Tips From The Top

Wired magazine has a great story this summer – a rant about a family’s smart home control out of control.  “Controlling my family’s smart home is driving us mad.” The title itself grabbed our hearts, since it’s a passion of ours, and really the whole reason we started Jackson Hole A/V.

Simon Hill recounts how the smart home is supposed to make people’s lives easier, but “errant light switches and too many apps are frustrating.” Exactly. And the fact that people are still haggling with this problem – even more so now with so many more devices on the market – reminds of exactly why we got into the integration business in the first place.

He perfectly describes the snapshot of far too many “smart” homes these days. “But the reality falls woefully short of that vision. “Dad! The light isn’t turning on!” “Simon! Google won’t open the curtains again!” “How do I get YouTube on your TV?” “Which app is it for the garden lights again?” Invite smart bulbs, robot vacuums, smart speakers, and other wondrous devices into your house, and you will soon see the cracks.”

Exactly.

Too many controls, too many apps, too many platforms controlling too many separate systems.

Hill writes, “There must be a better way.”

There is, our friend. There is.

Let’s talk about Savant. It’s the primary home automation platform we install, and it integrates everything – we mean everything. Climate, audio/video, lighting, security. We’ve worked with them a long time, seeing first-hand how the integration of their smart services – which the homeowner can operate from a single app – make our clients’ lives easier, more manageable, more comfortable and enjoyable. It’s also a thrill to watch the company evolve to meet the growing needs of the smart home industry – in very smart ways.

The current market – as you may already know – is deluged with every product out there. This can create a lot of havoc for well-intentioned homeowners who suddenly find themselves with ten different systems that don’t and can’t work together, and don’t operate very well on their own, either.

And then there’s Savant, the company that not only makes sure its systems are secure and operate together, but is constantly foreseeing the direction of smart home technology. Indeed, it’s one of the worldwide leaders. Their developments in smart power and energy management solutions are changing the landscape for homeowners. This summer, they announced their smart power systems are available through two distributors in North America, Soligent Distribution and Supplied Energy, which provide access to the Savant Power System solutions to even more clients.

We all see the writing on the wall: there’s a growing need for power in this country, the local power grids aren’t ready to support it, and homes that have efficient and reliable energy sources make life much more manageable for homeowners. And these energy sources increase the value of homes on the market, as well.

As smart technology integrators, we are excited to be able to offer more options in smart power to our clients.

To learn more about how you can take advantage of an integrated home – with smart power – call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to discuss the possibilities.