For the last two years, technology integration firm Eco High Fidelity and local partner Bailey & Sons Electric have been remodeling a luxury Southern Maui residence to include home automation, integrated lighting, and cutting-edge audio and video. At first, the goal of the project was to build a sophisticated yet seamless system that integrated an ELAN Entertainment and Control System with Lutron and other subsystems to control the home’s lighting, media, shades, pool, and climate. That is, until a group of teenagers broke in while the homeowner was away and hosted two massive parties that nearly destroyed the residence.
“Doug Ruppenthal, the owner of Maui Joinery Building, went from wrapping up a successful project to having to overhaul the entire house from top to bottom,” Eco High Fidelity owner Tommy Kissell said. “The residence was a wreck: the floors and carpets were destroyed, the interiors and exteriors required repainting, televisions were smashed, and the Lutron lighting keypads were quite literally ripped out of the walls.”
The complete overhaul required Kissell and his team to remove all of the in-wall automation and reinstall it. This time, the ELAN system’s capabilities were to be significantly expanded to control a new comprehensive security system that would provide 24-hour protection and surveillance of the home, in addition to the lighting, shades, pool, climate, and audio/video in the original installation. “It was a tough process, but the end result turned out to be an even better system than the original,” Kissell added. “Luckily, the system was entirely centered on the ELAN platform, so we had a single interface that made it very easy to add new control components.”
Kissell’s enhanced security system included the addition of seven exterior cameras and three interior cameras, Quickset automatic door locks, and an interior Panasonic phone system with an enhanced Luxul computer network, all of which is integrated into the ELAN system, anchored on one ELAN gSC10 system controller and operated by multiple ELAN gHR200 remotes, iPads, and smartphones equipped with the ELAN Mobile app.
“Now, the homeowner can keep track of the home from anywhere on the island—or anywhere in the world—by accessing the camera feed directly on his phone,” Kissell said. “The expanded security system provides a new peace of mind that is essential given what had previously happened without it.”
In addition to its new surveillance capabilities, the upgraded AV system also employs a large Lutron Homeworks Lighting Control System, with multiple dual processors and dual locations for power modules. The Lutron system is integrated into ELAN for easy control of the lighting and newly added custom electronic shades.
“With one controller, it’s possible to seamlessly connect Lutron lighting and shades, security cameras and automatic door locks, pool climate control, and more,” Kissell said. “This gorgeous beachside home is now completely up to date with luxurious technology and is protected like never before.”
Although Kissell and his team have never experienced a setback quite like this before, the team has learned to adapt to the unique challenges that completing installations in remote Maui has posed. “The complexities of high-level custom integration ultimately remain the same,” Kissell said. “With unpredictable client expectations and job site conditions, a plan can quickly be derailed.”
After completing the second AV upgrade, the homeowner is thrilled with his new automation system that includes control of all of the home’s subsystems, as well as a new cutting-edge security system that keeps him constantly in the know.
“Custom integration never goes according to plan, and when curveballs come we have to adapt. The ELAN Entertainment and Control System is the platform and technology to do exactly that,” Kissell said. “ELAN is continually developing and evolving the platform to work with other brands and manufacturers to create a seamless connected home solution.”
