Surpassing boundaries in age, home automation rendered comfort and convenience to a 75-year-old mother

“Why did you put this system in my room? I do not understand these 'keypads with buttons'. Please replace these with regular switches,” said my mother. 

It was 2012. We had just moved into our recently bought apartment in Noida. We had been living in an apartment in the same society for the past couple of years on rent. My wife was happy that after living on rent, we had finally bought the apartment in the same society and were no longer ‘tenants’ but ‘owners’. My kids who were in middle school were happy that they did not have to move from a society, where they had their own friends. But the challenge for me was to install an Automation system that did not require the breaking of walls and ceilings - just enable minimal work that could justify to the world and to my family that I practiced what I preached - I did want to use automation in my own home. 

After some deliberation, I managed to do that by installing a Lutron system that worked with existing switches and had a mix of on/off devices (lighting, fans, Air-conditioning, and geyser) on keypads in the bedrooms and some dimming in the living and Dining Hall. My 9-year-old son loved it. I eventually had to remove the master control from the common iPad, because in the first few days he discovered he could switch off the lights in his parent's room and his grandparent's room.

The only ones who did not like the 'system' were my parents – especially, my Mom. I asked her what exactly was bothering her in the system. “I do not understand what button does what and I do not want to complicate my life anymore,” she said. I first considered removing the system completely from her room and letting it remain in the rest of the house. 

Then, I decided to try and convince her otherwise. The first thing I did was – I engraved each button. In a few days, she had a nice-looking keypad and it had buttons that were backlit and labeled: Lights, Fan, AC, Geyser, Living, Kitchen, and Master, etc. 

The “Geyser” button caught her eye. She asked if she could honestly turn the geyser on from her bedside. It meant she didn’t have to use the step stool and a stick just to switch on the geyser. (Mind you, she is quite short!) I said yes. She told me to go on. I then explained to her she could use the “Kitchen” button to turn on kitchen lights from her keypad. This meant she did not have to walk in darkness from her bedroom to the kitchen early morning, and she liked it more.

I then told her I could also turn on the geyser and kitchen lights via a time clock and the geyser would automatically turn on/off after half an hour every morning. She seemed less averse to the idea of automation in the house now.  

3 months later, I came home to find my 10-year-old daughter showing off her Living Room Mood lighting from the remote to her friends. My Mom is talking on the phone with my sister in Jaipur telling her how convenient it is that she does not have to remember to switch on the geyser in the morning and she should try it at her home too. 

My wife- well, she says she is happy that she can just check if the kids were up by checking if the room lights were on, on her phone - not only that - she did not need to nudge me anymore to go and switch off the Ac in the kids' room after they were asleep. 

“But we could put on the timer with the AC remote too!” I exclaimed

“Yes,” she says, “I could switch off their AC (after they were asleep for a couple of hours), you see, but could not turn on their fan at the same time from here - Now I can. “ 

Well - To each - their own.

The moral of the story?

A)    Do not sell something to someone that does not work for them. I could never have convinced my mom to see the benefits of using a smartphone to turn the lights on or to use mood lighting, in her room. But the geyser on a keypad or the kitchen switch next to her – worked for her.

B)    It takes time for people to adapt to new technology or even new ideas. Be patient and ask them to do the same.

C)    Keep it simple

- The piece is written by Alok Hada, Director, Anusha Technovision Pvt. Ltd.

Occupany & Vacancy Sensors

Occupancy & vacancy sensors are small devices designed to detect the presence of a person in a room and accordingly adjust the physical space to the optimal state. These sensors control light, shade and temperature depending on the presence of people, time of day and general weather conditions. Not only is this unique technological invention trendy and appealing due to the lack of effort required to operate the various installments in a room but it is also an ecologically friendly and cost efficient investment.

Now let's see how these sensors have a positive impact of your finances and the environment. From a young age we are told to turn off lights and fans when we leave the room, but how many of us actually remember to do this? Now, it might seems like this is not a large enough concern for many but when we think about centrally air-conditioned spaces where we spend most of our time such as offices, malls, restaurants do you really think about asking someone to turn the temperature of the AC down or turn of the lights when you leave the bathroom? These costs that where always considered fixed are what occupancy and vacancy sensors attempt to reduce, not to mention the positive environmental impact! The occupancy and vacancy sensor can even play a impactful role in residential situations. The light sensors can prove to be crucial in housed with small children to ensure safety, during the evenings and at night, as well as responsible use of electricity. Let's admit it. Children never turn off the light! 

While Occupancy sensors have been around for some time, what has changed is the way they operate and the technology they adopt. For e.g the earlier motion sensors worked on  passive IR Technology where in a major motion was required between the various IR rays emitted by the sensor- for the sensor to detect presence. While these worked fine with places such as hallways and pantry areas, they failed where the motion was very small- such as when a person occupies the office or uses the bathroom. The latest technology sensors are able to detect even minor motion and hence will generally not turn the lights off when you are sitting still and working on your lap top (say). In fact this ability to detect even minor motion could be the main reason for pricing differences, in addition to the sensor coverage areas and the technology they use to function.

Anusha Technovision offers the Radio Power occupancy Wireless sensor through its partnership with Lutron which is equipped with the best technology within the occupancy and vacancy sensor market at the moment complete with daylight sensing ability – for homes as well as for commercial office spaces. These sensors can be stand alone or part of a larger Lighting control system. When they are part of the lighting control system they can be made intelligent  for e.g a home owner could decide that his bathroom lights should turn on every time he walks into the bath room but it should happen only at night time , and in day time he has to manually turn lights on. The sensor of course turns lights off when the bathroom is unoccupied.  “Occupancy sensors can be called the foot soldiers in the fight to conserve energy.” As per Alok Hada Director ATPL.

Voice Controlled System - Amazon Alexa (Part 2)

Contd...

So who can do all this setup for you?

It's us!  Anusha Technovison (ATPL) can configure your ALEXA with an existing home automation system. And once done, you can call for different lighting moods, play a specific channel on your TV, control your shades, turn on/off your HVAC; in simple words, control each and every thing under the system with just a mere voice command, making life simpler than ever.

We can configure each and every command as per your choice of specific words. Once you get used to the command/quirks, using ALEXA feels much more natural and responsive than speaking to a phone-based voice assistant like Apple’s Siri. As a result, you are likely to find yourself using your phone less frequently when you’re at home.  If you thought the transition from flipping light switches to pressing smartphone buttons was game-changing, then letting ALEXA control your things will be even more satisfying in a true-geek way. And after a use of one-two months, if you need any tweaks, we provide a complimentary visit for a final setup of all your ALEXA commands. Not only do we provide training to control your home but we will also teach you, how using the sound of your voice, you can use ALEXA to search the Web, create to-do shopping lists, shop online, get instant weather reports, and control popular smart-homeproducts—all while your phone stays in your pocket.

However, we firmly believe that ALEXA isn’t a comprehensive smart-home system. It won’t replace a well-programmed graphic user interface on your Ipad or iPhone, it won’t allow for complex integrations of multiple devices (“turn the lights green when rock music plays in the kitchen” is not a valid command), and it won’t always be the most practical means of interacting with your other devices. Rather, we should think of it as an interface for your smart home, that provides additional means of control and functionality that an app on your phone can’t. Which makes it an easier product to rely upon!

Motorized Shading System (Part 2)

What's in store?

SivoiaQS is the next generation of shading technology from Lutron, and the ideal solution for total light control. Its simplified wiring and common communication language allows for easy integration with Lutron lighting controls. Control electric light and daylight now at the touch of a button! It offers precision control of shades in one room, multiple rooms, or an entire home or building all at the touch of a button. Using the proprietary Clear Connect™ RF Technology from Lutron, Sivoia QS Wireless directly integrates with Lutron lighting control systems, delivering total light control to any space.

Features:

·         Precision Control of Daylight

·         Total Light Control

·         Ultra-Quite Performance

·         Easy to Design, Install and Integrate

·         Simple Operation, Beautiful Aesthetics

Add convenience :

•        Adjust shades with a wire-free handheld or wall-mounted control from anywhere in the room

•        A single button press adjusts hard-to-reach window treatments

•        Operate quietly to prevent disruption in any space

•        Cord-free design makes this solution safe for homes with young children or pets

 

 Enhance your décor :

•        Choose from beautiful fabrics, colors, styles, and textures

•        Give your room a crisp, clean look that complements many decorating styles

Save energy :

•        Lower shades in summer to insulate the space and help reduce cooling costs

•        Raise shades in winter to let sun in during the day and lower them at night to trap the day’s heat, and reduce heating costs

•        Insulate your home effectively with the heat-trapping air pockets of insulating honeycomb shades, which enhance energy efficiency

Types of Motorized Shades Solutions:

·         Curtain/ Drapery Track System

·         Roller Shades/ Blinds

·         Roman Shades

·         Venetian Blinds

·         Kirbe Vertical Drapery Systems

·         Skylight Shades

To know more visit our website >>

Motorized Shading System (Part 1)

The “Smart Home” has been a marketing catch phrase for a while, there are many people who already live in smart homes. Technologically savvy homeowners and apartment dwellers have long known that conveniences such as remote operated security systems, remote shading systems, and other home electronic devices can make life both easier and more economical.  A smart home can provide better analysis of power usage, and let homeowners determine where and when to cut back for better energy conservation and cost savings.  It has real world implications as well.

Smart-home technology has come to the world of 'Motorized Shading Systems', with programmable timers raising and lowering your blinds and shades at the perfect hours during the day when you’ll want more or less light in each of the rooms. With customizable settings, you won’t have to spend your valuable time going all through your home to lower blinds against the scorching sun that can raise the home’s temperature, and thus your energy costs when your air conditioner has to work overtime. Instead, your programmable motorized system does all the blind- and shade-lowering for you, creating a comfy environment and saving you a fortune in energy costs, especially when they work their magic while you’re away on vacation – which also adds safety to your home, making it look to the outside world like someone is in the house and thus deterring robbers from targeting.

Experience Center

Since the beginning of time, mankind has evolved towards a better living and lifestyle. It is the curiosity to know more and the aspiration for a shift in standards of living, that integrates humans with a world of technology and development. With this thought, as India's leading automation provider at ATPL, we’ve rebuilt the space of 2,200 sq meters into a state-of-the-art, elegantly designed ‘experience center’. This experience center is divided into sections of ‘lobby’, ‘dining area’, ‘home theatre’, ‘show wall’ and ‘office area’. Each of these areas, deliver a promise of 'Luxury with Technology' like never before. Simply giving new dimensions to light, sound, space and visuals, we’ve created a utopia for the prospective homeowner who desires to experience what a modern day “Smart” home would look like.  

The whole theme is based upon the motto- “Technology -at the back end and Convenience, Comfort and Ambience -at the front end “. For example, the lobby/living room has a 5.1 audio system with a customized sound bar for the TV and an inbuilt subwoofer. But all of this is normally hidden and only become visible once a AV experience is desired.  In addition to that, a high - end Omni directional speaker is hung from a stand for best sound experiences, but at the same time conveys the impression of an exquisite art piece being displayed. The intent is to give the user complete control over their style and choices, but at the same time to make sure that the use of technology is simple!

Throughout the space, it is ensured that the customer has a wide range of options to choose from our audio/video configurations, lightingsystem controls, interiors with maximum space management.

One can watch a movie, hear a sound and then move on with life. But to us, such an approach to survival is too mundane. For all those who have always wanted to live the movie they watch and feel every chord of the music they listen to, this experience center is a dream come true. And that’s why we know, a eleven speaker plus two subwoofer systems along with a mounted projector of 4K resolution in the ‘home theatre’ section, are going  to be appreciated by cinema lovers. Several other innovative features await people who’ve a great sense of style and a desire to live life king size.

This state of the art experience center is a sheer example of what Luxury should look like, and how we can offer lifestyle choices to customers that enrich their lives, add convenience and comfort and we do so in a manner that is simple to understand and easy to use. If we have the means, why not give ourselves the pure pleasure of good living at the end of a hard working day? We believe, that every customer of ours deserve the best of everything, and shouldn’t settle for anything less than comfort with style. Our experience center is a promise of just that.