As the leading installer of smart homes in Surrey and the surrounding areas we are always delighted when someone books an appointment to come and see us. It gives us a great opportunity to showcase (show off) the amazing capabilities of the Control4 system and how it can change your life for the better.
We had enquiry from Jon, who was looking to update his home with “some sort of smart system” but didn’t really know where to start and so we invited him over to get the grand tour and demonstration.
Jon has a young family and is having some construction work done on his home to make it a little more comfortable. This is a common enquiry for us, people are updating their property and want to make their homes future ready and retrofit their homes to get the best value for the disruption any construction will involve.
We asked Jon if he would mind writing about his experience at the new Smart Trilogy Showroom and the equipment on offer, and thankfully he obliged.
Where to start
Jon: I like to think of myself as a bit of a ‘gadget guy’ but am/was a little hesitant when it comes to the whole Smart Home thing. I didn’t really know what to expect, neither in terms of cost nor the capabilities of the systems, so I was a bit of a blank canvas. I work from home and the thing that used to really bug me, specifically in winter was walking around the house and closing the curtains and turning on lamps and other lighting in the house before picking my son up from Nursery – it sounds mad now that I say it out loud.
So, obviously I started searching on Google and came up with a shortlist of installers to contact, once I did some further research and reached out [to Pro Media Solutions], it was a bit of a no-brainer to head over to the showroom – not many installers have a facility like that.
I received a friendly welcome from Sarah and Toby from Pro Media Solutions and offered the obligatory multiple-choice Nespresso. The showroom is laid out in a couple of rooms, I think the first room, a living area had just been updated with a moss wall installed – not necessarily suitable for my house, but it was cool nonetheless. Installing fabrics on the wall and soundproofing wasn’t really something I had considered but having seen it in situ and understanding how quick and easy it is to install, I’ll definitely bear it in mind. It’s a pretty good way to cover up my artex ceilings and hide any speakers or cabling, if I need to.
The Demonstration
Sarah and Toby showed me the basics of the Control4 system which looks so simple I’m a little worried my two year old is going to master it before I do. Sarah showed me a video of her (then) two year old easily navigating her way around the ‘watch’ menu on the SR-260 remote control. It’s intuitive and easily accessed from a phone, remote or wall mounted screen. We watched as lighting and blinds were set to a specific scenario with a single tap on the screen and I was pretty much sold.
Moving into the cinema room was probably the only mistake I made that day. The setup is insane, I’d wager that it was better than any public cinema I have ever been to. The quality of the picture on screen was amazing but the sound blew me away; I’m not really used to that kind of thing and really set my mind racing.
Unfortunately, at this point a dedicated cinema room isn’t feasible as I don’t have the space, and would definitely not get sign off on such a project from my wife – but it certainly left me with some aspirations.
In Conclusion
Having seen the capabilities of the Control4 system, it was clear that I need it in my life, but again I had some fairly serious doubts about what my budget would be able to accommodate. However, once we sat down and went through the specifics of my requirements, I was shocked (in a good way) at the cost of the project and how the infrastructure could be installed with a view to adding components at a later date.
So what have I gone for?
I have gone for 3 music zones in the house, automatic blinds and smart lighting throughout the house as well as a video doorbell. I am hoping to add more audio/visual zones over the next year and when I have my bathroom done in 2021 I’ll be adding some bits in there too – I think my wife has always wanted a TV in the tub.
Get in Touch
If you are looking at getting smart make sure you get in touch with a member of our expert team on 0345 505 1760 or email us. You can even follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or connect with us on LinkedIn.
