Complete Smart Home Automation with ELAN

The first step in designing a home automation system is to make a list of all the smart home products you would like to have installed. Also, you need to decide on your home theater equipment and how many zones of video and audio you will have.

Second step is to decide on the controller you would like to use. If you have just a few smart home items you would like to be controlled, an ADT Command system may work. But to control all systems in your home, a controller like ELAN will be what you need. 

WARNING: Do not go out and buy a bunch of different smart home products if you want them to all work seamlessly under one control platform. Smart home controllers have certain products they are able to control and they can not manage every smart home product on the market today. Choose your controller first, then see what products are able to be managed by the controller you like. 

It makes a lot of difference in smart home system design which locations you will be able to run wires too. In new construction, you can design from the beginning and install all necessary wiring for all home entertainment and smart home devices. When you are installing a smart home system in an existing home, you must decide where wires can be run to and when you will need to install wireless devices. 

Here are some of the steps we use to help customers design their smart home:

• Plan home security solution: Products include security system, fire and carbon monoxide detectors, security cameras, video doorbells, motorized gates and door locks.

• Plan for audio/video: Products include home theater equipment and distributed audio. It starts with which rooms you would like to have video, where you would like surround sound and which zones you would prefer audio only. Also, what audio/video products are you interested in for the great outdoors. Next, what sources do you like for movies, TV shows and music? Do you watch Netflix, Hulu... do you have cable TV? What are your sources for music.... your new record player.... or digital streaming of Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, iTunes, Tidal, etc?

• What other smart home products would you like to control? Lighting, thermostat, garage door opener, blinds and shades, pool pumps, fountains, irrigation, intercom....? Would you like voice control with Amazon Alexa or Google Home...?

Based upon how many products you have installed, especially WiFi devices, you will need to have a solid network with adequate Wireless Access Points (WAPs) and high speed Internet service. When you start to have a large system, your smart home integrator will need to have management control of all devices on the network so they can help keep your system running smoothly. Many service calls for smart home automation systems can be done remotely with programming and software updates to your smart home controller and devices. 

Learn More >>> Smart Home Automation Blog