11 Reasons To Consider ArchiTechKnowlogy Design Group
As A Resource For Smart Home Technology
In The Homes You Design/Build.

Who are we?
We are an Independent Consulting firm for the design of Smart Home Technology. We sell no equipment, nor install our designs. We only offer the most comprehensive, practical and pragmatic designs and Knowledge for blending Technology into Architecture. ArchiTechKnowlogy.

I have 43 years of experience in the consumer electronics and automation industry (not our team sum) and our project designs have been recognized / awarded by industry peers for being the very best for over a decade. Our design fees are offset in savings in your / clients’ time and frustration in handling this very technical process and getting a well designed and documented system that actually meets their needs.

Unlike a typical AV Integration company, we specialize in preparing a complete Smart Home Technology Design: Enterprise-grade Data Network, HVAC & Solar Shade Control, Lighting Control, & Security/CCTV systems into one comprehensive documentation package prepared for proper competitive bidding process. We present local AV companies that will deliver Apples-Apples competitive bids for the projects we design.

Consultants
All projects require Structural, MEP, Soils, Title 24 and other consultants to make sure that your project is functional, sound and in compliance with all standards. Interior Design, Lighting Design, Kitchen design, and Landscape Architect consultants are required to make the residence functional, cohesive and beautiful inside and out.

Often, the cost for Home Technology is the largest single contract on a residential project and has the most moving parts that need to work in concert. You should consider a seasoned Technology Consultant to make sure your project begins, runs & ends successfully. Our Technology Systems Wiring Infrastructure Designs are brand agnostic: Crestron, Savant, Control4.

We offer Project Coordination services so that you have one Point-man that is fully aware of all the details of your project(s) and to coordinate with all the other major systems subcontractors.

TI:ME
It takes time to determine a client’s needs, wishes and desires around technology and to properly prepare plans, designs and budgets to meet those desires. This is typically left until 2 weeks before drywall is to be installed and is a rushed event. The earlier we are brought into the design process, less compromise has to be made to integrate technology into the home’s overall plan. Our Client Interview Questionnaire and Design Specification System process levels the playing field in the bidding process as everyone is preparing cost proposals from the same page, so to speak.

Without our specific process, you will get as many different interpretations as RFP’s that are sent out.

Bid Analysis: Who on your team is qualified to sort through 50-198 pages of Home Technology pricing to make sure that everything is included ? We KNOW that all the content on those pages are just words, lengthy descriptions and prices for things you may not understand, especially if it is all inclusive to make sure your Smart Home Project meets your discerning clients needs.  We can help, we speak Techlish!

Managing a project through Change Orders is just wrong. Some companies purposely leave out products to have the lowest bid and then CO you to no end. Picking the lowest bidder actually insures that you will find your project here.

Construction Budget$
Budgets for Smart Home Technology come as a huge surprise to homeowners as they haven’t been prepared nor budgeted, for the financial impact of the costs for the Technology they want and need; and now required, to meet the stringent Title 24 and California Green Building initiatives that continue to evolve again into 2017.

Electrical Wiring budgets will be affected by incorporating a Lighting Control System; it wires different. In addition, the cost of the Lighting Control equipment; keypads, dimmers, etc., and adequate AC Power for all of the Entertainment and Automation Systems equipment throughout the home needs to be assessed.

HVAC budgets: Smart thermostats, properly zoning a home for comfort and efficiency, as well as the Technology Room
( or closet ) – equipment cooling needs usually get overlooked.

Increased Framing Budgets & Change Orders for a properly sized and engineered Technology Room and Theater, as well as built-in niches for TV-Displays. Huge efforts are undertaken to make all the technology fit into unplanned spaces or major compromise is made in the choice of equipment to make it all fit.

Going “Green” – Energy Conservation
Lighting Control Occupancy Sensors and HVAC and Shade-Solar control not only for convenience but are now required for energy savings and T-24 compliance. LED lights also present other challenges to dim them properly: some require a separate low voltage wiring infrastructure and a special dimming module.

Numerous banks of light switches can be eliminated and reduced to a single gang keypad. High Efficacy lights are now required in all rooms; Vacancy Sensors to turn lights off when one leaves the room. Many products we recommend will make a home more energy efficient and can assist a project in gaining points for LEED certification if a client wants to achieve that goal. Have you heard of Smart Glass ?

Power Requirements – Power Quality
Depending on size of home, 100-200A+ of clean, “isolated” power is required. All Technology equipment needs to be isolated from the “dirty” power of AC compressors, motors, fans. This insures longer equipment life, improved Video quality, and a reduction in costly service calls. All electronics equipment draws significant power, even in “stand-by” mode. Intelligent Power management can be designed to turn off equipment around the home when it’s not in use.

Also, the amount of power required for all the Technology needs to be determined to properly size the power to the entire residence, especially if Backup Generators or Solar Power is being considered. We have recently partnered with and trained by top PV Solar and Fuel Cell systems technology companies.

Space Considerations – Technology Room
A Closet won’t do!  A Technology Room designed into the plans; ~8’x9’+ (minimum) to centrally locate the AV equipment in Racks, Com/Data, Security, HVAC, Shades, Lighting Control panels.  Ideally, this room should be as close to the center of the home as possible and needs to be cooled. This would also result in great $avings in expensive copper wire and associated labor, as well as improved Systems Performance. This also reduces the need for massive cabinetry though-out the house to locate each room’s electronic equipment, ie. Catv box.

HDMI-2.0 – UltraHD-4K
The HDMI standard has had 6+ revisions since its inception, the most recent last April for 4K in the home. Ultra HDTV or 4K TV’s are all the rage, Sony, NetFlix, Amazon and YouTube have programs to stream 4K content. UltraHD Blu-ray Players are now here, and Sharp has a 103″ 8K display for $133K, and sold out.

It has been known that there is a distance limitation sending HDMI content on CAT-5 Copper cables. Wiring should only be done with a specially designed CAT-7A or Fiber Optic cable to future-proof any residence. Ultra HDTV-4K-HDR recommends Fiber Cable now or a plan to upgrade/retrofit to Fiber at a later date.

Home Theater
Home Theaters are the most demanding room and doing it right makes a HUGE difference. The Theater needs to be properly sized & shaped for seating, cooling, acoustics and isolated from the rest of the house.

Complaints have come back from clients that didn’t understand to invest in this in the planning stage and ended up with a theater that has sound resonance that can be heard and felt throughout the residence. We have the best nationally recognized theater designers and acousticians on our Team.

Special Projects
We also provide Design and Engineering Services for other interesting types of projects and facilities; Biometric Access Control Monitoring systems, Isolated Power and Ground Systems, Power Monitoring and Management/Control systems, Corporate Offices, Restaurants, Digital Signage, even Mega-Yachts. (See website menu)

We even “play” with multi-sensory entertainment systems such as 4D Motion Simulation actuators to Theaters (think Disney rides), astronomical accurate Fiber-Optic Star-field Ceilings, 3D Gaming Systems, and High Definition, Photographic quality Golf Simulators of real world Golf Courses.

Project Drawings-Smart Home Technology Map
Finally, at the end of each completed project, our Clients get a set of As-Built drawings of their Smart Home’s technical inner workings so that it can be serviced or upgraded by any company in the future. Consider the fact that numerous well-known and respected AV Integration companies have closed their doors in the past few years, this is a must have, especially when a typical installation has ~ 500 – 1000 different wires. Fifty percent of our projects the past 7 years have involved bringing us in to evaluate and redesign existing systems to improve reliability, upgrade to newer technologies, upgrade to an Enterprise Grade 1-5GB Network and reduce power consumption with power management.

None of these systems had documentation left by the AV contractor, consequently, it took longer and cost the Client more because of the effort needed to discover what was done and then how to fix & improve the system. You can’t build a home, a pool or a kitchen without design drawings. Simply, our systems are designed to work!

We invite you to peruse our website and schedule a meeting in your office or on-site in the near future so we can show you our complete Smart Home Technology Design Process and how we can prepare your / Client’s new home for the most comprehensive Smart Home Technology Design now and for the future.