Crestron vs Control4
This site contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
There are two Sensible House techniques that we use at NV Integration – by buying the mandatory {hardware} and software program, after which customising them to every mission: Crestron and Control4.
Each techniques are able to finishing up the Sensible House capabilities you might be conscious of: lighting management, high-quality audio and video streaming, safety integration and bespoke integrations with third social gathering gadgets. Nonetheless these Sensible House techniques can go far past these easy capabilities.
Learn on beneath to find out about every system, and which one would possibly stand out on your subsequent dwelling or mission.
Interface & Ease of Use
Control4: The way in which that Control4 seems to be and feels is commonplace throughout all gadgets, whether or not it’s a touchscreen, pill, or cellular app. The interface has been purposely designed for ease of use, and velocity of deployment. With easy navigation to instructions, and a vibrant interface. Owners will be capable of use this method intuitively with out the necessity for prior coaching.
Nonetheless, you can not customise this interface. You won’t be able to vary layouts, icons or customise the house web page with buttons for a selected request or command that isn’t inside the template.
Crestron: For Creston techniques there are differing techniques that we will use, relying on the dimensions and scope of the mission: Crestron Customized, and Crestron House.
Crestron Customized is a totally bespoke system the place the interface is constructed from scratch for every mission by our in-house crew. This implies the interface will be capable of show as a lot or as little info as you need it too – making it tailor made for the purchasers preferences. At NV Integration we’ve got Crestron templates we’ve got refined for one of the best person expertise in residential properties, and may supply various kinds to go well with.
Left: Crestron House Interface | Proper: Control4 Interface
Crestron House is a brand new working system for small to mid-sized high-end residential. Their interface resembles iOS in design and expertise. With a clean, smooth structure, it’s going to simply mix into the background of a house with luxurious inside design. The feel and appear of the structure just isn’t bespoke, making it extra constricted on this space, however significantly sooner and cheaper to program and fee due to it.
Creston House is a comparatively new product to the market. Which means that the third social gathering integration prospects are at present extra restricted, albeit increasing rapidly; and it’s possible you’ll discover that restricts the probabilities of utilizing Crestron House, or simply having extra restricted selections over what and the way you combine it with different techniques.
Control4’s interface and controls may be customised to an extent. Much like Apple’s iOS there are set instructions and management over gadgets, with various levels of customisation for third social gathering gadgets. Control4 have closely invested in integrating third social gathering gadgets, with a big library of drivers to allow integration with the opposite techniques within the dwelling – similar to Nest or Heatmiser heating techniques.
Creston Customized, as we talked about earlier, is a totally customisable system. So each structure, color, fonts, and icons may be modified. However this additionally implies that each interplay between gadgets may be programmed to work extra effectively – making the mixing prospects limitless. As we’ve got put in increasingly more Crestron Customized techniques we’ve got discovered what works and doesn’t, and have refined our person expertise for householders.
As Crestron is a programmable system, we’re capable of accommodate your particular requests. For instance, a morning scene can encompass: shades opening, the TV will activate to a information channel at a set quantity, air flow brings recent air right into a room, and tuneable lighting will emit a color tone just like the early morning solar, which tells your physique to awake.
Moreover, Crestron Customized has scalability built-in. Whether or not your own home is a small condo in Central London or an enormous manor within the home-counties. Crestron Customized will work for any dimension dwelling and with extra agility thanks for the bespoke layouts, in comparison with Control4.
Creston House sits in the center between a totally customisable system, and a set system like Control4. There may be customisation in Crestron House in addition to programmable options to present householders a singular tailor-made dwelling expertise.
third Celebration Integration
Control4 has invested closely in integrating third social gathering merchandise and may combine with hundreds of merchandise and techniques from firms like Google, Sonos, Lutron, Amazon, and KNX. For these merchandise, to work there are drivers which permit for the gadgets to speak with one another.
Crestron Customized, the smarter the machine is the extra management Crestron can have over it. As Crestron requires a programmer, gadgets are coded collectively to work seamlessly collectively – and the one limitation is actually the limitation of the machine that Crestron is integrating with. For instance think about a easy doorbell that rings, in comparison with a full color video entry system with audio, door launch, and notifications.
Out of the 2 techniques, Crestron has a transparent benefit as extra management over gadgets can merely be programmed, and offered in a manner which is tailor-made to the machine – i.e. a motorised blind or curtain will seem fully completely different on a web page in a manner that’s intuitive to the person, in comparison with a lighting circuit.
Left: Control4 & Alexa | Proper: Crestron & Sonos One with Synthetic Assistant Alexa/Google House
Click on right here to Learn the way Alexa and Crestron work collectively
Safety
Each techniques are capable of combine with safety techniques and performance very properly. With the ability to combine into cameras with stay feeds, door and gate entry in addition to perimeter sensors and alarms. Control4 has an edge right here by providing a bigger vary of door techniques that they’ll talk with, however probably the most dependable choices work with each.
Control4 have a safety system constructed into their working system in order that it may be set-up rapidly, and accessed simply. They’ve spent numerous effort ensuring the safety interface is easy and intuitive so householders can entry safety feeds as rapidly as doable, through a safe cloud connection, with out having to first entry a VPN.
Control4 Safety Interface and Door Entry Resolution
Learn extra about Sensible House Safety right here
Tabletop, in-wall contact screens and cellular apps additionally perform as door entry techniques permitting householders to regulate and work together with individuals at their entrance door from anyplace.
Equally, Crestron presents a safety system that integrates immediately with safety techniques. Crestron House and the normal Crestron system each may be programmed with quite a lot of gadgets, similar to cameras door entry, sensors and alarms to offer a sturdy and dependable system of safety – for instance, displaying photos from the CCTV cameras on TV screens when the doorbell rings.
Crestron House Safety Interface with 2N Door Entry Resolution
HVAC & BMS
Heating Air flow & air con (HVAC) are important components of the house to create a snug setting for householders. Crestron and Control4 can each combine with HVAC techniques. KNX is a scalable constructing administration system that NV Integration use for controlling HVAC; it unifies all the completely different heating and cooling sources within the dwelling, and permits us to show that info in a constant manner for every room.
As KNX is a goal constructed constructing administration system, it permits extra management than if Crestron or Control4 had been to combine immediately with the heating or cooling techniques, and gives a clear line of demarkation for future servicing and upkeep.
Each good dwelling techniques can talk with KNX for the most typical instructions: similar to studying or setting room temperatures, or the mode of local weather between heating and cooling.
For this part the factors should go to Crestron nevertheless, as a result of ought to the home-owner need to add any perform over and above Control4’s limitations – for instance a button to activate or off the recent water then this isn’t simply achievable inside Control4, because of their fastened structure.
Left: Control4 Interface for HVAC | Proper: Crestron Interface for HVAC
How large are you able to go?
Control4 and Crestron are extra than simply software program. They require {hardware} in order that gadgets like TVs, audio system and lighting can join and talk collectively. This {hardware} is saved in a central location and connects to each machine within the dwelling that must be managed by a sensible dwelling working system.
Typically the bigger the house the extra tools you have to management all of the gadgets. For instance, an condo in London could solely have a few rooms which have TVs, audio system and Wi-Fi entry factors. Whereas a Manor Home could have as many as 50 rooms with the identical gadgets, due to this fact it could require extra tools to attach and management these gadgets collectively.
Crestron was initially constructed as an enterprise answer for big firms, so scaling for properties isn’t a problem and requires the identical stage of {hardware} to deal with the number of tools within the dwelling. Control4, have actually focused themselves at a quantity market, promoting a handful of gadgets, to a wider base that may afford the smaller outlay – so in relation to the bigger tasks, we usually see Crestron because the go-to.
Left: Palatial Penthouse | Proper: Siam Sensible Home
{Hardware}
On the purpose of {hardware} Crestron and Control4 manufacture their very own tools in-house – making compatibility and management assured. Control4 has lately merged with SnapAV, which within the coming years will give them an infinite arsenal of {hardware} to make use of in addition to extra manufacturing capabilities.
Nonetheless, Crestron which has been round for over 50 years has a devoted manufacturing crew that places all of their merchandise by rigorous testing. Excessive heating and cooling, drop and stress testing, overloading software program. They’re consistently updating their product strains, and stay the business chief in ‘first to market’ innovation.
On common {hardware} fails are because of improper set up, lack of deliberate servicing, or useable product lifecycle expiration. This lifecycle is likely one of the biggest good dwelling questions, and varies from machine to machine. For instance an in-ceiling speaker could be good to final 15+ years, nevertheless a flatscreen TV would probably get replaced extra often because the know-how advances.
Left: Palatial Penthouse | Proper: Kensington Terrace
Lighting
Sensible Lighting is probably the most requested characteristic of the good dwelling. It’s now one of many high 3 good applied sciences customers personal, and since 2015 the variety of customers who’ve purchased good lighting has elevated by 40%.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SMART LIGHTING HERE
At NV Iintegration we will work with each Crestron and Control4’s lighting options. Each are very highly effective and add worth in comparison with a easy mild change, nevertheless often we want to make use of a Lutron HomeWorks lighting management system, for this a part of the scope.
One of many greatest causes we like Lutron is the engineering high quality – and this exhibits of their reliability, and the standard of their keypads. Nonetheless a properly designed lighting management system can accomplish that far more with lighting – and whichever system you select it’s going to flawlessly combine with Control4, and Crestron so it may be displayed and operated from touchscreens and cellular gadgets.
Lutron goes past simply controlling lighting and may take management of window therapies, like blinds, shades and curtains. They’ve an enormous vary of luxurious materials that to go well with the inside scheme.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SMART WINDOW TREATMENTS HERE
Left: Lennox Luxurious | Proper: Palatial Penthouse
Conclusion
Each Crestron and Control4 will do the necessities in your house; controlling media, safety, lighting and HVAC techniques. Control4 boasts a extra fundamental and easy interface with restricted customisation; whereas Crestron has a extra highly effective system that enables for bespoke floor up customisation and integration with any machine.
In case you are glad with a Sensible House that does the fundamentals, then Control4 could also be best for you. Nonetheless, if you’re in search of a tailor-made answer then we really feel that Crestron Customized or Crestron House is one of the best system to take management of your good dwelling wants.
An important take-away from this text is that our skilled gross sales consultants are right here that can assist you determine which good house is best for you. Get in contact and begin the dialogue in growing your good dwelling journey with us.
Contact us right this moment to search out out which system is best for you.
