Getting a home theater can be a daunting experience. You’ll want to recreate that perfect movie experience with immersion in sound so that it feels like you’re in the action. You’ll want to thrill with your kids as you jump out of your seats as the monster leaps out in front of the hero or heroine. The range of options to get there can be dazzling and confusing, and it takes a fair amount of skill to assemble even the most expensive of systems to give great audio.
The good news of course is that you don’t have to do it all yourself. Reputable home theater integration providers will take all the hard work away from you so that all you need to do is get the popcorn ready and choose which seat to grab on the couch.
Custom home theater design companies employ skilled engineers with years of experience at getting everything just right for families like yours. They will understand how everything affects the movie lover’s pleasure and make sure your home theater is perfect for your needs.
The engineers take into account the dimensions of your viewing room, the way the seats are arranged, select the right audio components including amplifier, speakers, bass units, cables, etc. and find the ideal projector and screen, all taking your budget into account.
If you don’t have the space for a dedicated home theater, you can consider the construction of a dual purpose media room instead using space saving technologies that won’t overpower your living space when it’s not in use.
Install a custom design home theater and your family can enjoy the latest blockbusters without leaving the comfort of your own home.
Home automation offers people a great range of simple and convenient money and time saving benefits, as well as potential security benefits and along with this growing trend more and more folks are turning to central vacuum systems for the amazing benefits they can offer a home owner and their family.
Current research suggests that the air quality in your home is often worse than the quality of the air outside of it! Why is that? Because of the opportunities for mischief present in a home – trapped moisture, pet hairs, insects, output from electrical appliances, the materials used in cleaning products, dirt, mites, and many other things we don’t normally consider. This can be bad news for people who suffer from asthma or allergies.
A central vacuum system offers a real advantage to these families, because unlike ordinary vacuum systems a central vacuum system will not recycle dust and other potential allergy causing particles in the air of your home. The system works by filtering the air in your home through tubing placed behind the walls, and sucking in air through inlets in each room. This air is then expelled outside of your house and doesn’t allow those allergens to stay in the air inside.
Recent studies at the University of California have demonstrated that a central vacuum system can and will provide relief from discomfort and symptoms for asthma and allergy sufferers. What better reason could you have for investing in a central vacuum system? It’s a fully automated process so once you’ve had it installed you can forget about it and just enjoy the clean fresh air inside your home.
Home automation technology has come a long way in recent years. As technological advances are made and prices for equipment come down, homeowners are finding more and more ways to use home automation to increase safety, improve comfort, and enhance their quality of life. From simple systems that automatically adjust temperatures or turn lights on and off to fully integrated home automation systems that control lighting, audio visual, heat and air, security, and other systems with remote access, home automation provides, comfort, convenience, and security.
One of the many benefits of home automation is its potential for energy savings. Reducing energy consumption not only saves you money on your energy bills, it also reduces the impact on the environment. Home automation can help you reduce your home’s carbon footprint will lowering your energy costs.
There are almost an unlimited number of ways to automate your home for reduced energy consumption. Lighting controllers can be programmed to automatically turn on the lights when you arrive home, to turn the lights in a room on as you enter and off if it is unoccupied, to replicate your usage pattern to give the appearance that someone is home, and to control the brightness of any or all of your lights.
Power controllers turn appliances off automatically and save energy but cutting off all power to the appliance. Many appliances continue to use power even when they are turned off. A power controller can eliminate this usage and save you energy.
Climate controls can reduce energy consumption by adjusting the temperature setting your home according to your usage patterns. Your home is kept at a comfortable temperature when it is occupied, and at an energy saving temperature when you are away or asleep.
These are just a few of the many ways that home automation can help you save energy and do your part for the environment. Your home automation contractor can help you with these and other energy saving ideas.
Advances in biometric technology have made biometric based security systems available to the homeowner seeking enhanced levels of security for their homes. Biometric security systems include fingerprint scanners, facial recognition technology, iris scanners, and palm readers. Fingerprint scanners and other biometric security devices are now widely used on laptop computers, vehicle entry, ignition, and alarms, and in home security systems.
When used in your home, can operate garage doors or gates, exterior access doors, or access to certain areas of your home. They can also be incorporated into your home automation system and your home security system. Fingerprint scanners can be used to activate almost any device such as a television, computer, lighting, and so on.
One of the primary benefits of a fingerprint scanner is that you don’t have to remember any pass code or carry a key or access card. Pass codes can be forgotten or compromised and keys and access cards can be lost or stolen. Not so with a fingerprint scanner. You will always have what you need right at your fingertip!
Fingerprint scanners can store multiple user prints so you can carefully control who has access to your home or areas within your home. In addition, a fingerprint scanner provides a record of who accessed an area and when.
The two common types of scanners are optical scanners that use photo imaging and capacitive scanners that rely on electrical impulses. Optical scanners are less secure than capacitive scanners because they are more easily fooled by an image of your fingerprint. Like any other type of security device, fingerprint scanners are not 100% foolproof. However, they can be a valuable enhancement to your security system.
Motion detectors play an important role in many home and business security systems and home and business automation systems. For most businesses and homeowners, motion sensing outdoor lighting is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of motion detectors, but in addition to security motion detectors have many more applications including energy savings, home automation, and remote monitoring.
Outdoor motion activated lighting detects motion outside of your home or business and illuminates the area, increasing personal safety as family members and employees enter or leave the premises. The illumination also discourages would be intruders. In addition, the lighting is programmed to turn off automatically after a set period of time, saving energy costs.
Outdoor motion sensors can be used in additional security applications such as monitoring driveways and entryways or other areas around your home or commercial facility and sending an alert when vehicles or visitors are arriving at your home or business or entering one of these areas.
Indoors, motions detectors can be integrated with your security system to sound the alarm when unwanted intruders are detected inside your home or business. In addition, motion detectors are used as occupancy sensors to automatically activate and extinguish lights or other appliances. They save energy by automatically ensuring that the lights or appliances are only turned on when needed.
Motion detectors can also integrated with remote monitoring systems to help monitor elderly family members, babies, or to keep an eye on your home or office while you are away. Talk to an experienced security and automation company about how motion detectors can help meet your needs.
Home alarm systems are a great way to provide security and protection for your home and family. Home alarm systems deter unwanted intruders and are an excellent tool to quickly summon the authorities in the event of a break-in or other emergency.
However, no matter how sophisticated your home alarm system is, it is only as good as the alarm monitoring company. An alarm monitoring company with excellent service and support will enhance the level of protection provided by your home alarm system while a poor company will detract from it. Therefore, you should choose your home alarm monitoring company carefully.
One common mistake made by many homeowners is to choose a residential home alarm service based solely on price. While price is important and you don’t want to feel like you are getting ripped off, keep in mind that the cost of hiring employees and buying and maintaining top quality monitoring equipment and facilities are about the same for most home alarm monitoring companies.
Alarm monitoring companies that offer ultra low rates are cutting corners somewhere. They may be relying on older, inferior monitoring equipment or paying their employees less than other companies and as a result they probably have a difficult time attracting and retaining high quality workers. They may also overload their employees which means your alarm may not get the immediate attention that you need.
Look for a company with an excellent local reputation. Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations and check online reviews. Remember to read these reviews with some skepticism because you don’t know who posted them, but you can often get a consensus if there are more than just a few reviews.
See if the company has a local monitoring station or whether the monitoring is done from outside yoru area. Finally, make sure your existing equipment is compatible with the alarm monitoring company. Some monitoring companies only monitor their own equipment while others have the capability to monitor all types of home security systems.
Homeowners throughout Louisiana are still dealing with the effects of severe flooding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the other hurricanes and storms that followed. Numerous programs have been implemented by federal and state authorities to assist in the ongoing recovery effort. Homeowners with homes that are at risk of flooding may be eligible for grants and other funding to protect against future flood damage.
There are a variety of ways to protect a home against flood damage, but the most effective method is to permanently raise the home above the level of anticipated floodwaters. Called a home elevation, this process is fast becoming the flood protection technique of choice in many areas of coastal Louisiana. The process consists of lifting an existing home and installing a new foundation or pilings underneath the home.
Almost any type of home can be raised by an expert home elevation contractor. In the past, the cost of a home elevation put the process out of reach of the majority of homeowners, but thanks to the availability of disaster recovery funding, qualified homeowners can have their homes elevated at little or no cost to them.
One of the funding options is the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program that provides funding for homeowners who participated in the Road Home Program and chose Option One (staying in their home). There are additional requirements for eligibility and further complicated regulations that must be followed in order to qualify for funding. The best way to ensure you are qualified and that your home elevation complies with all regulations and requirements necessary to receive funding is to have your home elevation done by an experienced home elevation contractor.
If you are one of the many Louisiana homeowners considering a home elevation to protect your home against future flood damage, you are probably concerned about the cost. A home elevation is a big, complex job. To do it properly without causing unnecessary damage, you will need to hire an experienced home elevation contractor with state of the art equipment. There is no question that a well-executed home elevation by an experienced professional home elevation contractor requires a significant investment.
Among the costs involved are architectural costs to design the new foundation and other improvements. A structural engineer will be needed to sign off on the elevation plan. Permits must be obtained from the local authorities. There will be contractor’s fee for the work, the cost of materials to build the foundation, and excavation and demolition of the existing foundation. There may also be costs incurred for disconnection and reconnecting to the utilities including gas, electric, water, cable, and telephone.
The good news is that many Louisiana homeowners may qualify for house raising financing through one or more of the federal and state flood damage mitigation programs such as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, Severe Repetitive Loss Program, Increased Cost of Compliance, Louisiana Road Home Program and others.
Many qualified homeowners have had the entire cost of their home elevation paid through taking advantage of these funding options. That’s right – in many cases, the entire cost of a professional home elevation by an experienced home elevation contractor is covered by grants received through one or more of these programs.
To find out more about these programs and whether you qualify, contact a reputable home elevation contractor who provides assistance with grant applications.
As golf carts become increasing popular modes of transportation in golf communities, planned communities, and retirement communities they are also becoming increasingly popular targets for thieves. Golf cart theft is on the rise due to a high demand for golf carts and the fact that they make relatively easy targets.
Used golf carts can sell for anywhere from a few thousand dollars to over ten thousand dollars for custom golf cart. In addition, the demand for golf cart parts makes it easy to strip a cart and sell the parts on the internet to unsuspecting buyers.
A golf cart left unsecured is easy for a thief to steal. They are light enough and small enough to be easily and quietly loaded onto a pickup truck, a trailer, or into a box truck. To keep your golf cart from becoming a statistic, you should take a few simple security measures. These will not guarantee your golf cart won’t be stolen, but in most cases thieves are opportunists. If your golf cart has some security measures that make it more difficult to steal, the thieves are likely to move on to an easier target.
At your home, securing the golf cart inside your garage not only makes the golf cart harder to steal, but also keeps it out of sight of would be thieves. If you cannot park your golf cart in a garage, or to secure it away from home, golf cart alarms are available that work just like a car alarm. Your local golf cart dealer can help you choose and install a good alarm for your golf cart.
Alternatively, you can use a chain or cable to lock the cart to a secure object like you would lock up a bicycle. You can also chain the steering wheel in the turned position which makes it more difficult to load the golf cart on a truck or trailer.
Implementing a few simple security measures will help you avoid becoming the victim of golf cart theft.
As golf carts become increasingly popular forms of transportation, golf cart accidents have risen correspondingly. Not only do more golf carts in use equal more golf cart accidents, but these days many golf carts can travel at significantly higher speeds than traditional golf carts found on golf courses around the country.
First, watch your speed when driving a golf cart. You don’t have to drive the golf cart at top speed all the time. Slow down when common sense says that the conditions warrant a slower speed. You will have more time to react to the unexpected. Also, just like any vehicle, it is easy to lose control of a golf cart traveling at high speed.
Don’t overload the vehicle by carrying more passengers than it was designed to carry. The easy rule of thumb is there should be one seat for each passenger. If your golf cart only has four seats, don’t carry more than four passengers. Overloading a golf cart makes it difficult to control. Both steering and braking are severely affected by an overloaded golf cart.
Keep your eyes on the road. This should go without saying, but golf carts tend to be used in scenic areas and it is all too easy to get distracted. A child, animal, or vehicle can jump out in front of you without warning.
Finally, be sure to keep your golf cart maintenance up to date by an experienced golf cart repair shop. A well maintained golf cart is less likely to have blowout or other mechanical failure that could lead to an accident.
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