What are the Benefits of Home Automation?

Home automation makes life more convenient, safe and fun!

Convenience
We've all gotten used to controlling our TV from the couch, just wait until you are able to dim the lights as well.
Imagine adjusting the temperature from your bed or controlling the volume of your wholehouse audio system
from any room. Or, can you imagine the wall/ceiling heater in your bathroom coming on automatically 5 minutes
before your alarm clock goes off (only when it's chilly) so that it is warm when you enter. Many of our products
also save energy -- we'll all agree that's a nice convenience.

Safety
We're all used to opening the garage door from the car, but you'll be surprised how much safer you'll feel coming
home to a lit home and even turning on more lights from your keyfob remote upon your arrival. With a couple of
basic products you can have your whole house light up like Fort Knox when there is motion detected at any corner
of your house. Imagine your house sending you an email if there is motion where there shouldn't be any motion. Or,
you can have your security system call you if there is an alarm, which might include your typical security alarm or
even a low or high temperature or water in the laundry room or basement.

Fun
High tech products for the home are fun to use and share with others. Whether viewing visitors at your front door on
your TV or tuning your stereo by using voice recognition, you'll find it surprisingly enjoyable. And, when it comes to
impressing the friends, you'll be happy to show off your newfound applications.

With the broad selection of home automation products offered by Accutech you can control just about anything
you wish in your home. If you have questions about a particular product please contact our expert technical support
team - they're happy to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

How Can I Control Them?

Remote control
Remote control gives you the convenience of controlling lighting, appliances, security systems and consumer
electronics from wherever you happen to be at the time like your couch, car or even in your bed. There are several
different "methods" of controlling devices remotely. Below we highlight the pluses and minuses of each.

Automatic Control
Automatic control adds even more convenience by making things happen automatically, without any effort being
necessary. Examples include having your lights turn on at dusk and off at your desired time, having your whole
home theater turn on and tune to the desired station after one press of a button on your remote.

What Is Home Theater and What Does It Do for Me?

Home theater refers to a setup of audio and video equipment in your home that tries to duplicate the movie theater experience.By borrowing from both the image and sound technology of the movie theater and adapting it to the home
environment, the consumer can actually approximate the movie theater experience at home, based on the options
he/she chooses.

What about the rear speakers?
The rear speakers in a home theater system have a greater diffusion than you would get with stereo speakers.
Sometimes, rear speakers have drivers firing in multiple directions. This causes a lot of reflection against the walls
and makes the rear echoes sound like they are coming from a wide area.

What about the center channel?
The center channel is the most important speaker in a home theater system. It produces all of the voices that come
from actors on the screen. Without a center channel, the voices would be coming from the corners of your room.
Many home theater speaker systems use two center channels instead of one. It is debatable on whether more than
one center channel is necessary. It probably depends most on the size of your television.

Is a subwoofer really necessary?
Depending on how you look at it, subwoofers can radically increase or decrease the cost of a home theater system.
A 5 channel system without a subwoofer can produce the same, or more, bass than a system with a subwoofer.
Having 4 speakers each with a 15" woofer will produce a lot more bass than a single subwoofer. The problem is that
these speakers would be very expensive and a very large multi-channel amplifier would be necessary to drive them.
Having 4 smaller speakers with a smaller amp, and a powered sub would be a cheaper option. Of course, using 4
smaller speakers and no subwoofer is the cheapest option, but this system would not provide a lot of bass.

If I already have 2 stereo speakers, do I have to still buy a whole home theater system?
No. Frankly, home theater systems are expensive. If you have a good pair of front speakers then save your money
or get a better set of center and rear speakers. You can always upgrade and replace the front speakers in the future.
Also, you know you will have good sound when playing music.

Is it important to get a set of home theater speakers from the same manufacturer that are designed to work together?
Some people believe that you must have the same exact speakers for your front and rear channels, with a center
channel using shielded versions of the same drivers minus the woofer. Although this is an ideal situation, it is
expensive when the speakers are full range. When using smaller speakers for the fronts with a powered subwoofer,
it might be a good idea to get 4 of the same speakers. If not, you will still want to get all of your speakers, with the
exception of the subwoofer, from the same manufacturer. Make sure that are designed to work together as a home
theater set. Usually, this means they use the same drivers for the mids and highs. This gives the speakers the same
sensitivity and sound quality.

How far away should the listening area be from the rear speakers?
Ideally, the listening area should be in the center of the room at equal distances from all speakers. If this is not
possible, then there are ways to improve the situation. If the listening area is near the back wall, then put the
surround speakers high on the side walls facing each other. If dipole speakers are used, then the can be mounted
further forward in the listening area and lower on the wall, as long as the front of the speaker is aimed toward the
listening area.