Everything at your fingertips

Technology around the home is moving fast and it’s getting faster, so fast in fact that unless you are a super computer it is impossible to keep up with it. Luckily there are companies like Crestron, who employ thousands of super brained engineers to bring all of this technology together in a practical and simple way that makes accessing everything from lighting, music, video, heating, security and even curtains as easy as using an Ipad.

Crestron kindly invited NDA’s tutor team along to their brand new showroom in Leeds to demonstrate how their systems work and how they are changing the way people interact with technology in the home, office and beyond.

Crestron develops, manufactures and installs automated control systems, which on the surface may not sound that exciting until you see the beautiful simplicity of them in action and how they are changing, not only the way people use technology, but how technology can be used in buildings and interior design.

Before getting hands on with the gadgets, the nice folk at Crestron gave a short presentation about something they are very passionate about called Integrated Building Technology. Their aim is to educate architects, consultants, electrical engineers and interior designers to understand and promote the benefits of using intelligent, building management systems that will continue to meet the changing needs of people and their surroundings.

“We need to help builders and designers understand how technology is integral to what they do,” explains Crestron Lighting Product Manager, Mark tallent. “Right now design teams work in ‘silos’ isolated from each other; Crestron integrated building technology can bring all the different design disciplines together to realise huge benefits in terms of design, control, efficiency and future proofing.”

Integrating technology systems often comes as an afterthought once all the building work has been completed, but it should be considered during the early planning stages of any contemporary project. For example Installing CAT 5 cabling and ports at intelligent points throughout a building means that all kinds of systems can be installed, powered and linked to each other as and when they are required. Crestron can also install ‘Infinet EX’, which uses a network of nodes to create a lossless wireless ‘mesh’ that can be accessed throughout a building.

In the home is where Crestron systems really begin to shine, literary. Lighting is very important for creating the ambiance of a space, and with such a huge variety of lighting options at the disposal of interior designers it can be difficult to get right. Crestron offer a variety of cutting edge light solutions and, more interestingly, a very clever way of controlling them, allowing you to choose a variety of different settings for different situations.

Control of every system in the home can be accessed from Crestron’s touchpanel or an Ipad, Iphone, or Android device, including; Blueray, Sky HD, music, movies, Internet, heating, lighting etc all at the users finger tips and all out of view because all of the separate pieces of hardware are stored in one place in a rack. When asked if it can even boil the kettle, the answer was simply “yes.”

Rob Sullivan, from our industry partners RSAV Solutions  organised this visit as part of three trips (Panasonic and Meridion were the previous ones) to help educate Interior Design professionals about AV solutions. RSAV solutions are specialists in planning and installing Crestron products, so if you have any queries about Crestron or just need some general advice about a audio visual solutions for a project you are working on, drop him a line at rob@rsavsolutions.com