This client wanted nothing more than to enjoy his technology as simply as possible. He had three main requests: keep technology hidden as much as possible to not impact its traditional appearance, make the systems easy to use, and maintain overall reliability.

This amazing home has 24 zones of audio, six TV’s, and four surround sound rooms within. It also houses a high performing media room with a fully hidden installation. The home offers XM radio, a music server, and satellite as well as cable distribution.

We control 17 HVAC zones and two zones of humidity and two zones of fresh air exchange.

The home has several automated subsystems including snowmelt on driveway and walkways, a weather feature accessible on the Crestron touchscreen, and integrated telephone and doorbell system. There are three door stations. When you ring the bell at one of the stations, it rings through the phones, allowing the visitor to speak to the homeowner with the CCTV and showing a visual of the visitor on the TVs and the touchscreen.

The Lutron system acts as the master control for the fresh air exchange system (HRV). The Lutron system triggers the HRV to come on and go off, using an internal time clock, which varies in duration and time of day based on season.

The home has 150 zones of lighting with 36 keypads, both interior and exterior. The exterior lighting is time clock automated and integrated with motion sensors installed at each exterior entrance. When the motion sensor engages, it increases the lighting season for that entrance from 35% to 95%. After 20 minutes of no motion, the lighting scene decreases. An XPanel for remote monitoring and control is also available.

We removed any fan switches in the bathroom. They are part of an HRV system, and when the occupant turn on the lights, it engages the HRV. When they turn off the lights, the HRV stops five minutes after.

We have extended the automation to two out buildings: a boathouse and a separate garage.

The client has six garage doors – none of which can be seen from the house. All the doors are controlled by Lutron. The garage doors and home lights are controlled from the car using a visor control. The visor control has three scene buttons: hello, goodbye, and garage door (since each car tends to park in its own bay). The receiver for the visor controls was installed high in the house for distance access.

We installed sensors on each garage door to offer feedback whether the doors are in a closed state, in order to keep the client aware of garage door status. The client can monitor or activate the garage doors through Lutron keypads or the Crestron Touchscreen, or even remotely through the Xpanel – allowing for others to enter the home. In the garage, we also have wifi and telephone.

In the boathouse, we have audio, lighting, a camera aimed at the boat, wifi at the boathouse and surrounding beach, and telephone. We control the boat lift as well, allowing it to be disengaged for safety and security.

We accomplished this extension of our communication by converting everything to run over multi 25 pair, direct burial category 5 cables. We used Telco grade surge suppression both in the main home and in the out buildings to protect the equipment

This ski house is an eight-suite residence with complete automation throughout. Our company was asked to value engineer this project—in other words, the clients wanted a fully automated home but wanted to be as efficient as possible with where they allocated their money.

Instead of putting a touchscreen in each room, we installed two – one for the first floor and one for the main level. Each touchscreen can control all aspects of the home for all rooms.

Throughout the guest suites, we opted for a conventionally wired electrical scheme utilizing Lutron communicating dimmers and switchers in lieu of Lutron Keypads, which are used in the public and family areas of the home. This saved money and was less intimidating for the guests.

For aesthetic consideration, all of the Crestron thermostats were remoted, located in adjoining closets for all of the private areas. This kept the cost down, the aesthetics intact, and the system simple to operate. In all of the public areas, the thermostats were installed in the mechanical room.

We took care of all of their networking, both wired and wireless, and computer needs: purchased them, set them up, and installed software.

Because the client has multiple properties, an Xpanel played an important role for monitoring and controlling the home when away.

Their main property is located in England. The client wanted to be able to access their favorite English shows, so we installed the Slingbox and the Slingcatcher, integrating them into the Crestron DM system. All Sky TV shows, including the all-important football, can be enjoyed on any of the home’s 1080p displays.

This home has six televisions, nine zones of audio, and a state-of-the-art media room. We installed an in-wall iPod docking station and a Crestron iServer.

We installed a wired and wireless phone system, providing the client with room-to-room communication, intercom interface with the doorbell with the ability to page individual rooms or the entire house.

We interfaced their Crestron system with their security system, HVAC control, Snowmelt System for their pathways and driveway for ease of use.

We installed a Lutron lighting control system and interfaced it with the window controls for the cupola windows, the garage doors, the fireplaces, and the bath fans.

Energy surge and battery back-up protection were installed.

This project is a story of old and new worlds colliding to form a perfect harmony between nature and technology. The clients wanted desperately to live within a peaceful bucolic setting, only giving up their modern conveniences were not an option. They requested easy-to-use, high quality audio and video throughout the home without impeding on their aesthetic design; anything we did must be discrete, consistent, and perfectly coordinated with the architect and designer. The clients used an existing 19th Century old farmhouse, essentially sawed it in half and replaced the back end with completely new construction. We had custom speakers built to snugly fit into the 100 year old ceiling beams.

We are proud of many aspects of this project. We were able to successfully deliver an entirely network-based system, which is fast and dependable. We also are very proud of the shading solutions we provided. The outside landscape was brought into the home’s design by creating a minimalist interior design anchored by large windows. When a visitor arrives, the shades quietly open up revealing the vast outdoors and gardens. The client wanted absolutely no impediments when viewing the outside, including the actual retracted shades. Our team worked with the builder to design and install drapes and shades built into the windows. We actually recessed the drape tracks into the ceiling, because Lutron had never done a project with these requests, so there were unfortunately no specs available for use.

The client wanted a fully integrated, state-of-the-art pool house for his second home in the country. The pool house had to be a separate, fully autonomous structure while simultaneously integrated into the main home. Also, the client and the architect wanted the pool house to have a streamlined appeal with all the technology having minimal visual impact.

The structure of this pool house is all glass, so there is little room to hide the electronics. The electronics were selected for their minimalist aesthetic qualities. Any electronics that didn’t need to be touched by the client were placed in the mechanical room: stereo receiver, sub woofer amplifier, satellite receiver, control system processor, and exterior speaker amplifier.

The LCD, the DVD player, and the center speaker were placed on a very simple, aesthetically pleasing stand.

All the video/audio and control were migrated through two category 5 wires to the equipment room. We worked with our vendor to specialize and manufacture a balun/media convertor to help achieve this. The sub woofer was mounted on top of an enclosed bathroom pod, hidden from view. The exterior speakers were mounted deep in the eaves of the large overhang of the roof also hidden from view. Any of the global audio and video sources from the main home can be accessed from the pool house.

Two remote controls, rather than a touchscreen, were used – interior and exterior. The interior one operates the entertainment systems, the lights, and the windows. The exterior, a weatherproof remote, controls the exterior audio and all functions of the spa.

Even though it is a pool house, located in a 4-season region, it is a 12-month a year building with in-floor radiant heat, controlled through a Crestron thermostat. The pool house is loaded with interior and exterior lighting scenes, controlled from either the pool house or from the main home. An astronomical time clock is utilized.

All of the pool house’s windows are automated with the ability to program them to open and close during certain times of the day, or engaged by either the integrated high-wind sensors, or the initiating of the natural gas cooktop.

The CCTV system is integrated with the display so the client can view camera angles on the TV. The cameras are positioned at the property’s gate, which is controlled through the Crestron remote or through the telephone.

There is a wifi access point mounted in the bathroom giving the client full coverage of wireless access for the entire structure plus the surrounding area.

Finally, the pool house was integrated with the main home so that the client could remotely monitor the functions of both structures when either on vacation or staying at another residence.

This is the client’s dream home, a great camp in the Adirondacks. The goal was to provide a state of the art, fully integrated home while simultaneously maintaining the original historic character. In other words, our equipment must be cleverly hidden and only revealed when needed.

This home boasts 13 surround-sound systems, 5 processors, a media room with an option to enjoy either projector and screen or a large hidden TV, 5 custom hidden and motorized TV’s, motorized and programmable windows and window treatments, and customized integration of varying electronic systems, such as a snow melt systems, fireplaces, and a fish feeding system.

In rooms with mostly windows, designed to maximize the homeowners’ viewing pleasure, where to put the TV became an immediate question. On the first floor, two methods were used. In the main living area with ceiling to floor windows, we designed and installed a lift that raised the TV with a touch of a button from the basement to the first floor next to the fireplace. We also chose to use a freestanding piece of custom cabinetry in the client’s office to hide the TV by raising the top of the cabinet up and out of the furniture.

On the second floor, we needed to come up with another answer. There was very little room in the attic so we stored the TV above the ceiling on its back and flipped it down like a headlight. The end result is probably the sexiest motorization we have done to date.

The glassed in porch area was the nicest part of the home. It still had original mahogany wood from the 1920’s and the clients wanted to do what they could to preserve the porch for the next 100 years. We installed motorized, programmable window shades that worked with an astronomical clock. The shades were programmed to lower during the times when the sun was at its highest, thus protecting the wood from the harmful UV rays. With this service, the homeowners enjoyed a secondary benefit of also helping with energy management costs.

The client came to us with a four-word request, “Make it sound awesome.” Being an audiophile, the sound quality was nothing less than a mandate for us. The client also wanted a dedicated theater space but absolutely did not want a formal space with tiered seating and no way for people to be able to look at each other as well as the screen. He wanted form and function and the result to be, “The opposite of a movie palace.”

There is an old saying when describing greatness, small but mighty. In a nutshell, that is this home theater: small space, big impact. Probably the most noteworthy aspect of this home theater is the amazing and totally customized acoustical treatments. The room is completely acoustically isolated with two levels of sound control.

Ambiance Systems is well known for customized, unique integration solutions. This client wanted to create a relaxed space allowing his guests to enjoy and unwind. Knowing some of his friends are avid cigar smokers, he was concerned with his beautiful new theater smelling of cigar smoke. Our company provided an innovative solution to make both smoker and nonsmoker happy. We installed a smoke sensor and interfaced it with an exhaust fan. When the sensor is engaged, it then engages the exhaust fan automatically. Once the sensor is satisfied, it automatically turns off the fan.

This is a fully integrated home with Lutron lighting control and shade control, House-wide sound using Extron and Wisdom amps, House-wide video by the Crestron DM system, climate control by Crestron, a Cisco network, full security system, and integration of pool and hot tub. Ease of use was extremely important for the client so we made sure he was able to access everything quickly no matter where he is.

Overall the home was able to maintain the architect's original vision of being minimalistic. The construction methods and overall aesthetic created the reality that TV’s and speakers would become elements throughout the project, not to be hidden. Since the same elements and themes were carried throughout the house, there was a consistency in the product we chose.