Review: Habitech takes control at EI Live 2019

EI Live proved a terrific showcase for distributor Habitech and its brands. From home automation solutions to high quality audio, there was something for every project.

If you’re tired of first-fixing for both electrical and AV, only for another company to apply the finishing touches and walk away with most of the cash, Legrand offered a home automation system that will allow you to complete the job. Making its EI Live debut at Habitech’s stand, Legrand’s versatile MyHOME_Up system installs using standard wiring techniques without the need for specialist AV programming. It’s inexpensive to deploy but offers bullet-proof reliability and state-of-the-art control over lighting, heating, distributed audio and door entry from a wide range of décor-matching in-room keypads and a smartphone app.

Aimed at the lucrative developer market and built around a modular DIN-mounted hub in a centralised location, the system can extend to one room or scale to control a large residential house, MDU or hotel. Designing and installing the system doesn’t involve a steep learning curve. MyHOME_Up connects proprietary control modules using a simple 2-core, no topology, free-wired BUS system. It installs on a brutally efficient timescale without the need for whizz-kid programming smarts, and because it’s modular you only install the functionality required. Pick the features and functions that suit your client and add these to your quote, cutting the cost and hassle for your customer by having a single contact for the work while maximising your revenue from the job. Then, when everything is connected, configure the system via the MyHOME_Up app on an iPad.

And of course, backed as it is by Legrand, the beauty of MyHOME_Up extends beyond the control interfaces to provide a coordinated look for every type of wall fitting, including sockets, data ports, and standard switches, to offer glorious style continuity throughout the space. Developers will love this easy interplay of functionality and design.

The Lutron RA2 Select also made its Habitech debut at EI Live. Lutron’s breakthrough wireless lighting control and window treatment platform exploits all the reliability and around 80 per cent of the functionality of its market-leading HomeWorks system at a fraction of the cost, and enhances its easy-to-install wireless appeal with a simple app-driven set-up, designed for millions of new smart home customers.
RA2 Select is a wireless ecosystem of keypads and sensors, in-line dimmers and switches that uses Lutron’s patented and bullet-proof ‘Clear Connect’ network, generated by a tiny processor module and up to four auxiliary repeaters. Save the in-line wiring of dimmers and switches for each light, RA2 Select is plug-and-play. The Main Processor (with a global 9m range) plugs into a wall socket for power and connects to the home network for integration, and the repeaters (each with a similar 9m range) can be added to extend the system for large homes.

The free Lutron RA2 Select app, available for iOS and Android, ties it all together. Simple to install, preconfigured for rapid set-up, and priced to target every smart home customer on the planet, RA2 Select represents a major evolution in mainstream appeal for Lutron and an opportunity for Custom installers to address a wider market profitably with the addition of Lutron’s exclusive wireless window treatments to the system.

In addition, RA2 Select seamlessly integrates with other smart technologies like Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, The Google Assistant, Honeywell Wi-Fi Thermostats, Nest and Sonos, as well as popular home control platforms, including Crestron and Control 4.
Dana Innovations Sonance and iPort

Sonance returned to the show on the Habitech stand with the UK exhibition debut of its new ‘Garden Series’ outdoor speaker range. Offering a perfect balance of performance, versatility and simplicity, the new systems use the brand’s original and familiar sat/sub form-factor, scalable in 4.1 up to 16.2 configurations and with a maximum coverage of 300 sq.ms. Featuring a pivoting knuckle for precise audio directivity and with removable 9-inch ground stakes included, the 2-way 4-inch sat and 10-inch dual voice coil sub go louder with more detail and bandwidth, and make a perfect team with Sonance DSP amplifiers.

Now that the iPad has become the tablet of choice for entertainment and control in millions of homes, offices and restaurants worldwide, there’s a way to integrate it beautifully with every room, keeping it charged and always available.

Part of Habitech’s EI Live line-up, iPort’s range of iPad mounting solutions is used in residences and commercial spaces across the world. Included in the range, iPort’s Surface Mount with Buttons design offers the optimum home control interface by combining the richness of iPad apps with an array of hard-buttons wired to network switches for immediate access to control system functionality. The buttons communicate over a single PoE connection via IP directly to the control system processor. Each engraved button is LED backlit, revealing icons representing key functions of the control system.

A choice of buttons is supplied and custom-engraved buttons can be ordered. Button brightness and colour can be programmed according to application and for added design versatility, a single button space can accommodate a multi-function or single function button. Surface Mount with Buttons is available in six and ten button versions. In addition Surface Mount Bezels can fit flush with the wall using TRUFIG mounting platforms for a flawless integration with décor.

For more news about Habitech and its product portfolio, visit our partner page here.