It’s difficult to imagine a place that sounds more relaxing than Hot Springs, Arkansas, known as “The Spa City” for its natural thermal springs. But local homeowner Brandon Adams realized that his lakefront home could be an even more stress-free environment if the house could run itself automatically.
After a recent installation of an ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System, this fantasy of the autonomous home is now a reality, offering him one-touch control of every major home subsystem, including music and TV in every room.
First, Adams hired Taggart Architecture to design a series of pools and outdoor living areas to connect his new home with the adjacent house. His next call was to Jonesboro, Arkansas-based custom integrator Sound Concepts, which outfitted the home, including all the new living areas, with the latest in audio, video and control technology.
The ELAN g! system integrates Lutron lighting and motorized window shades, an HAI security system, IP surveillance cameras, HAI thermostats, garage door controls, 11 Samsung TVs (one outdoors), 45 speakers (indoors and outdoors), and a 7.2 surround sound home theater with two Sunfire HRS12 subwoofers, an Epson projector and a Dragonfly 120-inch screen. It even incorporates control of the LED lighting on the home’s rooftop dome, the lakefront and in the boathouses.
According to Sound Concepts owner Ryan Heringer, “Mr. Adams’ amazing lakefront home combines the best designs, building materials and craftsmanship with the best home technologies to create a true 21st century living environment, both indoors and out. The home basically runs itself, with pre-programmed schedules for lighting, heating, cooling and the pool equipment, which he can adjust any time with just a few simple buttons on any ELAN g! interface. Simplicity and ease of use is the most important aspect of any technology, so ELAN hit the bullseye when they gave g! the same type of easy-to-understand interface that made the iPhone so popular.”
Adams uses a combination of interfaces to control his home, with easy access through the g!Mobile iPhone and iPad apps, two 10-inch ELAN in-wall touchscreens in the pool house, 13 ELAN in-wall touchscreen throughout the home and boat houses, an under-counter ELAN 10-inch touchscreen, and 10 powerful ELAN HR2 multimedia and home control remotes.
“When I’m outside it’s very convenient to use my iPhone to control the music, the lights and the pool,” Adams said, “but when I’m in the house I almost always use a touch panel or one of the ELAN remotes because they are always on, so it’s easier and faster. The remotes are absolutely the best choice to control the TVs because of the play/pause and volume controls, and it’s just like using a normal TV remote, except it can also turn down the lights and turn up the AC. Taggart Architecture and Sound Concepts delivered on their promises, and I’m still blown away at how beautiful the property is and how the technology brings everything together.”
