Hey All,

I am installing a system with a very agressive budget and am really trying to maximize it with "cool" and "unique" integrations.

I've got the fireplaces on the system, biometric entry, outside heaters, an LED light band running around the exterior of the patio, a Vantage keypad with a button in the kitchen that will call a file at meal time that says "Come and get it!"

I was wondering if you all could take a moment to chime in with some unique or fun ideas or very cool integrations and wrinkles that you have installed that made a home stand out?

Thanks in advance for any and all ideas!

This may be a bit out of left field as a direct response to your question:

I mounted a customer's Vizio for him and installed a wall plate below it with composite and analog audio for him to swap in all of his old video game systems (Nintendo, Atari, Sega Genesis, etc). I labeled the input "Old School" on the Vizio.

He was not there when we finished, so he did not mention it until I was back out at his home yesterday to add some more stuff. The first thing he mentioned was that "Old School" label.

Sometimes it is the simplest things that make a customer remember you and smile. That is the kind of thing that gets them to tell their friends about you.

For me cool is when TVs lift out of stuff, press cable on your remote and the TV rises out of the footboard on the bed. Or just simple automation, I can go to bed at night and know that my outside music and lights will be off by 11:30 if I forget to turn them off myself.

For most clients, just being able to use their iPhone to turn their TV on and change channels is cool.

I did a stereo in an Oscar Mayer Wiener Wagon- does that count?

Only if it was owned by Loyd and Harry!

I have to agree with the lifts. We did a theater with a fairly large stage and the customer wanted to be able to sign karaoke and see the lyrics. After thinking about a built in stage monitor or a TV that comes down from the ceiling we figured out a way to bring a TV out of the seating riser. So when they press Karaoke the projector screen retracts and the karaoke TV comes out of the floor. I also expanded this to Wii. So they can play rock band while sitting on stage.

I may be a weirdo but, I get off on automation of mechanical systems. For example, building a system that measures well flow, cistern storage levels and then prioritizes household water usage via pumps and valves so the client can always flush their toilets. Or measuring static pressure across furnace filters to determine when the filter needs changed. Or measuring temps across a heat exchanger to ensure the furnace is operating efficiently. Yes, I love AV but, to me, HVAC and mechanical is so much geekier (ie: fun).

Way cool stuff Anthony!

PS. I heard Anthony has a thermostat tatoo on his back side somewhere.

tattoos are for scumbags and sailors...

So he was deaf, but not blind?

I'm the exact same way. I like to install water flow sensors on the hot water line feeding the shower that will turn on the exhaust fan and then, using a timer relay, keep the fan running for five minutes after the water is turned off. Or smoke detectors that shut the furnace off to stop the spread of smoke throughout the house and tell the shades to roll up that may be blocking sliding patio, or french balcony doors etc. that could be blocking egress from the house during a fire.

These types of automation schemes may be geeky but they provide a valuable service for homeowners that forget to use the bath fan or forget to change the furnace filter (which, in all likelihood, are the majority of homeowners!)

LOL! Definitely tone deaf! Wouldn't that qualify for a unique installation?

What kind of level agressive budget?


Did you integrate this with the control system? What did you use?

3D holographic projection :)

David,

What water flow sensors are you using? I have a Lutron HWQS house coming up and I wanted to do that exact thing. I was looking for a basic water flow sensor w/ a contact closure output.