Control4 is without a doubt one of the most prominent and easily recognizable forms of smart home automation in the marketplace.
Long before Google, Amazon, or Samsung made a mark in the smart home industry, Control4 was already an established brand.
Control4 has been providing smart home solutions to their customers for years.
The company creates bespoke smart home systems for its wide range of customers through its established and authorized dealer program.
Control4 incorporates connected products from different partners to create comfortable and effective smart home systems for their customers.
Furthermore, Control4 deals with high-end smart products which are relatively more expensive than the smart devices you’re used to from other brands.
In simple terms, Control4 is only meant for those users who think about safety, comfort, and reassurance before thinking about the cost of smart devices. If you’re looking to get the comfort of professional installation to update your home’s tech status, Control4 is the ideal brand for you.
In today’s market, where homeowners are looking for more connected smart devices and are a lot savvier than years back, you expect Control4 to step up their game, and they have.
Here is a detailed breakdown of everything you need to know about building a Control4 smart home;
Finding a Control4 Dealer
Unlike other smart home brands, with Control4, you need a professional dealer who knows everything and beyond about Control4 products and systems. Finding a professional dealer for your Control4 smart home setup involves following a set protocol.
First, you’ll have to visit the product planner portal, where you’ll be asked a few questions about your plan to switch to a smart home. You’ll also be provided with a list of products and equipment that might be required for the whole process.
After you’ve provided the requested information, details about a local Control4 dealer will be sent to you. The best thing about Control4 professional dealers is that not only are they available for the installation process, but they will also be there for you whenever you need a support team.
The around-the-clock support services by Control4 have been their major selling point for years. As a homeowner, you want peace of mind throughout the installation and maintaining process of your smart home.
However, something you might need to know is that these support services offered by the Control4 professional come at a cost, so you should brace yourself for it.
Getting Started With Control4
The starting point for a Control4 smart home setup is generally the controller. The controller in Control4 smart homes serves the same purpose as some of the central hubs offered by other brands.
This controller is essentially the central brain of all the smart products that will be connected to your smart home. It manages your smart home’s automation and how your smart devices work and communicate with each other.
The automation ranges from security and safety, lighting, audio, and video entertainment, and other systems. Control4 controllers come in two categories, and they are fitted with different features while also offering different benefits to their owners.
They include;
Control4 CA-1 Controller Features
- With a Control4 4Sight subscription, homeowners can control their smart devices remotely from anywhere they are as long as there is an internet connection.
- These are the most affordable Control4 controllers.
- They have a foundation that ensures that all the smart devices incorporated in the system, from smart lighting, smart thermostats, smart shades, smart cameras, and many others, deliver state-of-the-art automation for users.
- With the Control4 app, homeowners get a license to control their homes from their iOS, Android devices, and computers.
Control4 EA Controller Features
- These Control4 controllers are fitted with ZigBee processors and a next-generation core that ensure that your smart device automation systems have a heightened level of speed and performance.
- These controllers are fitted with certified HDMI equipped with video and audio capabilities to enhance TVs’ connectivity.
- They involve instantaneous and intuitive control for users through a remote, TV on-screen navigator, or touchscreens.
- The controllers are fitted with a Control4 app license for both Android and iOS users. They also come with the Control4 4Sight subscription service to enable homeowners to control their smart devices remotely.
Control4 Remote Control
Control4 offers some of the most comprehensive means of control in the industry for their users. To control your Control4 smart home system, you go by the approach of using dedicated touchscreen panels.
Control4 offers a 7-inch or 10-inch touchscreen model depending on the type of controller you get for your home. The best news about these touchscreen panels is that they can be mounted on any wall for even more convenient access.
These touchscreens also come with several apps available for both Android and iOS users. These apps are meant to control individual smart products that are connected to your Control4 system. Control4 also provides its users with keypads that can wire into their light switches.
This aspect is very useful for many homeowners as they use it to trigger Control4 scenes, which will help their smart devices incorporate their schedules even better.
Scenes are just like routines created for your Control4 smart home system, and through them, you can create a more personalized and effective way of controlling your smart devices.
For example, if you name a certain scene bedtime, you can incorporate functions like turning off the smart speakers, smart lights, and even your TV. This means that you take care of many functions involving your smart devices in just one go.
This has proven to be one of the best features of automating your home with Control4 smart home systems. The recently launched OS3 for Control4 systems ensures that users can customize their smart devices.
With Control4 OS3, you can select your favorite operations and have them shown on your main screens of each room in your home.
Adding Smart Home Devices to the Control4 System
The best thing about installing the Control4 system in your home is that you get to enjoy a variety of in-house technology features. Whether it’s the audio equipment or the networking kit, there are many options to choose from depending on one’s preferences.
Also, it’s important to note that the Control4 system plays well with other third-party rival brands in the smart home industry.
For example, Control4 can work with over 35,000 smart devices and services from some of the world’s most renowned and upcoming smart product brands.
Brands such as Apple TV, Philip Hue lights, Lutron, Amazon Music, Yale, Netflix, Google Nest, Sonos, and many others can be incorporated into the Control4 system.
For any third-party brand or service you want to incorporate in your Control4 system, you need to tell the professional dealer and have it done for you. However, like any additional service, this will cost you more money than the initial installation cost.
If you’re looking to incorporate more smart devices from other brands into your Control4 system, beware that you could end up paying a lot more than their price to get them installed in your home.
This is because of the labor, drivers, and the bridge devices needed to get them up and running. Control4 offers some of the best security smart products such as doorbells, alarm systems, motion detectors, security cameras, and sensors.
So if you’re thinking about replacing some of your Control4 smart products with others from other brands, you might want to rethink that. However, you do not have to feel restricted if you want to go for other brand products because, with Control4, compatibility is not a problem.
The Future of Control4
For many people who have researched this brand, it feels like a smart home system for the selected few. This might be because of its very expensive smart devices and an even complicated installation protocol.
While the brand started in the smart home industry when technologies and services such as DIY were unheard of, it is acting faster and moving with the other smart home device brands.
This is because rival brands such as Google, Amazon, Nest, and Samsung are working tirelessly to manufacture cheaper and simpler smart devices that will ensure that smart home automation is even easier.
Control4 has to evaluate its position in the market if it wants to keep competing in this industry as consumers demand an expanded technology genre.
Many customers in the smart home market are looking for devices that are easier to set up and have lesser or no limitations when it comes to integrating with other smart products and devices.
The good news is that Control4 seems have taken this consumer sentiment on-board and are working on even more user-friendly systems to accommodate customers from all walks of life. This has been shown by their latest smart home system update in their OS3.
Final Thoughts
Control4 is a well-respected brand in the smart home industry, without a doubt. Most of the customers who opt for Control4 smart products are looking for reassurance. However, a bigger section of customers is looking for more convenient and user-friendly smart products.
Once Control4 accommodates the latter, the brand will be an even greater force in the industry than it already is.
If you are still feeling a little muddled up and looking for some help, then check out my Smart Home in 8 Weeks course designed to take you from zero to a fully integrated smart home!