Smart home technology is growing in popularity more recently not only because of the monetary and time savings, but the access it provides to the home.  You can control many aspects of your home remotely from anywhere in the world via your phone or tablet. You now have full access to your HVAC and thermostat, lighting control systems, home security, pool lights and filters systems, and home audio visual products.  These systems can now be set to a schedule and automated.  Let's say you have a home theatre and when you are ready to watch a movie, you want all the lights to dim, movie screen to drop into place and the projector to turn on. You can make that happen by saying "turn on the theater." Forget to leave the television on for your four-legged fur-babies? Forget to lock the door? Leave the AC on 65 while gone for 3 weeks? Now you have a way to correct those unfortunate, forgetful moments. Connected Home is proud to offer 2 of the best home control systems on the market, Elan Home Control Systems and Control4 Home Automation Systems.

One good reason to use lighting control put simply, is convenience. When you come home after a long day at work and the sun has already gone down, do you really want to walk to the front door in the dark, turn on 6 lights inside, plus turn on the news or radio before you even sit down? Of course not.  You want control of your home. You can use scenes by voice commands or using automation, having it set to daily schedule. Pictured on the left, are wall mounted scene controllers that replace normal light switches. These scenes are completely automated so when you select the dim lights button, all the designated lights will dim to preset levels for when you are entertaining guest or watching a movie. Want to do some late night reading? Select the lamps button to turn on one or several lamps. These systems can save lots of money by only using what you need, being able to turn off lights left on while away from home, and dimming the lights for less energy consumption. Talk about convenience, you can turn off your entire home with the press of one button!

Want to save some time and money with a tiny bit of effort? We offer a true solution to your energy management by using Lutron Automated Shades. Insulated cellular shades are typically considered to have the highest R-values of all window coverings. The air pockets in the honeycomb cross-sections act as insulators, increasing the R-value and reducing the conduction of heat through the window. In heating seasons, tightly installed cellular shades can reduce heat loss through windows by 40% or more, which equates to about 20% heating energy savings. In cooling seasons, cellular shades can reduce unwanted solar heat through windows by up to 80%, reducing the total solar gain to 15% or less when installed with a tight fit. Want even more light in your home? The Lutron Roller shades may not have the R-Value of the honeycomb shades, but they allow more light into your home even when fully extended. Lutron's battery powered shades are automated allowing the blinds to open and close on a set schedule. The schedule can be seasonally optimized to reduce heating and cooling loads while maximizing natural light and home comfort.

HVAC costs can sometimes run high for a home owner.  South Eastern North Carolina temperatures are relatively mild in Spring and Fall, but brutal in Summer and Winter.  The heating and cooling bills can jump tremendously, especially if the temperature is not monitored carefully.  Home Automation gives you the ability to maximize the use of your HVAC to save big in energy costs and can increase the lifespan of your unit by years. To get the most out of our system at the showroom, the HVAC turns off after 6 when the store closes and then turns on again an hour before we open to make sure the temperature is just right. You can have yours set to turn off when you go to work and then back on right before you arrive home.  The best part, if you accidentally leave on your HVAC while gone from home for an extended period, you can turn it off from your phone with just a couple of clicks.

Home security is another very important aspect of the Connected Home. Connected Home Inc. is a State Licensed security installer and offer 24/7 monitoring services through our partners at Alarm.com. These systems protect the home with multiple combinations on door/window sensors, glass breakage sensors, motion sensors, security cameras and facial recognition capable security panels.  Along with monthly monitoring you can choose to add remote access to your system via an app to check in on the goings on at home, unlock the door for a delivery service, give a relative their own one time code to your door, or even lock the doors when not at home. Our custom security systems can also be integrated into a whole home automation system be used as your home control system separately from the home audio and video. Local, professional installation by Connected Home Inc. and  monitoring from a nationwide well-respected equals a safe home.