Behind every intelligence is a brain. For an office or a home to be ‘smart’, it needs a brain. Because automation takes many shapes and forms, the brains of automation systems vary. There are many products for the brains of automation systems. Crestron is the leader in automation and control technology product design and manufacturing. Crestron’s brain, called a processor, is the PRO3. The PRO3 processor features the latest 3-series control engine. It also features six RS-232 communication ports, eight IR control ports, eight relay ports, an Ethernet control port, a LAN communication port, and a USB control port. In the simplest terms, it has every kind of port required to control or communicate with any device you might have in your home or office to integrate with. What’s more is that it has plenty of processing power to manage those communications between devices. Machine communication is another way to think of automation. Brains like Crestron’s PRO3 processor have to be programmed in order to perform these automation and control functions, which adds quite a bit of expense over alternative options, but it also allows for a nearly infinite number of possibilities in how the automation system can operate.
An alternative product to Crestron’s automation and control processor, is a Leviton Omni automation system. Leviton’s Omni automation system is somewhat distinct from Crestron’s in that the processing takes place on the security control board; the security system is the automation system. Leviton’s Omni security panels come in three flavors: Omni LT, Omni IIe, and Omni Pro II, the only differences, really, being the number of controllable devices. While the PRO3 is a controller / processor first and an automation processor second, the Omni panel is a security panel and automation processor in one. While you would normally pair an Omni panel with a PRO3 for a complete, full-featured automation and control system, the Omni panel could be paired with another third-party control system, such as RTI, at a much lower cost. That’s why the Leviton Omni automation product lineup is our go-to for automation systems. The Omni Pro II, as a point of comparison, has five serial communications ports and an Ethernet port, controls up to two-hundred fifty-six UPB lighting dimmer switches for up to thirty-one zones of lighting with one-hundred twenty-eight unique lighting scenes, and monitors up to one-hundred seventy-six security zones, which is something the PRO3 doesn’t do. We are not aware of another single product that does all of this, and we have only scratched the surface of what this automation product can do.
A brain is blind without eyes and lame without limbs. Both Crestron and Leviton manufacture an array of products to sense the environment in much the same way as the body senses its surroundings. Sensors, including occupancy sensors, motion detectors, photocells (daylight sensors), thermostats, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, water / flood detectors, smoke detectors, heat detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, glass break detectors, and door / window contacts, all communicate back to the brain, so the brain can make decisions about how the integrated system should behave, whether it is lighting scenes or alarms. And, of course, the brain is communicating with speakers, TVs, light switches, thermostats, and door locks to adjust the ‘scene’ according to those sensory inputs. Almost any technological product in your home or business can be controlled by the brain in this automated fashion. The brain is also communicating with you, alerting you via a text message of a flooded basement, or receiving commands via the app on your smartphone to turn on the lights. With products for automation, there is never a worry or wonder what is happening in your home or office.
Call 877.738.5572 now to to learn more about products for automation. Fulkra is United States preferred home automation company.