Insights & Innovations: The Integrated Home Blog

Give Homeowners What They Want & Make Smart Systems Easier to Install

For any new home build, smart technology is now an essential component to consider. But homeowners can be placed in a difficult situation if they move in without proper prewiring. If they would like to install multi-room audio and a security setup in the same system, it will be much more of a headache to open walls and run wires after-the-fact.

So if you’re an architect or builder working with clients who are interested in smart technology and luxury lifestyles, consider a home prewiring installation. Based in Charlotte, NC, we perform low-voltage wiring installations specifically for smart systems. But what is prewiring, and why could your project benefit?  

The Audio & Displays to Enhance Your Movie Showings

Every fall and winter, serious Oscar-contending movies start to hit theaters. Yearly we can expect beautiful cinematography, vibrant sound mixing, and well-written dialogue. Whether you’re watching winners from last year like Green Book or The Favourite or this year’s nominees like Marriage Story, there’s a good way to do it—and then there’s the best way. Want to experience the best way?

Continue reading to learn about the latest home theater technology for your Lake Norman, NC home. With a home theater system that looks and sounds this good, your local cinema owners will be green with envy.  

Have you heard of Wi-Fi 6? It’s the next generation of Wi-Fi, which has faster speeds than ever. While the current Wi-Fi 5 runs on 3.5 Gbps (gigabits per second), Wi-Fi 6’s speeds reach 9.6 Gbps. But the new Wi-Fi offers much more than a speed boost. The way it’s programmed makes it possible to run more devices at once without slowing or crashing your network.

But how? We dive into the ins and outs of Wi-Fi 6 so you can understand all that’s to come in home networking. If your Charlotte, NC house currently includes multiple smart devices, the internet upgrade will be especially beneficial to you.

SEE ALSO: Smart Home System Trends to Watch Out for in 2020

Is It Really Faster?

Although Wi-Fi 6’s maximum speed is 9.6 Gbps, it’s unlikely you’d ever reach or need that speed in the real world. The standard download speed in the US is 72 Mbps—less than 1 percent of Wi-Fi 6’s maximum speeds! But that 9.6 Gbps is valuable because it can be split across a whole network of smart devices. Your router can only communicate with so many gadgets at once, often causing the system to overload. The more in-demand your network is, the more it is going to slow down.

For the majority of the year in North Carolina, we have warm, sunny weather with enviable beaches. But our winters are cold, wet, and dreary, and if you’re an avid golf player in Lake Norman or the surrounding area, you know how hard it is to set aside your clubs for the season. With rain, frost, or snow on the course, you’ll have to either travel south to play or abandon your game.

But just because it’s wintertime, that’s no reason to let your golfing skills slip. With a high-end home golf simulator like GolfZon Vision in your home, you’ll be able to accurately practice your swing and lower your handicap as if your feet were planted on the green. How? Continue reading to learn more.

SEE ALSO: 4 Ways a Home Golf Simulator Will Help Lower Your Handicap

How It Works

For the complete experience, your GolfZon system will include a projector with up to 6,000 lumens of brightness that will shine on a large screen. The high-quality projector supports ultra-realistic settings that will make you feel like you’re really at PGA National.

With the GolfZon Premium setup, two high-speed camera sensors are placed on the ceiling to accurately trace your club’s motion, the impact, and ball movement. This means you can transfer the muscle memory and skills you achieve with the simulator to the real-life golf course. The Standard and Compact models include on-floor or kiosk sensors, which capture movement just as well but are less discreet.

When you go to your local cinema, have you noticed the speakers they use? No, probably not, because professional theaters usually employ architectural speakers—speakers built into the walls and ceiling. If you’re building a home theater system, should you use in-wall speakers too? Continue reading to see how they’ll benefit your Charlotte, NC home theater, and our tips for the best setup.

SEE ALSO: How to Pick the Best ALR Screen for Your Media Room

Why Use Hidden Speakers?

In-wall speakers can make the most of any sized space and are particularly beneficial to smaller home theaters. Since hidden speakers can be installed behind a perforated projector screen, you’ll be able to install a large screen and direct sound straight from the action, enhancing your theater experience. In-wall speakers appear sleek and tidy, making the room look more like a well-planned theater than a space that happens to have speakers and a projector screen.

Brands to Consider

Made in Britain since 1977, Meridian crafts elegant and high-performance audio solutions, including their discreet in-wall loudspeakers. Meridian architectural speakers feature a full range sound with bass extension beyond 50Hz and can be mounted either horizontally or vertically. Its Centre Elevation Technology raises audio to match the video on screen and has a 100mm installation depth.

Monitor Audio, another British manufacturer, creates easy-to-install On-Wall and In-Wall speakers with a variety of grille colors and images to suit your room’s décor. The keyhole fixings for On-Wall and corner brackets on the In-Wall models allow for a wire-free look, connecting cables in the wall captivity from the back.