Articles and whitepapers

In The Realm of the Sensors: What is Custom Installation? (5/4/2004)

By Jonathan Margolis

Imagine controlling your entire home with a hand-held remote while sitting watching TV or listening to music.

Imagine a hi-fi system that breathes beautiful music throughout the rooms of your house through unseen loudspeakers, so that music follows you wherever you go. Or a home cinema system far better both visually and audibly than a conventional cinema Ð and all completely integrated into your favourite room; phones, security systems, irrigation systems and air conditioning systems controlled through a simple keypad, so you can change the temperature setting, arm your security system, or alter the lighting from anywhere in the house.

And, while you're at it, take a live video peek at your sleeping child Ð or your holiday cottage in France through CCTV linked to your TV or laptop. And if you're on the Riviera, you can check and change security settings back home and view images of the house and grounds through the same connection.

Your doorbell rings, and the television immediately displays the image from the security camera mounted over the door. Seeing it is your neighbour, you remotely open the door.

On your way home from work and ready to begin a relaxing evening, you select an "Entertainment" setting from your mobile phone. Before you come through the front door, the lights have dimmed, the curtains have closed and music is playing to welcome you home.

Oh, and you can also fill the bath to the right temperature, set the bathroom audio system onto the news or a CD you feel like hearing, and ensure the bathroom floor and towel rail are warm.

Bathroom bliss

All so you can arrive effortlessly to the perfect atmosphere.

Scenes from the future? No, the life of the Jetsons is no longer a futuristic fantasy. The smart house, electronically plumbed with state of the art technology, is very much here and now. Levels of convenience, security and enjoyment you thought were merely a dream in the distance are very much a reality.

A reality that CEDIA members design today.

Custom installation is the process of integrating all your home electronic equipment Ð for entertainment, communications, automation, security Ð into the architectural and interior design of your house. You can opt for the installation to be concealed or on display, depending on your personal interior design philosophy.

Home entertainment systems, such as home cinema and audio rooms, are the most commonly requested custom installations. However, it is also possible to integrate telephone/intercom systems, burglar/fire alarms and heating and lighting systems into your home.

Custom Installation (CI) projects can vary enormously in size and cost. You can spend anything from a £1,000 on a simple two-way intercom system, to hundreds of thousands on creating a home cinema with a plasma screen, surround-sound, in-wall speakers, special lighting, individual seating and custom décor, along with every imaginable form of automation, from blinds that open and close as the sun goes in and out to automatic garden irrigation.

Home cinema with plasma screen

Home cinema with projector

But custom installation involves more than simply integrating electronic systems into your home. It requires in-depth knowledge of disciplines such as architecture, building, interior design and wiring. Custom installers frequently have to develop innovative solutions to problems created by building or design specifications - not to mention the homeowners' personal preferences.

A growing part of custom installation, for example, is in the field of post-installation content provision. It is one thing to have the most wonderful and imaginative home entertainment and automation equipment wired into your home, but quite another to operate and enjoy it all to its full potential.

A first class CI installer will be happy to do all the complex electronic aerobics that can be involved in getting your multi-room entertainment system to provide the entertainment you want. That might involve, as it did for one London homeowner, ensuring he can watch American football games live on a giant plasma screen in his sitting room.

Or it might mean simply downloading the tottering pile of CDs you have been collecting for 20 years onto a centralised hard drive so you can listen to ZZ Top in the bath at the same time your wife has Beethoven playing in the kitchen and your child, So Solid Crew in his bedroom.

Virtually any home, whether it's old or new, rented or owned, can have custom electronics installed. However, the best and least disruptive time for custom installation to take place is during construction, renovation or redécoration. As a result, custom installers are used to working closely and cooperating with architects, builders, and interior designers.

Indeed, it is important that customers think of custom installers as they would any other home contractor. You should always check that the company you employ is recognised and fully insured. They should also have glowing references both from within the industry and from other customers.

Custom installation is a new and highly specialised trade that should only be conducted by professionals with particular skills, experience and credentials. A reputable installer will give written estimates, work to a timetable and automatically provide clients with all the relevant documentation. The firm should additionally guarantee in full all its work and provide a prompt repair service for any faults.

It's also important to recognise that custom installation is about fulfilling the desires of the customers, not the installer. A reputable company will not recommend anything that exceeds the homeowner's needs and budget. They can suggest specific equipment, but only after establishing what the client wants and can afford. As with any other home contractor, the final decision always lies with the customer.

A CEDIA member will carry out or oversee every stage of the installation, from conception to conclusion. The company will begin by planning out which systems need to be installed, what capabilities will be provided, which equipment will be used, where it will be installed and how it will be inter-connected. This process requires extensive knowledge of the products and technology available in a rapidly developing market.

Only after in-depth planning will the CEDIA member begin to fit new wiring and install equipment. This process may also involve carpentry and cabinet making which the company will carry out itself, or complete by working with a contractor of the customer's choosing. It will almost always involve redécoration; the installer will oversee any finishing work required, from sanding, plastering and painting to wallpapering.

With a CEDIA custom installation, you are guaranteed no loose ends. Comfort, security and peace of mind are the goals CEDIA installers set out to achieve when developing the technology to move your home out of the past and into the future.

A life-enhancing, infinitely upgradeable electronic lifestyle system to entertain and assist you for years ahead is within anyone's grasp.

Jonathan Margolis is a freelance journalist for national papers such as the FT, Mirror etc. This article appears courtesy of CEDIA UK (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association).

www.cedia.co.uk