Call us if you want to create your own Ultimate Man Cave (or just a really convenient smart home).

Any project is only as good as its team members.  These contributors did an amazing job to make the Q95 Ultimate Mancave at the Indianapolis Home Show a huge success:

American Restoration, LLC – Hail, Wind, Fire, and Flood. Before you call your insurance company, call American Restoration! Insurance claims are complicated and can be a huge hassle for homeowners. We’ll take care of all the details and provide top quality repairs. No matter how large or complicated, we can handle anything with our professional and attentive team. Water spots on your ceiling? Get a free inspection to find out why. Overflowing toilet? Let us handle the cleanup! Fireplace went up in flames? We’ll handle your rebuild. When American Restoration has your back, you can spend more time enjoying your Ultimate Man Cave!!

Furniture Fix – Furniture and woodwork restoration.  Repair, refinishing, and restoration of all wood furniture and specialty pieces.

Dream Authentics – Only the coolest home arcade and entertainment systems around.  See DistinctAV for more Dream Authentics solutions.  Dream also makes Pinhedz wall decals.

ICC Floors – Wide selection, excellent pricing, great service.

Value City Furniture – DO NOT move that old loveseat down to the mancave. Men need space between them (something to do with hairy arms I think). Check out the seating solutions from Value City Furniture where cupholders abound!

Selective Systems – When it comes to satellite, you got a Guy? Even I got a Guy. My Guy is any of the installers at Selective Systems. DirecTV is the place to go for sports content and the installers at Selective Systems will ensure your satellite system is installed right. Check out the amazing 2-way remotes from DistinctAV that use the power and flexibility of the DirecTV receivers.

Wooden Concepts – Mancaves can be tough on furniture. Wooden Concepts makes custom tables and furniture that can take the heat of nacho dip and the cold of your favorite beer while still looking great.

Glassworks by Design – Specilizing in glass and window replacements, screen repair. Specialty glass items including etched glass.

Q95 – Where would we be without our daily dose of classic rock and the familiar humor of Bob & Tom Show in the morning? We’d be at NPR! If you have to sit on your tookas all morning, do the healthy thing for your abdominals and laugh your way to work with the Q95 crew.

Sustainable Building Speciailists located in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, recruited DistinctAV to provide the industry’s best home technologies in this special home to achieve incredible convenience at the lowest energy consumption possible. The technology used in this home will be deployed in a larger sustainable community where the collective renewable energy systems will provide even greater reliability, capacity, and availability.

While SBS is constructing the home using the best renewable techniques possible, there are no compromises to performance and luxury. Three suites with equal views, maids quarters, and a planned guest home are all secured by a privacy wall and advanced security system. The pool, water, and waste systems are also automated to provide years of reliable service.

Even the best constructed sustainable home will use more energy if it is operated poorly. Leaving lights and televisions On in unoccupied areas consumes energy with no benefit to the occupants. A door or window left open completely negates the benefits of insulation. Ceiling fans do nothing more than push air around if no one is in the room to enjoy the circulation.

Smart home systems by DistinctAV are far more than simple remotes and status displays. The automation controllers combine information from all the home systems to actively monitor the needs of the occupants, and like a dedicated servant, optimize the environment for the occupants at all times.

Reactive: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Synergy is achieved by integrating all the systems. The de-centralized architecture allows each sub-system to operate reliably. Some controls provide higher-level functions including hand-held or in-wall remotes. The most advanced controller is the automation controller. The automation controller provides high-level decision-making, external communications, and coordination of all the sub-systems.

Cooperative: By gathering data from all the subsystems, the automation controller gains a clear picture of the occupants needs as they go about their daily activities.
Security sensors detect occupancy but so does changing the TV channel. Dormant areas of the home are automatically set to reduced energy modes. Lights are turned down, then off. TVs are turned off. Temperature setpoints are adjusted. The result is tangible energy savings through active demand management.

Proactive: No need to burden the occupant with notifications of energy use. While advanced consumption profiles are available, there is no action necessary on your part other than to select the “mode” of the home. Normal, Entertain, Away, and Dormant are example profiles. Each includes lifestyle-based logic to optimize your experience in the home. Trends are also detected. Instead of lights lagging behind you as you move, they illuminate in front of you as the system anticipates your actions.

Renewable Energy production and storage is considered in the logic. The system modifies the consumption rate based on available energy. When tied into a Smart Grid utility or community power system, it will tweak the home performance to match the needs of the community.

Convenient & Approachable: Minimal yet intuitive interfaces provide easy control over the entertainment systems, lights, temperature control, fans, security systems, and energy management. iPad, iPhone, and other mobile devices extend the controls beyond the property.

Entertaining: What is a home used for once the basic shelter needs are met? Entertainment! A whole-house sound system, High-definition video matrix, and surround sound media system provides many options for your family and visiting friends.

Secure: High-definition cameras and an advanced security system provide reliable coverage of the property while home and away. Advanced event detection and notification rules keep you and support companies informed.

Expandable: Technology changes quickly. The wiring infrastructure will support any current technology and known future systems. The standards-based, modular component design allows individual systems to be upgraded over time without compromising the entire system.

Reliable: A combination of commercial-grade automation controllers and performance based engineering produces what we call “100% apparent uptime”. System problems are automatically detected and self-healed. Remote access for instant support and troubleshooting should a problem not automatically resolve. Local spare parts and support for quick resolution to any equipment failures.

Update 2010-07-12: 1/2 or 1/4 share offered. Own all or just a share of this amazing home. Contact Sustainable Building Specialists at 1-800-760-5223 (US) or [011 506] 8319-9920 in Costa Rica.

The builder is the most detail-oriented, long-term thinker we have ever met, and his quality decisions reach far beyond the obvious. This is a home for anyone who understands how to invest and the value of TCO.

• 7400 Sq ft finished (includes walkout basement)
• Sun custom windows-Low E, Argon, Clad
• Custom solid wood cabinets (Maple in Kitchen, Hickory in laundry/baths)
• Covered brick arched patio with wood beaded ceiling and outdoor fireplace- LP gas
• 10-acre lot (3 grass/2 wooded/5 pasture)
• 20 mature trees in yard (red maples, pears, birches, spruces, redbud)
• 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms (5 full, 2 half-all granite)
• Master suite on main floor
• 4 bedrooms/3 baths upstairs
• 1 bedroom/1 bath-Basement
• 100% hardwood 3 ¼” solid oak and tile floors-No carpet (except theatre)
• Full library/office/cigar lounge with butlers pantry-has smoke evacuation system
• 3 car attached garage-fully finished and trimmed
• Heated tile floors in 4 bathrooms
• Solid wrought iron railing throughout house
• Master suite on main floor with doors to back deck
• 14×28 composite deck with solid iron railing
• Full finished theatre with raised 2 level seating and soundproof walls/ceiling
• 38 total in-wall speakers plus in-wall powered subs in basement and main floor
• Full digital intercom system including all entry points and bedrooms
• Powerful central vacuum system
• Full Security system with 3 exterior cameras
• Entire house is pre-wired for full HD/LAN/Networking/smart home automation products
• Full bar in basement with all granite tops and hidden “mirror TV”
• Full sized billiards room
• Sportsman room
• Huge downstairs “attic” closet in basement
• 1200 bottle wine cellar
• 4 fireplaces (1 wood burner, 3 LP gas)
• 2 separate Geothermal closed loop systems (Water Furnace Envision
• 2×6 exterior walls with polyurethane skim coat foam and Eco-Batt FG (R-25 walls total)
• R-50 BIFG insulation in attic (25 inches)

Noblesville, IN
Offered at $1,599,000

317-430-3477

Because Andy and Jenny have an active family life, and are constantly entertaining guests, we completely changed the configuration of their core components. To simplify the operation of the existing hardware and add flexibility, we added a matrix switch, replaced the security controller, added garage door sensors and triggers, added an automation controller, rebuilt the equipment rack, then programmed all the remotes into a single, cohesive, intuitive solution that’s a dream to use.

Jenny gave Andy an ultimatum: “Fix this or else!” She added “We could not go on vacation without our parents calling us every day asking how to turn the TV on.”

The good new was, the home had sufficient wiring to support almost all the devices and controls. This is extremely rare and we were happy that the few wires we did need to run were relatively easy to fish and no drywall or paint needed to be patched.

Because all the systems are remotely accessible, we replaced the internet router and core networking components to make everything work smoothly and securely. An additional WiFi access point was added to provide better wireless coverage throughout the home.

We also reprogrammed the audio system to correctly utilize the zones, intercom, and monitoring.

Project at-a-glance:
5 HD TV locations
Home theater
3 Satellite receivers
ReQuest Media server delivering 5 streams of playlists and Finetunes internet radio
ReQuest Intelligent Media Client for stored DVD playback
Oppo BluRay located in Living Room for convenience
XBOX 360 (playable in any room)
PS3 (playable in any room)
Parasound ZTuner FM Tuner
2 iPod docks
Home Theater PC connected to all the HD TVs for camera display and surfing
New internet router with automatic failover to 3G broadband card
8 source, 12 zone IP house audio system (NetStreams DigiLinx)
8×8 HD matrix switch
2 RTI T2C ZigBee 2-way color touch screen remotes
2 RTI T4 WiFi 2-way 6″ color touch screen remotes
1 6″ in-wall touch screen controller with full motion video support
Automation controller with remote access
2 IP security cameras
Wireless keyboard and mouse
PC inteface on any TV
Security system and smoke detectors
Data network update with 2 24-port switches
Adding: HVAC, temperature control integrated with automation system
Many advanced luxury “one-touch” macros

Fees:
Complete prewire design including: security, HDTV, house audio, networking, cable/Sat, control.

Cameras: Add 10%
HVAC: Add 10%
BEST Package: Add 10%

Includes:
1 hour phone/web consultation meeting.
1 set of E-Sized color plots (1 per floor).
3 sets of 11×17 color drawings (1 per floor).
1 set of custom-printed Field Label Cards for termination points.
Legend and prewire installation guide.
Estimated installation labor and materials and kit options.

Requires:
Floor plans and elevations in PDF or ACAD R14 (preferred) format.

AS-BUILT drawing updates can be provided at drafting rate ($65/hr) from your markups. Prints provided at cost + $10.

Lighting Control Design
Complete lighting and lighting controls design including fixture placement, fixture sizing, control points, lighting control components.

Contact us for a Quote.

Derek was a guest speaker at the IBA’s Green Building Committee meeting held Tuesday, August 25th. He discussed and answered questions about how smart home systems have a larger impact on total energy consumption of the home by gently affecting the behavior of the occupants and optimally operating the house.

The presentation transcript is available below:

About Derek Cowburn:
20yrs in advanced energy management for Pharmaceutical/Commercial industry. Started DistinctAV five years ago focusing on luxury home automation with services nationwide. Currently writing a book titled “Building from the inside out(TM)”.

Energy Savings:
The biggest energy consumer in the home is the people. A simple consumption meter will tell you that. Watch the energy consumption on an unoccupied house with all the lights, TVs, computers, hairdryers, and music off and the HVAC setback for unoccupied mode versus a vibrant home with kids playing and normal activities going on. A slight change in behavior has a bigger effect on energy use than all the efficiency improvements built-in.

For example, my 4-yr old son constantly leaves the doors open. He was obviously raised in a barn. On a comfortable Spring or Fall morning it’s not a big deal but on a muggy summer afternoon leaving the door open for more than a few seconds will suck the heat and moisture in like a sponge–making the HVAC run for another 30-60 minutes to compensate. This one action far outweighs any insulation and mechanical efficiency gains. Like most kids (and teenaged daughters, I hear) he leaves every light on and most TVs on in the house.

In an integrated smart home, the security system monitors the doors but it also knows the outside temperature and communicates with the thermostats, the audio system, and the data network. If the kids leave the door open when it’s comfortable out, the system tells the thermostats to stay off. This way you don’t pay to cool or heat the outdoors and you can enjoy the fresh air. If the outside conditions are too hot or cold, it makes a polite announcement over the audio system to “close the doors”. Touch a panel to tell it to ignore or simply close the doors and it will re-enable the temperature controls through the stats.

Gas fireplaces often fight with the HVAC systems. People buy the fireplace remotes from the fireplace manufacturer but it is it’s own temperature loop and the HVAC has it’s own control loop with the thermostat so invariably the room has huge, uncomfortable, and costly temperature swings. Tie the fireplace start circuit into the automation and it keeps them coordinated.

2-way status of the TVs in the house when you’re making a selection on the remotes (that control everything in the house) let’s you see which TVs are on–and how long they’ve been on. It’s a gentle reminder that you may not need the other 4 TVs on at the moment so click-click–they’re off without the need to walk into the other rooms.

Lighting controls are a combination of energy savings and luxury. Title 24 is a start by requiring occupancy sensors, dimmers, and high efficiency lighting, but ultimately, a smart and thorough lighting plan and control system will provide energy savings and a better looking environment.

Smart Home Prerequisites:
Prewire-prewire-prewire. I understand that builders are in the business of building new homes, but I feel that people often upgrade because their house is “dull”. There’s a comment that I hear often and it almost makes me sick to think of the waste produced by this kind of thinking: They’ll say “we weren’t planning on living here long but in the next house we build we’ll definitely put in all those smart home things we really want”. If you’re a spec builder or want a reputation for building homes with a plan for the future, prewire appropriately. It’s the only positive return on investment in home electronics other than energy management solutions. Current trends show that buyers in the $500k+ range are looking very closely at amenities, long-term value, and technology capability.

Smart Home Offer:
I’m offering an opportunity to get extra attention, P.R., and as many manufacturer co-ops as possible for a project that is interesting enough and could win a national “green home” award. The house should be holistic from a design/living perspective and interesting with a good story behind it. An owner/builder willing to do some “HGTV-style” interviews/candid video would be ideal but not critical. The actual energy consumption of the house will be remotely monitored and trended using our client monitoring services so you can demonstrate the savings and show real results.

2009-08-16-indianapolis-star-home-section

Check out the answers here or visit the IndyStar.com site.

Well, for all of you who are new to DistinctAV and have a house that is not wired for any of our cool features, today is your lucky day.

DistinctAV now sells SONOS. SONOS was developed by a bunch of really clever people and they figured out how to stream music wirelessly, reliably. The SONOS system also provides intuitive, rich media interfaces in the form of wireless hand-held controllers, iTouch and iPhone apps, and PC and Mac web-based applications.

So if the product was so cool, why didn’t we pick it up until now? It lacked the interfaces to integrate it into other home systems that make it a truly distinctive solution. Before these interfaces, it was simpy a great product that played great music, using really great amplifiers.

But we look at the big picture. If you can’t control your house using one simple remote, then it’s back to the Stone Ages of home operation. If your music system can’t mute when your doorbell rings, then your guests waiting at the door are going to be offended while you’re out playing by the pool.

There’s so many great uses for a whole-house audio system that go way beyond just playing music. Why not get all those features for the same price?

Contact Us today for a demonstration of this incredible system or visit www.Sonos.com for more info.

We calculated that it is a better investment to buy a good Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) with surge protection than it is to buy an Extended Warrantee.  Considering the cost and time to replace a TV or recover lost computer files, you’ll see why Benjamin Franklin said “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.  And this guy practically invented electricity!

DistinctAV power management solutions go beyond single-minded answers.  We choose from hundreds of products to design the best solution for your specific needs anywhere in your home and office.  Our holistic approach means you can solve more than one problem at a time.

For example, our UPS solutions can shut off individual loads that are not being used.  This saves energy and also increases the “on battery” time when you get a really bad outage.

Through September, 2009, we’re offering 10% off all UPS solutions as part of an engineered solution.

All this means you’re not spending money willy-nilly.  Our long-term approach means each project builds on the prior projects to attain a convenient, reliable, feature-rich, and efficient home.

Contact Us today to schedule an in-home assessment and start to build your plan for a bright, reliable future!

5/19/2009, MCCORDSVILLE, INDIANA

When Cambridge resident and local TV and Radio personality Pat Carlini decided to make her home ‘smart’ for her family of 5, she enlisted the help of the electronic systems integrators at DistinctAV.

The theater and pre-wire was the first part of a whole-house upgrade plan to evolve the home to add Smart Home features, a technology where all the built-in electronics can be controlled from simple remotes, laptops, cell phones, any number of in-wall touch screens, and the home “brain” controller. Her husband, John Miller, wanted lots of features for entertaining throughout the house, but was concerned about the reliability of these complex systems.  “I didn’t want part of my house to not work.  We use every room and with my schedule I didn’t want to spend time troubleshooting it” says Miller.

These were the first steps in a long-term plan Derek Cowburn developed to reach the Millers’ goal of consistent convenience, luxury, and efficiency.  “We know some clients don’t want to do all the upgrades at once so we design a plan where each project adds to the overall system capabilities.”  Derek and his family also reside in Cambridge since moving to Indiana in 2002 from New Jersey.

“I knew Pat & John from various get-togethers around the neighborhood”, Cowburn says. “When Pat asked us to look at her basement project my designer came back to the office and said ‘That’s Pat Carlini!’  I said ‘Who’s Pat Carlini?’”  Not being from Indiana, Derek didn’t recognize such a well-known local personality.  He laughs now recalling “I guess I should have known better after seeing all the Bob & Tom and NBC-TV memorabilia–I thought she was a big fan!  Interior Design requires a lot of focus and imagination so it really gets my gears turning sometimes.”

Cowburn also points out that “Total Cost of Ownership is what counts when you’re looking to save money.  A system that is not maintained will go unused, and that’s an enormous waste of resources.” Monitored solutions by DistinctAV keep their clients systems running like new.  “It’s impressive how they [DistinctAV] can connect into our home and diagnose issues within minutes” says Carlini.  “I’ve received an email telling me there was a problem but it was fixed before we even noticed it.  It’s all part of the affordable service plan and I don’t have to worry about it.”

You don’t have to compromise on style when adding smart home features.  Pat, who loves the latest design trends, had her style wishes granted with leopard print fabric in the two rows of custom theater seating and carpeting, a tropical fish tank screensaver that turns into a 106 inch virtual fish tank, and the animated cheetah which appears on the ‘please wait’ pages of the remote control.  The basement project won the prestigious 2009 Electronic House Magazine Home Theater of the Year in the $25,000-$50,000 category.

When asked about the award, Derek said “Although our specialty is whole house systems, winning this category is ideal beause it’s well within the budget of many households and people can easily relate to a home theater.  We had so much fun working on this project with Pat and John.  They both have great opinions and involved the whole family along the way.”

With all the TVs running, the Millers can run up quite an electric bill.  In addition to showing Pat’s favorite weather maps and airport delays, the touch screens show which TVs are on and how long they’ve been running.  Pat says “It’s so convenient to leave the house and press the button from my keychain.  It activates the security and turns off all the electronics.  No more running around the house!  It even closes the garage door after we leave.”

Cowburn points out that “Reducing energy usage is half equipment and half about adjusting occupant behavior.  You can build an Energy Star, LEED-certified, high-scoring USGBC home but operate it wastefully and still use more energy than poorly built homes.  Automation is the key but it has to be done right or people will get frustrated with it and disable or bypass it.  It’s tough to avoid the gimmicks because they sound so good—at first.”

Derek should know.  He’s been designing advanced automation systems for Pharmaceutical facilities for almost 20 years.  “I applied all my commercial and industrial experience to the residential designs.  The monitoring service is even more advanced than my commercial solutions and had to be done at a fraction of the cost to have a positive ROI for residences.”  The displays and interfaces provide gentle feedback to let the homeowners know there are potential savings opportunities and the automation controller and sensors take care of the mundane energy management activities.

When asked what’s next for DistinctAV, Cowburn says “My primary role is to analyze new products and integrate the ones that really work well into the DistinctAV solution set.  I work directly with several product manufacturers to help them improve their products to give our systems some unique abilities.  I also provide most of the project design consulting with our clients–which is the part I love most because people really respond when they know you care so much about their needs and their home.”

More information on this project including ways to Green your home ‘the Smart Home way’, is available at http://www.distinctav.com.  For additional information on Electronic House Magazine visit http://www.electronichouse.com or Winner Article.

ABOUT DistinctAV – DistinctAV is a custom electronics systems integrator that makes homes and offices convenient, efficient, and secure to operate.  Thoughtfully engineered systems are efficiently designed, programmed, tested, delivered, installed, and supported across the U.S.

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