Control4 Smart Home

How many remote controls are needed to operate your home entertainment?  More than one?  If so, that's a good place to start with Control4.  It's a great universal controller of home entertainment, and not just for one room, but for all rooms, TV's and speakers.

Expand the home control to lighting, shades, and climate, and you have one-touch control of all of them together.

You can start as big or small as you'd like, but Control4 is right for anyone who would like to make things easier and more comfortable within their home and lifestyle.

Yes!

One of the great features of Control4 is that you're not locked into a relationship with a bad integrator.  If you've been let down by another company, any Control4 dealer can help you with updates and service to your system, and Amp AV would like to be your go-to resource for your home technology.

OS 3 was released in 2018 and rendered controllers from prior to 2015 as only able to be used as subordinates to newer controllers, so basically OS3 requires a controller from late 2015 (EA series) or newer (Core series released in 2022).

If you wish to take advantage of control and integration capabilities with new entertainment equipment and peripheral devices, or if you wish to have the better OS 3 user interface, then upgrading your system is recommended.  

Newer hardware will offer other advantages as well, such as faster processing, higher fidelity audio streaming, Z-wave 3rd party integrations, etc.

Within your Control4 user account you have the ability to select your preferred authorized dealer and to give them access to remotely program and adjust your home system.

This is helpful for troubleshooting and for making minor adjustments to lighting settings, initial room-on volume levels, setting up scenes and schedules, etc.

Control4 offers an optional 4Sight subscription which is billed annually.  This subscription allows for remote access to the home via the Control4 mobile app.

A Control4 system always allows local control from the app when you are at home connected to WiFi.  When you are away from home, you will not be able to operate the system unless you subscribe to 4Sight.

4Sight is especially useful for lighting, pool, HVAC, and gate control while away from home, as well as arming and disarming the alarm system.

Control4 will send reminder emails to prompt you to renew the subscription when due, or you can log into your my.control4.com account and enable auto-renewal.

As the homeowner, you have the ability to fire your Control4 dealer and use another one to service your system.

Any Control4 dealer whom you allow into your home and give network access to will have the ability to take over as your service provider and make any necessary changes.  We sincerely hope that you consider Amp AV as your preferred Control4 service provider.

Through the my.control4.com web portal, you can also choose your dealer and give them remote access to your system for offsite troubleshooting and assistance.

This will come down to the level of tech-savviness that you possess, and understanding of programming logic.  By no means do you need to program lines of code, but a general understanding of "if, then" logic will be required.

The software possessed by dealers to program the Control4 system is called Composer Pro.  There is, however, a homeowner version of the software called Composer Home Edition, or Composer HE.  It has all of the features of Composer Pro that are required to determine what happens after you do X.  This makes it possible for you as the end user to create scenes that not only include lights, but music, shades, etc.

Even without Composer HE, homeowners with a 4Sight subscription have the ability to create logical event triggers by logging into my.control4.com and using the when>>then tool.  There are step-by-step guides for this feature, and it has tremendous benefits.  It really makes it possible to get the most out of your Control4 automation system without requiring a programmer to camp out at your kitchen island for hours on end.

Here are some of the popular smart lighting products that are currently compatible with Control4:

• Lutron Caseta
• Lutron Radio Ra2
• Lutron Radio Ra3
• Lutron Homeworks
• Lutron GRAFIK Eye
• Philips Hue

If your product doesn't appear in this list, check with us and we will look it up in the Control4 driver database.

Not all products listed have certified drivers nor are they guaranteed to be fully compatible.

Most network enabled cameras support ONVIF, which is a universal standard for cameras to interoperate between different manufacturers and models.  This same standard allows for the cameras to integrate with Control4 when they are connected directly to a network switch rather than to the NVR (network video recorder).  Some NVR's are supported, which will send out a camera substream back onto the network which Control4 can then use.

Our standard CCTV products are able to integrate with Control4, and include Luma, Clare, Hikvision, LTS, and Illumivue.

You can always check with us and we will look up your product in the Control4 driver database.

Not all products listed have certified drivers nor are they guaranteed to be fully compatible.

Control4 also has their own excellent thermostat products (made by Aprilaire) which support flush-mounted external temperature sensors, allowing the thermostats to be centrally located and hidden.

Here are some of the popular smart HVAC manufacturers/models with Control4 capability:

• Aprilaire (8810, 8820, 8830, 8840)
• Carrier (Infinity V2, Cor 5, Cor 7)
• Ecobee
• Honeywell Total Connect, Honeywell Home (T series)
• Lutron (Homeworks , Radio Ra2)
• Nest
• Trane American Standard (XL1050)

If your thermostat or HVAC controller doesn't appear in this list, check with us and we will look it up in the Control4 driver database.

Not all products listed have certified drivers nor are they guaranteed to be fully compatible.

For many alarm systems, yes it can!

Here are the most popular manufacturers/models with Control4 capability:

• DSC Power Series (requires IT100 serial module) and Power Series Neo (requires compatible IP communicator)
• Honeywell Vista (requires 4232CBM serial module)
• Qolsys IQ2 and IQ4
• ClareOne

*Keep in mind that Amp AV will not have access to the programming features of the alarm system unless the system was installed by Amp AV.  Cooperation from your alarm service provider may be required, or a complete takeover and reprogramming by Amp AV.

If your alarm product doesn't appear in this list, check with us and we will look it up in the Control4 driver database.

Not all products listed have certified drivers nor are they guaranteed to be fully compatible.

Control4 offers its own "Chime" video doorbell, and also partners with 2N to provide an advanced doorbell and door/gate entry system solution.  

Control4 does not work with many other video doorbell products, but the ones that we know of are Doorbird and Hikvision.

There are 3rd party drivers (integration software components) that will allow for doorbell button presses or Ring or Nest doorbells to trigger other events within the Control4 system (for an added fee), but not necessarily access the video or intercom functionality.  (Updated Q4 2022)

If your alarm product doesn't appear in this list, check with us and we will look it up in the Control4 driver database.

Not all products listed have certified drivers nor are they guaranteed to be fully compatible.

Depends on the product, but there's a good chance that it will.  Here are some of the smart lock products that have Control4 compatibility:

• August (WiFi Smart Lock, Smart Lock Pro, and Connect WiFi Bridge)
• Baldwin (Zigbee and most Z-Wave Products)
• Black and Decker (Zigbee models)
• Kwikset (Smartcode Zigbee, Z-Wave, and WiFi products)
• Yale (Zigbee locks, most Z-Wave and WiFi locks)

If your alarm product doesn't appear in this list, check with us and we will look it up in the Control4 driver database.

Not all products listed have certified drivers nor are they guaranteed to be fully compatible.

Depends on the control system.  Here are some of the pool control systems that have Control4 compatibility:

• Hayward (OmniLogic)
• Jandy (iAquaLink, other AquaLink models via separate 7620 serial communication adapter)
• Pentair (Intellicenter, Intellitouch models via i-Link serial communication adapter)

If your alarm product doesn't appear in this list, check with us and we will look it up in the Control4 driver database.

Not all products listed have certified drivers nor are they guaranteed to be fully compatible.

There are only a few types of communication that motorized shades operate with, and there are ways to integrate a lot of them with Control4.  Depending on the type of communication, the control system will not be aware of whether the shades are in an open or closed state, but the commands to raise and lower the shades (and hopefully stop them as well) can be achieved.  Also, different communication types will require certain additional hardware.

Shades that are pre-wired with low voltage cable generally work with RS-485 serial communication.  Such products always have a means to connect to a 3rd party control system like Control4.  

More common for older homes, line-voltage (120V AC) shades use a wireless communication, the most popular of which is RTS (Radio Technology Somfy).  Other wireless technologies will use frequencies similar to those used by wireless ceiling fan controls, and can often be replicated with the right wireless bridge device. 

Newer wireless shades take advantage of improved battery technologies and can be retrofitted anywhere.  RTS is still a common communication method, or some other type of radio frequency.  Although some wireless shade communications are proprietary, most are not, and a wireless bridge device can often allow them to integrate.

Our preferred product for integrating a customer's existing shades is the Bond Bridge Pro. 

Here are the products that we find to work best with Control4 (which are also a big part of why we offer them):

• Screen Innovations (All RS-485 products via SiFi or Troy Gateway, all Zigbee 3.0 products via C4 Zigbee integration bridge, RTS products via Somfy TaHoma, or Bond Bridge Pro)
• Lutron (Serena models via Caseta Smart Bridge Pro; Palladiom Wireless, Triathlon and Sivoia QS Wireless Wireless via Radio RA3 processor and Lutron LEAP integration methods)

Most gas fireplaces with electronic ignition do integrate just fine.  The most common and best way to make this work is to replace the ignition switch (light switch sending power to the igniter) with a Control4 smart light switch.  Control4 has a fantastic template for using a wireless light switch as a fireplace control.

For electric fireplaces, it will depend on how it turns on.  Most electric fireplaces have a proprietary remote control that will not work with a 3rd party control system.

Some other types of fireplace ignition can be triggered with a low voltage relay.  In order to be integrated safely, they will need to provide normally-open contact points.  Let us know the make/model of your ignition unit so we can try to determine if it will integrate with Control4.  If you don't know what you're looking for, we can look into this during an onsite assessment as we go over all of the needs of your home system.

Yes, Control4 can integrate with your gate pretty much every in every scenario.

Just about all drive gate motors have trigger points within the electronics enclosure that are easy to integrate, so long as wiring between your gate and Control4 system can be managed.  There are also wireless controls that can be added, but will require a good Zigbee wireless infrastructure within the home, extending out to the gate motor.

Walk-up gates are also fairly easy to integrate, and may only require minimal additional small electronic components.  If your gate has a mag-lock or electronic strike, there will almost always be a straightforward way to make it work.

The bigger question is whether or not your gate keypad and  intercom will work with Control4.  If someone rings from the gate, you don't want to have to open a separate app to then activate the gate.

Control4 offers 2N door/gate intercom keypad controls that are network-based, and have special trigger connections for up to 2 doors or gates.  These are our recommended products in these scenarios.

Doorbird also offers similar functionality and controls if looking for an alternative that stands on its own, but also has Control4 integration capability.

Hikvision recently added Control4 integration capability to their lates gate control product as well.

Yes and no.

If you are using low-cost consumer electronics, Control4 does not usually include the ability to control those items within their driver library (drivers are bits of software that are specific to a device you want to control).  Examples of this would be a Polk Audio or Onn wireless soundbar.

Since Control4 is a luxury home product, their development team focuses primarily on creating drivers that have the highest demand in a luxury home environment.  High quality brands and product lines get added to the library first.  Integrators like Amp AV have the ability to occasionally create a driver, but these are primitive compared to the certified device drivers that are professionally made by Control4, and are not a good option.

For the best results, we prefer to stick to the brands and models with supported equipment.

If you have a modern system with high quality components, then yes, chances are that we can easily add a Control4 system to provide user-friendly universal entertainment control capability.

Ask us and we'll let you know if your device is compatible, either through our own experience or by by looking it up in the Control4 driver database.

Not all products within the database have certified drivers and are therefore not guaranteed to be compatible.

Control4 works fairly well with Sonos when Sonos is used in a single room, such as a single soundbar, or only as a music source into a Control4-based multi-zone audio system.

When it comes to grouping the zones, Control4 and Sonos become very cumbersome and confusing for homeowners to try to make work together.  We recommend against marrying the two for multiple rooms of audio.

Control4 can operate motorized TV and projector lifts, misting systems, patio heaters, fans, heated floors, water valves, irrigation systems, fountains and water pumps, landscape lighting, garage doors, and more.

Almost all of the above mentioned items will require either specialty connections designed for 3rd party control, extra hardware, or for manufacturer cooperation to specifically allow Control4 integration.

If you intend to add a device or system to your home and would like it to be operated by your Control4 system, check with Amp AV first to verify that the product will work, or what it will take to make it work.  Cooperation will be required from the other contractors involved, as well.