I recently spoke with Michael Voll of Electronic Systems Designs, ESD for short. Michael is very smart, knowledgeable about electronics and a great guy, but sometimes, when he gets techy, I have no idea what he is talking about. So he graciously offered to try once more, and this time, I think I got it!
Hi Michael. Your company, ESD is multi-faceted…. Tell us about what you do, in layman’s terms.
We are multifaceted, but basically ESD specializes in “systems integration”. We integrate the electronics and technology of the entire home into one, centralized control.
Why is this in demand, why is this important?
Technology in homes is become more complex. When you buy electronics, you also buy the controls that go with them, so you end up with remotes all over your house! There is a remote for your ceiling fan, pool, TV, then there’s the stereo…. It goes on and on. People want a central control for it all.
Yeah, that gets to be a mess. I never could get the remotes right or even find them sometimes!
Exactly! It is better and easier to have one ‘go-to’ location.
How does this fit into the interior design?
With interior design trending toward more clean lined and modern, people want their electronics and their controls to be the same way. A smaller package for everything in one interface. Easy.
What other movements or trends are you seeing in the world of home technology?
Hands down it’s the ‘green movement’. On almost every job now don’t just program lighting we make it more efficient. We call it the “Green Scene”.
Green Scene?
Yeah, we program the system so the lighting automatic dims by 10%. That saves people about 15% on lighting bills and extends bulbs by 50%. It reduces bulbs and acid in landfills plus it improves efficiency in your home. You gotta have a Green Scene!
Yeah! I don’t know that I have a Green Scene. I have to look into that. Actually what pops in my mind is, why don’t people just buy lower wattage bulbs?
Well, sometimes you still need brighter lights, just not on an everyday basis.
So in addition to getting Green, what are the Must Haves that you see in home technology?
Flat Screens still! In bedrooms they are about 32” and then up to 55”- 60”in family rooms. I have one client doing 103” right now! Also HD (high-definition) video distribution is important now. People want HD on their flat screens but not all the boxes that go with it. So we set up one control area but the HD goes to all rooms. It’s great!
What are some of the mistakes Home Owners home electronics?
Easy - not pre-wiring for options they may want to add in the future. If you pre-wire, you are all set for future purchases. Plus, it is a lot cheaper than cutting up your house to add wiring later on.
Another mistake is not going with a reputable company or looking just at the lowest bidder. You get what you pay for! There are a lot of start ups out here who come in low, but they are here today, gone tomorrow.
With electronics, we know there is always something new on the horizon, so look into the future a bit - what about the Must Haves of tomorrow?
I would have to say it is digital streaming of video content. As MP3 revolutionized the music industry the same thing is happening to videos. We wont buy DVD or Blue Rays or any of those. We will be downloading videos to personal storage and saying, ‘remember when we used to have to go to a store to actually buy this”? LOL!
What about phone technology?
Video will be integrated more and more with mobile devices. Not just for entertainment but for communications too. Then in homes we will see the disappearance of the home phone, which is already underway. Whole sections of the Gen X, Gen Y groups, only have I-phones. Telephone jacks and landline phones are disappearing.
Thanks Michael – I appreciate it and I get it!