The Changing Face of Home Automation

Since Bliss was founded in 1994, one of the major goals of the company has been not only to stay on top of the constantly changing technology landscape, but to push the boundaries of what is possible in the home. In the area of home automation, changes are often behind-the-scenes: infrastructure improvements that facilitate better communication between devices, or upgrades to monitoring systems that improve the overall experience in the home. However, one major change that has happened in this sector has been very public: the ever-increasing ubiquity of the smartphone and tablet.

While this hasn’t affected the day-to-day of designing and integrating new home automation solutions, it has revolutionized the way in which our clients can interact with their homes. When Steve Jobs first introduced the iPad, he used a key sentence in describing it: “You already know how to use it.” Nearly everyone is now familiar with the interface of a smartphone or tablet, and when you present a person with an app they can use to control all aspects of their home automation system, the learning curve goes down to almost nothing. Now, a family can easily control all aspects of their home from the same device they use to text each other. They don’t have to know about the powerful Crestron system that is running all their smart appliances, they just have to know if they go into the app and tap the screen a few times, the house will be warm when they get home.

This difference in how a homeowner interacts with an automation system is small but significant. Not only does it make it easier to train new clients on how to use all the cool smart features of their home, it also gives rise to a whole new group of potential clientele for companies like us. A person might not know all of the possibilities of home automation, but he may have heard there was a way to control a thermostat with an iPad. That becomes an entry point for a new set of clients. Our goal is then to show him the full potential of what he can do with that device.

The iPad has been around for over 3 years now, and the market for tablets and smartphones is continuing to grow. With it will develop new and fascinating ways in which to interact with the world around us and the devices in our home. At Bliss, we will always be on the lookout for ways to improve the complete experience of our clients, both on the interface side and the back-end. Wherever new technology comes from, you can be assured of one thing: we will always strive to lead the industry in what is possible, making sure our clients are treated only to the best there is to offer in the fields of home theaters and home automation.

“The Crestron Integration Awards honor the year’s most spectacular and innovative system designs,” said Crestron Public Relations Manager, Joyce Essig. “Bliss Home Theaters & Automation utilized our Integrated by Design residential solutions and their extensive experience designing unique control features to design a truly out-of-the-box solution for their client. Bliss has set a new benchmark for Crestron and its capabilities. We’re pleased to award them top accolades for this project.