If you're new to the possibilities presented by home automation
and would like to know more about it, or if you're building/remodelling your home
and would like to prepare it for the 21st Century, read below to learn how home
automation can make your life easier and safer.
What is Home Automation?
Home automation is the process or system (through a number of different methods
or equipment), which enhances one's lifestyle, by making the home more comfortable
and safe, through better and more efficient control of all electrical appliances
and facilities. Home automation can link lighting, entertainment centres, telephone/fax
and data communications equipment, heating and cooling systems, and domestic appliances
into one centrally controlled system. It can integrate the control of a complete
security system for doors, windows, and alarms. Automation allows you to make
your house an active partner in managing your busy life. Your automated home is
no longer a passive structure. Instead, it becomes a tool in helping you make
the most of your time, enhancing your safety and security, even saving you money
on your energy bills!
Security and Home Automation
There's no questioning the importance of home security systems. Statistics published
in a US PPB (Public Protection Bureau) report show that homes without a security
system experience 38 times more loss and damage than homes with a system, and
the statistics are rising.
Today's customers lead busy lives and are demanding more sophisticated features
in their home security systems. They are demanding a high level of security, but
without interference in their daily lives. One of the pre-requisites is that the
system be user-friendly, giving the customer the ability to easily control his
environment. With the ageing of society and the social awareness of physical liabilities,
customisation to accommodate personal needs of handicapped persons, senior citizens,
and families with young children or pets is a growing requirement. The home security
centre means security in every way, and communication is linked not only to the
security service, but also to medical services.
Today's technology is also preparing the home for the future
- enabling it to function homogeneously - through a central smart home system.
"Smart Home" is the term commonly used to define a residence that uses
a Home Controller to integrate the various home automation systems, controlled
simultaneously in pre-programmed scenarios or operating modes. To activate a specific
appliance, a home control centre sends signals through the existing electrical
and telephone wires of the home to programmed switches or outlets. For example,
it enables centralized air conditioners or the heating system to be activated
in preparation for returning home; likewise, lights, entertainment centre, and
more. These are cost-saving measures that also provide a welcoming and secure
home.
PowerMax and Home Automation
PowerMax™ answers these needs and offers much more. This unique wireless
system takes less than one hour to install and the system can be easily repositioned
in a new or remodelled home. There's no need to take time off to supervise a long
and dusty installation; no need to drill, run cables through walls, repair the
plaster and then repaint. It's fast, easy and hassle-free, so there's no disruption
of the family schedule. Installers are in and out, and things are quickly back
to normal.
This smart system is designed to serve as a control centre for automated homes, enabling the control of heating and cooling systems, appliances and lights on a pre-programmed time schedule, manually, through the control keypad, or remotely through touch-tone or mobile phones. It can be set to respond to specific events, such as motion, smoke, fire alarms and even water leaks, notifying the customers and alerting the appropriate control centre such as the police, the fire department or the neighbourhood security patrol. In the case of water leakage, the system will shut off the main water valve.
The fact that PowerMax™ security system is smart doesn't mean that it's complicated. In fact, it's exactly the opposite: because it's so smart, the system is easy to operate and very user-friendly. There are clear icons on the control keypad buttons, which allow most system commands to be performed by a single press of a button. It even has a digital voice response that guides users through the operation and indicates the system status, events, zone status, alarms and emergencies.
PowerMax™ is a unique security and control system that combines unwavering safety with such ease-of-use. The system can be activated by virtually anyone in the house, including children or senior family members.
PowerMax™ facilitates social care and gives homeowners and parents peace of mind for their loved ones. PowerMax™ can be programmed to report events to a designated pager, cellular phone or telephone number. Parents who want to know when their kids arrive home from school while they're still away, can have the PowerMax™ notify them that the system has been disarmed by a certain user, in this case, a child.
This latchkey mode enables the initiation of two-way communication, allowing parents and children to speak through any touch-tone phone. Private wristbands with emergency transmitters are available for senior citizens or the disabled, and two-way voice communication ensures that a call for help can be made at any time. PowerMax™ also gives animal lovers the freedom to let their pets walk throughout the house without setting off false alarms. There's no longer any excuse for not activating the security system, even if leaving the house for only a short time.
It can be remotely activated/de-activated by the key fobs with a single click, or through mobile or touch-tone telephone. Even if someone forgets to activate the system upon leaving the house, it can easily be activated from the office or on the road, so that the house is never left unprotected.
The PowerMax™ is operable in more than 10 languages, enabling residents to communicate with it, orally or manually, in their native language. Its attractive console and detectors have been thoughtfully designed to fit in with the decor of any home.
Incorporating Visonic's technologies such as the CodeSecure™ technology, which ensures that transmitters used for arming and disarming the PowerMax™ are not duplicated, and the PowerCode™ unique anti-collision transmission sequence, the PowerMax™ guarantees transmission even when multiple signals are sent at the same time.
Contributing to users' peace of mind and security is the manufacturer's expertise and experience in the security market. Visonic Ltd., a subsidiary of the Visonic Group, has been in the forefront of advanced security solutions since 1973, and has consistently won international acclaim for its technological achievements and its commitment to providing quality security products. Visonic Ltd is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, and provides worldwide technical and marketing support through its network of subsidiaries and distributors in over 50 countries.