Open Architecture approach to design

CHC is the only company that offers complete, customized and personal consulting, design and implementation of Open Architecture home automation.  Open architecture automation is the process of integrating differing products from various manufacturers within the home allowing for complete communication in a seamless fashion to meet your needs.  All other companies that are trying to compete in the home automation market will continue to find themselves limited in customizing the needs of today’s homeowners.  Manufacturers like Crestron, Panja, and Vantage have designed Closed Architecture home automation systems that only operate as a single platform, limiting functionality and future upgrades.  While requiring the home owner to purchase all hardware and software from one dealer, these companies will be unable to remain cost competitive because of limited production scales. 

The picture on the right is a graphical representation of an Open Architecture System.

The yellow oval encircles commercial interface boards that communicate between sub-systems.  The blue oval surrounds user specific electronics that can be purchased to be included in a system.  Outside of the blue circle are items that are most likely already being installed in a home.

Click to Enlarge Picture

Open vs. Closed Architecture

The opposite of open architecture is closed architecture, which utilizes a single standard proprietary product to meet all of your home automation needs, but with very limited capabilities of upgrading and expanding your system. 

Closed Architecture/Proprietary systems will always be limited to the products and features the system manufacturer has time to or cares to support.  Systems must be designed to accommodate special wiring needs, the user only has one place to buy their equipment, and if the proprietary manufacturer changes their system or goes out of business, the homeowner is left in a very disadvantageous position.

Open architecture systems are, by definition, not tied to any particular manufacturer or protocol.  Commercial "Open Architecture" control boards have been on the market for years, but they are typically not backed by dealer training, sales incentives, or marketing campaigns.  Thus the only way to become an expert is through experience.  The result of using non-proprietary control hardware is a system that is scalable to accept most manufacturers products, which not only guarantees price reduction through manufacturer competition and off the shelf products, but also assures the infrastructure of your home will never become obsolete.

A perfect example of open vs. closed systems is the ongoing battle of Apple vs. PC computers.  PC's have captured 95% of the computer market because they allow thousands of manufacturers to compete for product features and pricing.  Conversely, Apple has attempted to control the entire system, from hardware to software, creating a closed market that while some may argue is a better product, will never have the global impact of the PC.

Custom Home Control vs. Manufacturers and Dealers

When a manufacturer wants to sell you a product, that’s all they want to sell you…their product.  When a dealer offers you a variety of products to choose from, it usually boils down to how much each manufacturer is kicking-back to the dealership to push their product.  At CHC, our bottom line is not dependent upon the product you choose; instead it’s solely based upon your satisfaction and the end result we create for your needs.  CHC is truly an unbiased consultative provider of home automation design and implementation.  We advise, design and implement award-winning home automation technology customized to your home.  All you have to do is tell us what you are looking for, allow us to consult you on your needs and then sit back and relax.  CHC will coordinate the installation to ensure the implementation of your customized automation is completely successful!  CHC has been consulting, designing and implementing custom home automation for over 16 years!  Innovating your home with yesterday, today and tomorrow’s technology is what CHC does best.   

When going about choosing the product that is right for your home, think of this analogy.  Let’s take a luxury car, for example, Lexus.  When you get into your new Lexus, is everything in that car made from Lexus?   Not so obvious, but the answer is no.  The killer stereo system is made by the world renowned Pioneer, the garage door opener is from HomeLink, the incredible differential is made by Torsen and so on.  Lexus knows it doesn’t focus on ALL things.  It relies on using the best products produced by the best manufacturers and, then to make sense of everything, makes all of these subsystems function seamlessly as to make it seem as if Lexus has created it all themselves.  The same should be true of your home.  There is no manufacturer of home automation that can truly answer your every need or can truly focus on ALL things.  Yet be aware, manufacturers would like to tell you differently as they tout their products.   

Do not limit yourself or your home by choosing a proprietary dealer product representative to consult, design and program your most precious investment!