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For the first time in her life, my mother saw how a central vacuum system works and I’ve never seen her so amazed by technology. I recently took her to see my cousin’s new house, which happens to be a smart home that has all the bells and whistles. It has an Alexa dot in practically everyone room, automatic lighting control throughout the house, a top of the line security system, and an awesome central vacuum system.

Home Controls now supplies Wi-Fi connected smart lighting products from SATCO, a premier supplier of smart and standard lighting products. Devices from the SATCO catalogue include color changing Wi-Fi Connected Lightbulbs, as well as Switches and Plug-In Outlets with remote Wi-Fi connectivity. Every SATCO device available at Home Controls is capable of remote Wi-Fi operation via their Starfish mobile application, no smart home hub or controller is required.

Use home automation to help make the summer season a whole lot easier. Besides bringing blue skies and sunny days, summer is also responsible for increasing the activity around your home because it’s the time of year when the kids are out of school, the days are hotter, pool parties are being planned, and families get to go on their summer vacation.

Streaming music at home without having to rely on just using your smartphone and an external speaker is now possible and easier than you think.

Z-Wave 700 (aka Z-Wave Plus v2), and Z-Wave Long Range (Z-Wave LR) allow new Z-Wave compatible devices to benefit from greater transmission ranges, longer battery life, and other improved features.

Home Controls now offers home automation and access control devices from Autoslide, the makers of their patented automated sliding door system.

As more and more people work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic, the need to create safe home offices with comfortable working environments is a must. Adding Z-Wave friendly smart devices to your home can definitely help make it more efficient and more comfortable for your work and living conditions. Most offices I’ve worked in have always provided great lighting, the right temperature, good security, and basically an office/cubicle setting that allowed me to be as productive as possible. Z-Wave can help you accomplish this at home without having to worry about disrupting your workflow, and in many cases, all you need is to provide voice commands or use your smartphone to make it happen.

Home Controls is here to help with its updated guide to find the right smart home hub for your home.

Improve the way you communicate with your family at home all while adding another layer of security to your smart home with a home intercom system. Installing a home intercom system eliminates the need to yell for family members across your home to get their attention. With the push of a button, you’ll have instant room-to-room communication with other members of your household without having to leave your current room. Additionally, most intercom systems can incorporate a video doorbell unit, giving you the ability to see and speak with visitors at your front door.

Do you have an intercom system in your home that was installed when the house was built? You know, the ones with a Master station, which has the AM/FM radio and a room station in most rooms of the house? If you have one and it doesn’t work anymore, you have options. We carry replacement systems that can retrofit into the same openings in the walls that your current stations are in, with little-to-no drywall work. Just give us a call and we can get you started.

Have you ever left home wondering if you locked your front door? Or have you ever been halfway to your destination only to realize that you forgot to turn off all of the lights in the living room? And because you were in a hurry, what if you left the garage door open? No need to turn around and head back home.

Wired connections provide a faster and more reliable connection than Wi-Fi. Ethernet cables have gone through various upgrades to keep up with faster and more commonly available data speeds. So the question is, what is the difference between Cat5e, Cat6, or Cat6a Ethernet cablesa?

Imagine being able to vacuum your entire home without having to carry around a heavy and bulky vacuum unit. Let’s face it, cleaning your home can be an annoying chore as it is and having to deal with a standard, mobile vacuum unit doesn’t make it easier since they can be really loud all while leaving dirt and debris behind due to their weak motors. Then there’s the hassle of dealing with tangled cords that never seem to be long enough to cover the entire room.

Water damage at home can be a big hassle to repair and extremely costly, especially if you’re unaware that it’s happening. When pipes burst due to old age or someone accidentally leaves the water running, such as in a clogged bathtub or sink, our reaction time is often slow, leaving the home vulnerable for flooding. In fact, water damage at home happens so frequently that it actually ranks as one of the top home insurance claims year in and year out.

When the ABB Welcome Door Entry System was introduced to the United States earlier this year, Home Controls and installers-in-the-know could already feel that U.S homeowners were in for a real treat. Now that months have passed, we know this feeling wasn’t just wishful thinking. ABB Welcome has changed the U.S. market for home intercoms and security.

Smart thermostats sell like hotcakes, and they are in fact the most popular “smart home” devices purchased by renovating homeowners. This is according to the recently released September 2016 Houzz study on smart home trends in the United States: “Among all the devices with smart capabilities installed by renovating homeowners, smart thermostats are the most popular, installed by 12% of renovating homeowners.”

That’s right, the do-it-yourself SkylinkNet wireless alarm system just got a lot cooler — it now works with IFTTT. Anyone who has the SkylinkNet Internet Hub can automate connected devices using custom IFTTT recipes, so not only do you get expanded automation options for your Skylink devices, you can also integrate third-party devices into your system. Check out the video for a quick synopsis, or scroll down for more info.

NuTone has released a major improvement to their collection of central vacuum systems with three new PurePower series motors. If you have been considering equipping your home with the convenience of a central vac, then one of these new motors should be on the top of your shopping list.