Some benefits of having a control and automation system installed in your home are:

• All equipment can be in an out-of-sight and central location and routed to many different rooms.
• The Prodigy system by Crestron allows you to have one, easy-to-use remote for audio and video controls (and others, as mentioned) in each room.
• You can check the status and adjust the settings of your HVAC, lighting and security systems, from any room or from your mobile device, if you’re away from home.
• Conserve energy and lower electricity bill by programming lights to dim or turn off when room is vacant.
• Affordability: systems are much more affordable than in the past, starting at $1000 and up.

For more information on whole house control and automation systems, audio, video, media room, security and any other low-voltage needs, please contact us.

Jesse Korsban
Stafford Home Service
Click here to contact Stafford Home Service

How to control all of this you ask? Well, my dear, with my iPhone of course! Yes, I said my iPhone. Or maybe a iPod touch if I want to let visitors have fun too. The Buletooth controllers on the PS3 and the Wii only five bout 30′ of distance so they will ne installing a Bluetooth repeater in the kitchen (the basement media room is abutted to the stair, so that is not an issue. The Wii controllers also use a control bar which emits light, so another remote bar will be installed in the 1st floor. Sick, isn’t it? One can walk from the basement to the 1st floor, Guitar Hero “guitar” in hand, jamming all the time. Now that’s class my friends. Or some kind of digital excess yet to be named.

One great advantage to this madness (or brilliance, depending on your Luddite or Jobs tendencies) is that fan noise is greatly reduced or eliminated. The PS3 is still screaming out billions of cycles and driving it’s fans like rented mules, but it is safely ensconced in a separate room, in a tidy rack. Ahhh, peace and quiet. Now, when I am watching a classic film, with plenty of moody silence, like The Third Man I won’t be distracted by the steady roar of the PS3′s insane fans.

Another advantage is the savings of not having to have duplicate hardware;  in space, cash, and energy (I guess that’s kind of a Geen Renovation thing as well. Nice!)

Stay tuned for updates and photos.

Kris and Dan, partners at Stafford and Jesse, head of low-voltage, came in and created a whole slew of new opportunities for the house. It’s amazing what you learn and what opportunities can be opened up by people who really know their stuff and work together well. It’s also very helpful to have all of these people under one roof, as their work is so interdependent. Not only did they come up with better ideas (IMHO), they also save us time by communicating more fluidly then disparate subcontractors. And, like all of Jason’s subcontractors, they are perfectionists, care deeply about their work and are easy-going and fun to be around. Seriously, I can’t imagine working with a better team.

For our little project they will be doing the following:

• Redoing most of the electrical in the home while bringing up the old wiring to code
  • Moving the electrical mast to the garage.
  • Installing a 150AMP service (50 to the garage, 100 to the house.)
  • Installing 220V in the garage (for welding, air compressor, etc…)
  • Running the electrical from the garage, through a trench (which we dug) to the house.
  • Moving the panel to a better location (allowing us to move the stair and consolidate utility space.)
• New electrical for the kitchen
  • Kitchen lighting.
  • Wall oven.
  • Cook top.
  • Bar refrigerator.
  • Under-counter lighting.
  • Counter-top power.
  • Exhaust hood.
• Cleaning up the gas line in the basement
• New lighting
  • Dimmer switches for better efficiency.
  • Recessed lighting for higher ceiling clearance.
  • Under-counter lighting.
  • New entrance lighting
• Installing a new furnace.
• Installing a new AC unit.
• Installing an Ecobee HVAC controller for greener heating and cooling.
• Installing recessed speakers in the kitchen.
• Installing a media room in the basement.
• Installing HDMI cables, USB and speaker cables so we can centralize the media source (PS3, Wii and Blu-ray on every screen!)
• Installing a security system in the entire house, including basement and garage.
• And a whole slew of other things (will be updated)

Stay tuned for updates from the Stafford team!

Stafford Home Services