Technology has advanced well beyond the days of the hand clap on/off light switch. Now the only clapping being heard is the applause for the technology that makes all this possible.

And it isn’t just a matter of having some spiffy new technology you can brag about at home. A lot of people — especially those with handicaps and decreased mobility — actually find home automation an important part of their life.

But planning for it really takes a lot of forethought and some imagination, says K&W Audio’s James Aust. “You have to come up with the plan based on your needs and the custom electronics professionals can help with the rest,” he says.

Although there are wireless control panels to automate your systems after they are installed, it’s always a good idea to first have the home theatre set-up and other systems hard-wired into the home. “High-def doesn’t transfer well at all on wireless systems,” says John Lattion, President of Creative Home Systems.

Advanced planning is the key, knowing what you want and where you want them goes a long way in preparing your home for automation.

When the only limits are your budget and imagination, it can easily become messy without a solid plan. “Clients come in with at least a little bit of an idea of what they want, and we can advise them on how to go about making their dream come true,” K&W’s Aust adds. “It all starts with an idea of what they — the customers — want.”

Creating the man-cave
Today, the most popular orders at K&W are creating the home theatre experience. With the high-definition audio and video capabilities readily available in the market, who needs the hassle of going to the movies — or sports events for that matter. It is the “driving force” in the industry agrees Lattion.

Aust says one can usually begin in the $10,000-range, that would include a 50-inch flat screen TV and 5.1 surround sound. “But nowadays, you can actually go for 7.1 surround sound or the ultimate theatre experience and have a tricked-out basement with in-house movie theatre set-up including lounge seats and front projector screens — a real man-cave where you can really enjoy HD movies and sports programs — that can go up in the millions depending on how crazy you want to get,” he says.

Flat screen TVs are getting more affordable and when done right can look like a piece of art that livens up any wall. Both K&W and Creative Home Designs can install out-of-sight ceiling or wall speakers that add a more aesthetic heard-but-not-seen touch to the room.

“You can get your stuff from the big box stores and install it on your own, no problem, but that can leave you with wires running all over the floors. You can’t help this without major renovations to the home, so the key for new home buyers is knowing what you want where during the planning stages of the house,” Aust says.

For new homes, it is important to talk to the builder to make sure that walls you intend to put TVs in have adequate bracing to install wall mounts, and of course pre-plan your wiring needs. Lattion says it may be more difficult for condo owners to do this, as everything — especially sound attenuation systems — have to pass thru builders. “But we do have systems that we can install to eliminate sound transfer in buildings.”

The less-is-more lesson
The lesson to learn is “less is more,” which is something you don’t usually hear from people trying to sell you something, but in the world of home theatre and home automation, Aust says this phrase holds true. “You never want to over-do what you’re putting in the system, the key is to keep it simple.”

The sky may be the limit when choosing what type of devices to incorporate into your control system. You can virtually automate every appliance in the household from lighting, motorized shades, alarms, surveillance cameras, audio/video equipment, computer networks, thermostats, and even pool and spa controls.

“You’ll get more use out of your system if you stick with what’s most important to you and your family,” says Lattion.

But be sure to leave room for growth, nothing is more frustrating than installing a home theatre system in one room and finding out later that you need to extend the sound system to another room. “A good system allows for room to grow, you never know what you’re going to need in the future,” K&W’s Aust adds.

Auto access
Lattion advises that to get everything in a smart home in working order, it is necessary for everyone involved in the project to meet and actually speak to one another from the planning stage, through prewire and during the integration of the systems. “If not, you might end up with systems that can’t communicate with each other.”

He says their RTI T4 central control unit makes life a lot easier. Wireless, touch-screen controls can interface with virtually any system out there.

K&W, with its 30 years background in home electronics and automation, has the Crestron home automation technology that they say delivers intuitive touch panel control of the unique home theater, whole house audio, lighting control and HVAC control which helps the owners transform their smart home vision into reality.

Crestron’s TPS-6X wireless touchpanel with 5.7-inch screen comes with both two-way RF and one-way IR wireless capabilities built in, and offers a choice of wireless platforms to suit the environment.

New home builders and community developers are aware of the advances in automation and many of them work with custom electronic proessionals to have at least rough-ins for future automation.

“Carma and Genstar communities are the best to work in for us, because their prewired homes are part of their designs,” Lattion says.

Genstar, which develops the new communities of Evergreen, Lake Chaparral, Panorama Hills and Walden to name a few, says that structured wiring is an investment. “It adds modestly to the price of your home, but will save you time and money in years to come.

Carma Developers actually takes the concept one step further with their Carma-Connects program. Established in 2002 to connect neighbours and build neighbourhoods, Carma-Connect not only gives residents exclusive access to local community Intranets, but includes the backbone infrastructure required to support it.

What Aust reminds clients is that automation “is not magic. It is the efficient control and distribution of electronic data.” It just seems like magic.