 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Don't Get Me Wrong, I Love Homeworks...
I just don't love EVERYTHING about Homeworks. Years ago Lutron did our industy a huge favor by creating this system - one which is ultra-reliable and ultra-chic. When we created the iTouch Estate Whole House Automation System as the flagship product of this company, Doug Hill and I did not anticipate that we would find such a demand for iTouch to integrate with Homeworks. We actually thought we would be talking people out of Homeworks into some less expensive lighting control solutions. BOY WERE WE WRONG!
What we discovered was that cost was NOT THE ISSUE. The true issue was AESTHETICS. People LOVE THE LOOK of Homeworks - wall clutter is gone and the keypads are clean and easy-to-use. So I guess the whole world will be migrating to Homeworks, right?
Two Sides To Every Story
Not quite. There are just three little "P"s standing between Homeworks and international domination:
Price
Most Homeworks Systems are above $20,000 which means most possible Homeworks houses are well above $1 Million.
Pre-Wire
It's not that the the pre-wire is hard, it's just different. It's a monkey wrence for your average electrician off the street. You know what I mean.
Programming
Again, not that hard, but it does require that you or someone on your staff attend the Lutron Homeworks trraining course and then actually retain what you learned. And if you send a staff member that requires that you retain that staff person.
There Must Be A Better Way
After designing, installing and programming our first 3 Homeworks systems we realized that Homeworks, while fantastic once completed, wasn't everything we were looking for. And when we really looked closely at the various lighting control solutions we had used in the past we realized that it was a combination of them that might just bring nirvana.
What Do You Get When You Cross UPB & Homeworks?
If you don't know about UPB yet read this. Otherwise we'll continue under the assumtion that you understand just how powerful and reliable it is as a lighting control solution.
We had just finished outfitting our 3rd or 4th 15,000 + square foot home with complete UPB lighting control when we had an "AH HA" moment. We went with UPB on these projects for two reasons:
We had homeowners who had to make a choice:
Even though all of these homes were well in excess of $4 Million, money was indeed a factor. At the same time we had a couple of other homeowners who had the same choice but, choosing style over wallet, went with Homeworks. The "AH HA" moment was this: "It seems that people love the PRICE of UPB and the STYLE of Homeworks, so why not give them both?"
Thus The iTouch Ninja monkey Was Born
The iTouch Ninja monkey concept was simple - let's put UPB switches/dimmers on every light load in the house but instead of hanging them as wall clutter we'll bury them in closets or the garage or basement. Then let's put aesthetically pleasing keypads in strategic locations throughout the house that can control anything from individual lights to whole-house lighting scenes.
The Ninja monkey Processor is the brain that handles all of the communication traffic. While the keypads are wired to the brain via CAT5, every other light load in the house is controlled using UPB communication over the powerline which means no new wiring in retrofits and conventional wiring in new construction.
And with an average retail price of a UPB switch/dimmer in the $105 range (call for dealer cost), the iTouch KPB in the $1200 range (again, call for dealer cost) , and keypads for the iTouch KPB in the $300 range (once agin, call for dealer cost), and programming about as simple as tying your shoe, the whole thing had now become the classic no-brainer.
For more information please don't hesitate to call (615.263.2000 x102) or email (asperry@itouch.ws) me. I'll look forward to hearing from you.
Andy Sperry
Vice President - iTouch
