical blinds

AV Solutions can help you find the best solutions for home automation shade control. Contact AV Solutions today for a free in-home consultation. 

Why Automate Your TV Controls?

Your home theater is great and you use it often. But, there are a number of reasons why you should automate each TV and make an integrated TV network.

Think about it this way: You most likely have more than one television in your house, right? And do some of those TVs have more than one controller to operate them? How many controllers total, then, do you have in your home for your TVs?

With AV Solutions, we can integrate your TVs into a single system, eliminating the need for so many controllers.

What TV Integration Looks Like

There is another term used in the home automation industry that describes home TV automation and integration – distributed video.

The purpose of distributed video is to enable a single video connection such as cable, a satellite receiver or a Blu-ray player to be shared between all your television sets which are connected to a video switch.

One of the features of a distributed video home TV system is lower equipment costs for video source.

The two most popular options for getting video from the source to each of your TVs are using HDMI cables or through HDBaseT technology. The advantage of HD Base T Technology is that by using Ethernet cabling, a single cable can send the video to a TV as well as control the set’s functionality. 

Many Ways to Control

The most popular way to control your TV system is to use an IR signal. Since this is a line-of-site technology, you might need IR repeaters. Nonetheless, there are other options you will discuss with our design and installation team.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment and see how automating and integrating your TV controls can benefit you. 

Thermostat Control

The Past: Having to control your home’s indoor temperature by resetting the thermostat manually up or down.

The old ways then transformed into smarter technology controlled by built-in timers that turned the thermostat on and off at times you selected. Higher-end models even allowed you to set the thermostat at different temperatures. This allowed for settings that kept your home from being damaged by extremely cold weather while cooling faster during the summer.

The Present: Home automation heating and cooling wireless technology allows you to make the same adjustments from anywhere you have access to the Internet, a smartphone or a tablet. This makes your home smarter than others without home automation heating and cooling control.

The Benefits of Control

1. Lower Utility Costs.

By not having to run the furnace or cooling system at the desired temperature, you can lower the thermostat during winter days that you are not home via your smartphone or remote app device. In the same way, you can set the thermostat at a higher temperature during the cooling season. According to the United States Department of Energy, programmable thermostats can help save up to 30 percent on your energy bills.

2. The Ease of Pre-set.

Pre-set the temperature to your liking by raising or lowering the temperature about a half hour before you come home. Should you end up coming home earlier or later, use your smartphone app to correct the time you want your HVAC to change temperature. 

2. Enjoy a Comfortable Home Year-Round.

Zoned heating and cooling systems are great candidates for home automation. You can cool or heat spaces that are occupied to a comfortable temperature while unoccupied areas can be kept warmer or cooler depending on the season.

Automating dampers optimizes airflow through automated HVAC Zone Control. Usually, traditional HVAC air registers make for conditioned air to be unevenly distributed. This causes higher utility bills, increased system run time and inconsistent temperatures within a room and from room to room. Controlling registers through home automation of heating and cooling registers minimizes or eliminates these problems.

Connect with us to schedule an appointment if you are interested in solving your heating and cooling control needs.

Why Automated Door Locks?

Home automation door locks are popular with people in Atlanta who have home automation systems. AV Solutions of Atlanta, Georgia has a large selection of the best automated door locks available. We give our customers what they want – and that means we deliver high-quality technology that is easy to use.

The top 2 reasons for homeowners installing these door locks are security and peace of mind. But, we learned from our clients that there are five other reasons why they all love their new system.

Five [More] Reasons You’ll Love Automated Door Locks

1. Lock and Unlock Your Doors From Anywhere.

Picture this: You’re hurrying to start your vacation, and at the airport you realize you forgot to lock the doors. This annoyance could cause you to miss your plane if you have to go home to lock up. With a home automation door lock system, however, you can whip out your smartphone or other connected device and press a button to lock the doors.

Another scenario: Your lunch meeting is running over and you’re not home for the kids – quickly unlock your doors from anywhere to let them in. This is priceless convenience!

2. Make Your Key Obsolete.

Many of our automated locking systems have keypads or touch screens that you put your unique code into and your door opens or locks. No more hunting for keys when you come home.

3. Know the History of Who Comes and Goes.

Your teenage daughter has an 11 pm weekend curfew. Want to know when she got home? Just check the activity history to see when she last accessed the door. In addition, we can set up text alerts that keep you up-to-date on who is coming or going.

4. Give One-Time-Use Codes.

No matter if it is for coworkers, kids’ friends, service companies or the delivery guy, you can now give any visitors a single-use code to unlock the door if you’re not home.

5. One-touch Security.

No more checking doors to make sure they are secure. Use your smartphone or another access device to push a button to lock them all. If a door is ajar, you will get a signal that a particular door needs your attention.

Ensure your home offers the security and peace of mind you are looking for.

Contact us today to set up your home automation door locks system. 

Home Automation Security

People are concerned about home security more than ever. But, home automation designers and installers use the latest wireless technology to bring home automation home security controlled by your smartphone, console, computer, or traditional security wall pad.

AV Solutions carries the best home security components available. In these systems, best is not “most expensive.”

In the case of home security, best means:

– Wire-free
– Instant alerts
– Home automation

The Past: When the first burglar alarms were in use, wireless technology hadn’t been invented yet. Wired security systems were hardwired and connected to a telephone line. When an alarm went off, the phone line connected to a monitoring station who then called the police. Burglars quickly learned to cut the phone line before breaking in, silencing the alarm signal.

The Present: The components used today in a wireless system run on battery power and are discrete, movable and easy to use with commands made by you using your cell phone, console or traditional alarm wall pad no matter if you are at or away from home.

Batteries are designed to last from 3 to 5 years, and with wireless systems, the possibility of cutting lines of any sort is no longer an issue. Signals are sent using cellphone frequencies.

Wireless Automated Home Security Benefits

1. Wireless systems use less equipment and are easier to install.

2. They are portable, so when you move, you can take the equipment with you.

3. When you buy your system from AV Solutions and have our professional, well-trained staff install it, you’ll have an easy-to-use system that effectively monitors and reports suspicious activity.

4. It’s easy to add components and more services that include:

– Surveillance (such as a child’s room or at the front door)
– Fire alarm system
– Other functions such as lighting and shade control

Ready to secure your home with home automation?

Contact us today for a consultation!