Insights & Innovations: The Integrated Home Blog

SurgeX Power Management Solutions Keep Expensive Equipment Safe

If you live in North Carolina, you’ve likely experienced it. The brief summer thunderstorm with heavy lighting took out the power in your neighborhood. When it came back on, some of your electronics didn’t quite work anymore.

Of course, any good audio-video installer (like The Integrated Home) will always protect sensitive and costly equipment in a home theater or media room with a good power conditioning and surge protection system. Clean, stable power is essential for the proper operation of your equipment and to prevent damage from unexpected power surges.

Fortunately, today’s power protection solutions are more sophisticated than ever. The new SurgeX Squid system is one such solution, packing advanced power protection and analytics in a compact package that’s easy to install in your home theater, home office, or anywhere where you need to protect sensitive electronics. Keep reading to learn more about power management and protection solutions for your Charlotte home.

Elevate Your Interior Designs with Smart Lighting

Lighting should be an integral part of interior design. As a design professional, you already know that. But how many projects have you encountered where lighting design has been an afterthought? The lighting may have been functional, but it did little to enhance the home’s aesthetics.

As a designer, you know that making every space look its absolute best depends on lighting as a design component, whether by day or night. You also understand how a room can be transformed from drab to delightful with the right lighting. As experienced home technology integrators in Charlotte, NC, we want to give you another tool in your design bag for showcasing your designs – lighting control systems. Keep reading to see how smart lighting can elevate your next project.

Is it time to upgrade your home media room with a new Sony display?

These days, display technology is evolving and advancing at whiplash speeds. As one of the largest manufacturers of consumer electronics, Sony continues to keep pace year after year with faster, smarter and more intuitive televisions. This year is poised to be one of Sony’s biggest years yet as they introduce the world’s first televisions powered by the Cognitive Processor XR, which replicates the way humans see and hear.

If you’re considering an upgrade to your home media room or home theater in Charlotte, NC, keep reading to peruse Sony’s 2021 lineup and the newest features available on Sony TVs.

AudioControl Amplifiers Deliver Effortless, Efficient Power for Any Audio Setup

If you are into the elevated sound quality of high-performance audio equipment, you likely know about the importance of high-quality amplification. In order to deliver detail, impact, and dynamic range, the best speakers need copious amounts of clean power. They say that power corrupts, but when it comes to audio, insufficient power is a greater problem, resulting in disappointing performance and even damaged speakers in extreme cases.

When it comes to power amplifiers, there are many choices from both well-known brands and lesser-known companies. One company that flies a bit under the radar is AudioControl. This Seattle-based company of audio enthusiasts and engineers has been making high-end components for four decades, putting most of their investment in building great products rather than marketing.

Keep reading to learn more about AudioControl high-performance amplifiers for home theater or multizone audio in your Charlotte, NC home.

The REVI Low-Voltage Lighting Solution is Beautiful, Flexible, and Efficient

As an architect, designer, or home builder, you likely know how LED technology has revolutionized lighting. LED technology has enabled features like tunable lighting, which can vary white color temperature and illuminate with a rainbow of customizable colors. LED lighting is 80% more efficient than incandescent lighting, enabling far more efficient use of energy. And the compact, low heat emission nature of LED has also allowed for new lighting designs and fixtures that other technology can't match.

LED technology’s low energy use allows for low voltage lighting solutions that still provide the brightness and intensity of line voltage lighting. Low voltage has been used in outdoor lighting for years, but only recently with LED technology has it been able to meet the performance criteria for indoor lighting. One of the best solutions in high-performance low-voltage indoor lighting comes from Environmental Lights’ REVI line. Keep reading to learn more about REVI downlighting and how you can use it in your residential lighting design projects in Charlotte, NC.