A family running their own company in Avon, MN, recently got to experience the capabilities of a full-fledged ELAN g! Entertainment and Control System.
Scott, who first had an ELAN control system installed in his new home in 2008 and recently upgraded to ELAN g!, uses his iPhone to control his lighting, heating, security, surveillance cameras and media, and even likes to play pranks on his wife when he’s on business trips, like switching the channel on the TV.
Much of his family and relatives live nearby, and they work together at a family-owned company, so Scott was eager to show off the system. When everything was said and done, custom integrator Cybermation, Inc. ended up installing five full home control systems and an AV system in the homes and businesses of Scott’s family and friends.
“Scott was so in love with his system that it became contagious — everyone that he showed this life-changing technology to decided they had to have it too,” said Cybermation CEO, Tom Ardolf. “He showed them what he could do with iPhone, or PC, or the in-wall touch panels, and they were hooked. This business has always thrived on word-of-mouth referrals, and the easy-to-use g! system takes that idea to a whole new level.”
When Scott’s brother Chris saw his g! system, he fell in love with the HR2 multimedia and home control remote, which provides classic television remote controls plus full access to every home system integrated with g! through its 2.4-inch touch screen. Chris saw the value and simplicity of home control and had Cybermation install the ELAN g! system in his home, too. Now Chris has 8 HR2 remotes for TVs all over his home, which also let him control the home’s 12 zones of audio, Lutron Homeworks lighting, HVAC, security system and several surveillance cameras located throughout the home’s exterior.
“I love the media functions of the g! system, and it makes so many things at home so much easier to do,” Chris said. “It makes shutting down the house at night a breeze, it lets me check on the house when I’m not home, and it’s especially cool when we sit down to watch TV or a movie. All I need is the HR2 remote, and we can watch anything we want from the Kaleidescape or on TV. There’s no wandering around in the dark because I can turn off the lights and adjust the heat or air conditioning right from the couch, and everything is quick and really easy to use.”
Cousin Tom visited Scott’s home and was impressed with the home control capabilities, and was soon the owner of a full g! control system, complete with a Kaleidescape Media Server, several automated TV mounts, and a golf simulator.
When Scott was ready to upgrade his 2008 system to the newly-introduced g! system, he asked Cybermation if they could transplant his existing system into his father’s house, which they were more than happy to do.
After hearing the entire family discuss their new smart homes, their co-worker Ken revealed that he’s known about the power of home automation for years, and in fact had an ELAN system installed in his home in 2007, a full year before Scott did. That’s why when he saw the iPhone integration in the new g! system, he immediately recognized the potential for his sports training facility. Utilized primarily by hockey players for training purposes, the facility is now equipped with an ELAN g! system that gives Ken Internet-accessible video surveillance, multi-zone audio distribution, and even allows the athletes to dock their iPods and listen to their own music while they practice and train.
“The g! system is just as useful in my training facility as it is in Scott’s house,” said Ken. “Scott uses it to control everything, and I use it here because it allows my guests to listen to their own music, lets me monitor the security system from the road, and makes it easy to expand the system in the future, which I’m planning on doing soon. Everyone that trains here loves being able to just dock their iPods and go, and they think it’s as cool as I did when I put the older ELAN system in my home in 2007. It’s amazing that the g! system lets me check the surveillance cameras on my iPhone even when I’m away from the building, and it really helps give me peace of mind. We even keep the parents in the action with a 50-inch TV in the lobby that displays the cameras feeds from the training areas.”
