Finally back at work finishing a project that I started last summer. Hopefully im done working in the ghetto since this house is now ready to be finshed off... I am so excited because this was my overall biggest sale ever! For those of you who dont know what I do, I sell design and install custom home theaters and automation systems. Fun stuff.
When I started with this particular customer all he wanted was to have a whole house audio system. He knows what good sound is and was not afraid to pay for the best. Ehh, ok, fine with me.. We'll go all out and put the best there is in. The speakers are hand built when they are ordered and cost a pretty penny I explain and he says ok, thats what I want. I want the best. How many rooms would you like to do I ask? All of em. I dont want to step anywhere where there isn't good sound, I entertain alot he explains. Ok... Im thinking to myself, I got this one, this is going to be a good one. OH yeah!
So I end up selling a Theater in the basement, 24 rooms of distributed audio, 10" in wall touchscreens, 4 entertainment systems, an automation system, lighting system, climate control, digital music library, digital movie library, security cameras, security system, motorized blinds, electronic doors, and online access to the home. Now what is he going to do with all of this you're wondering? Well, first thing, he travels quite a bit. He wanted access to the house to check on things, you know check the temperature, see if his wife left the garage door open when she left for work, that kind of stuff. So im setting him up a system that if he is away he can activate lighting scenes (any light in & out of the house), change the temperature, unlock doors, arm/disarm the security system, check the camera system (live and playback) all from a web browser anywhere in the world. Here are a couple scenario's because most people wonder "why in the hell?"
Say you are out of town and you get a call from the alarm company saying there is a break in. Why not jump on your blackberry and check the status of the alarm? Take a look at what triggered the alarm, check the cameras. Is it something to be worried about?
Or you are going to be gone all day and the service man needs to get in the house to fix something. Dont feel like waiting? Have em call you when he gets there and you can jump online. While you're talking to him have him show his id on the camera, you can then disarm the security system and unlock the front door for him. Simple right?
So it gets better, he wants to be able to come home from a business trip and just be plain old lazy. One touch button kinda stuff. Wanna watch TV, press TV. Wanna listen to LIL JON Hit Search- and type LIL JON. In a house that big you dont want to run around for 10-20 minutes checking to see if any lights were left on and turn on the appropriate lights for the night. So I create a "goodnight" button on the in-wall touchscreens. I can do whatever with that, its software based programming and for every event, there is an action. The options are endless. No more alarm clock. I can quietly start the music in the bedroom at a particular time and raise the volume over any period of time aswell as the lights or even use the natural light and raise the blinds.
I could go on and on and on, in a nutshell, this house is going to be one of the most difficult programs I have ever written, but in the end its gonna be sick. Absoultely sick. There isn't anything im not going to be able to do electronically in this house...
