Push-button Living is Here
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(illustrations courtesy Z-Wave and Paul Adamson) |
When Beth Silberstein wakes up worried, asking “Did you hear that? There’s something outside,” her husband takes care of it these days without even getting out of bed.
“If we hear a bump in the night, I can just hit a button,” says Dave Silberstein, director of channel development for Crestron, a manufacturer of home-automation systems. “I can turn on all the outside lights. Usually it’s a deer or a skunk wandering around.” The Silbersteins live in an Eichler in upstate New York, one of the only three outside of California.
Dave can raise or lower the heat using a remote or his iPhone—even when he’s out of town. The remote also allows him to play music or his TV. When he and Beth are away, the house turns lights on and off throughout the day to fool would-be burglars.
And, conveniently for a hard-to-wire house like an Eichler, all this is accomplished wirelessly.
“Peace of mind is a big component that comes [with home automation],” Dave says. “Then there’s the luxury aspect—the ability to have what you want when you want it, and not having to think about it.”
Home automation used to be for the wealthy—but not anymore. Learn about some of the great new products about to hit the market via our brand-new CA-Modern spring ’12 issue preview—‘Smart Homes for the Average Joe.’
