Modular homes have a lot of advantages over traditional on-site built homes. Constructed in factories, there are no weather delays, custom design options are unlimited, all inspections can be done quickly, and build time can be measured in weeks instead of months, often leading to lower costs. Calgary-based Karoleena Homes, an innovative custom modular homebuilder, will take this process one step further by installing the advanced ELAN g! Control System in every home it builds, with eleven already scheduled for 2015.
Karoleena Homes will install the advanced ELAN g! Control System in every home it builds, with eleven already scheduled for 2015.
According to Karoleena owner Kurt Goodjohn, the demand for life-simplifying home technologies has reached critical mass. “Our customers are looking for the next big thing,” he said. “Connected home technologies are it. We already use the best materials, including steel construction and high-insulation rated walls that see our homes stronger and more energy efficient than standard homes. Add to that a system that lets the owners control almost everything in the home from a touch-panel, remote control, or smartphone, and you’ve got the best new house on the block.”
Founded in 2010, Karoleena Homes has quickly developed a reputation for building luxury modular homes, with nearly limitless options and finished construction in as little as sixty days. In 2012, the company designed a show home for the Edmonton Home & Garden show that featured the ELAN g! system, and it was a hit. Now competition in the modular home building space is growing, so Karoleena has decided to make the expandable ELAN g! system standard in every new build, giving homeowners the option to control everything from lights and TVs, to lawn irrigation and security systems, all from their smartphones anywhere in the world.
“It’s not an add-on,” Goodjohn said. “It’s an integral part of the home. Just like the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems, the control system is now a function of the home rather than a luxury. Every Karoleena-built home now comes with a brain that is capable of controlling and automating nearly every major system, simplifying daily tasks for the owners. Soon we will unveil graduated upgrade packages that expand on the base ELAN g! system, similar to how auto makers offer upgrade packages at the dealer lot. This way buyers will be able to add systems such as surveillance cameras, lawn irrigation, electronic door locks and more, that will all be tied into the home’s brain and be controllable from a single ELAN interface or mobile device app.”
With the new commitment to technological leadership, Karoleena Homes is poised to help change how people think about smart homes.
With the new commitment to technological leadership, Karoleena Homes is poised to help change how people think about smart homes. Integrated music and TV in every room, security and surveillance viewing while traveling, and preconfigured lighting and security settings promise to ease homeowners’ worries and truly simplify home living. The builder specifically chose the ELAN g! system over competing control systems because it is affordable, endlessly expandable, and easy to use thanks to its interface design. ELAN constantly upgrades the system to work with the latest third-party products from hundreds of manufacturers, making it a good investment as well as a time and energy saving home feature.
“The energy savings offered by home control are significant, and it’s another major reason we want all of our buyers to embrace the technology,” Goodjohn added. “No longer do homeowners need to micromanage heating or lighting, but can instead have a single button that adjusts the entire home at once. A custom-programmed button can be powerful enough to set every function of the home to ‘away’ mode, so that all lights turn off, all TVs turn off, the heat or air conditioning changes to an away setting, the security arms, and the motorized window shades all close. It can even schedule specific lights to turn on automatically each day to give the appearance of people being home, and send email or text alerts to the owners if anything is changed while they are away.”
There are so many possibilities for customized control that homebuyers may think it overwhelming. But what’s most surprising is how easy the system is to use, with most buyers needing almost no instruction to master the basics practically immediately. If you can operate a smartphone, you can control your entire home from anywhere in the world. Karoleena Homes wants to make this vision a reality for as many people as possible, and the eleven planned homes for 2015 are a fantastic start.
