Frequently Asked Questions
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Smart homes offer a level of convenience, comfort, security, and most importantly privacy that traditional homes simply cannot match. With a smart home, you can control and automate various aspects of your home using your smartphone, tablet, or voice-activated assistant. From adjusting the thermostat and turning on the lights to checking your security cameras and receiving alerts when someone arrives at your front door, a smart home allows you to stay connected and in control at all times.
Plus, a smart home is fun! You get to watch as technology works for you at the touch of a button.
Our full list of devices that we can automate includes: lighting, lighting control, window treatments, audio, video, climate control, home theater, security system, gate, surveillance, networking, appliances, plumbing fixtures, solar panels, pool & spa, sauna, landscape, irrigation, water features, and more.
Drop us a line with the item in question and we can confirm with you if we can integrate it.
To experience our entire array of smart home features, a whole home system install can be as little as $15,000 to over $300,000 for more custom and high-end projects. Single feature sets such as lighting control can be as little as $2,000, or $2,500 for a top of the line wireless security system.
Reach out to us and we can walk through solutions that make the most sense for you and come up with a custom price that fits your budget.
You have A TON of customization power.
If you want to create basic automation events, check out our video on When >> Then, a web-based interface for creating and adjusting your own triggers and automation events.
If you want to explore complex programming, check out this page for more information. You can create scenes and do advanced programming such as nested conditionals, loops, timeclocks, nested triggers, and much more. You can safely have fun experimenting with the craziest ideas you have without breaking the original setup. In fact, the software you would use to do your own programming, Composer Home Edition, is nearly identical to the same software we use to originally set up your system.
Send us an email at hello@upscalent.com with the device and we'll get back to you with its compatibility and a list of programming features available.
Alternatively, you can search online by searching "<your device> control4 integration" to see if other homeowners have experience with it, but you may not find an answer here hence email us for a definitive answer.
Unlike DIY smart homes which rely on cloud service and hence your internet to connect to it for a majority of its functionality, your smart runs on your Local Area Network (LAN). This means that you will not lose the ability to control your home as long as you are still connected to your network—even without a connection to the internet.
Absolutely. Our home security system offers a comprehensive suite of highly-rated security devices from trusted manufacturers like ELK, Qolsys, and Tyco. We use a range of sensors and devices, such as motion detectors, door and window sensors, and glass break detectors to monitor the status of each potential entry point, detect and deter potential intruders, and trigger an alarm.
Best of all, you purchase once and own all the equipment—no monthly fee or contract lock-in to lease the equipment. Your CCTVs also store the full history of all your footage on an NVR in your home so you don't have to pay yet another subscription just to view your footage.
Check our Security & Surveillance page for detailed information about our solutions and let us know when you're ready to secure your home.
The short answer is no.
Because the brain of your smart home sits inside your house, it doesn't need to exchange information with any cloud service. This means that your data does not travel through the public internet which eliminates any chance of data or information being intercepted.
An outsider cannot touch your system without access to your encrypted local network secured by WPA2-PSK or WPA3-PSK and your network password.
So let's say that this talented hacker is able to connect to your local network and broke the latest standard in WiFi encryption. They still won't be able to intercept or control any devices as communication between devices happens over an encrypted connection that no other device can "look into."
If any hacker attempts to access a particular device that is connected to your network, they would need further authentication. When we set up these devices for the first time, we use randomized mix made up of lower and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols up to 100 characters and are stored offsite making it impossible for anyone to crack the password.
Yes.
Your lights can be activated on motion and turn off automatically if there is no motion in the room. Lights don't have to turn on to 100% brightness all the time either. Your lights can be programmed to turn on only to 50% during the day and 90% at night.
Automated shades can help cut your A/C bill and heating bill by automatically opening and closing depending on the time of year, amount of sunlight coming through the window and the temperature of the room. If the A/C is on, the shades can automatically close to help keep the house cool, reducing the time your A/C has to run. Blackout shades in bedrooms can further help keep rooms cooler.
Instead of using regular power strips and surge protectors, we partner with WattBox to bring intelligence that enables power control of individual outlets and advanced control integration. This means that we can shut off power to individual devices such as AV equipment to eliminate standby power draw when not in use, at night, or automatically when you activate the Vacation scene—all without you having to think about it.
You have many ways to control your devices. With a smart home system from us, you get a easy-to-use, unified app that lets you access and control all your integrated smart devices in addition to creating and setting scenes—gone are the days where you have to switch apps to control different devices.
Your universal remote also let's you control your devices from your sofa without needing to pull out your phone.
Tabletop or in-wall touchscreens around the home provide another way for you to quickly control devices or answer the doorbell. Best of all, it has the same universal interface with large buttons as your mobile app.
Add Josh.ai, Alexa, or Google Assistant to your home to add another layer of control. With Josh, you can speak to your home naturally like you would with a friend or family member.
Check out Control Your Home page for detailed information about how easy it is to control your smart home.