Smart Home Automation in Raleigh and the Triangle
Locks, lights, thermostats, garage doors and cameras that work with your alarm, from one app. Installed and set up by our techs around how your family actually lives.
Total Connect 2.0
Arm and disarm from anywhere. Watch live and recorded video. Lock a door for an early guest, turn on the porch light, or nudge the thermostat on your way home.
- Scenes: one tap for "Leaving" or "Bedtime". Lock up, lights off, alarm on. Up to 100 scenes on a ProSeries system.
- Alerts you choose: push, text or email when the kids get home or a door opens.
- Arming reminders based on your phone's location.
- Voice control with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The ProSeries panel also supports Apple HomeKit.
- Works with devices you may already own: myQ, Genie and Overhead Door garage openers, and August locks.
Features per Resideo Total Connect and the ProSeries datasheet. Some features need a Total Connect service plan.
What's inside the doorbell we install
Scroll to take one apart. It sees, hears and talks, and it runs on the doorbell wiring you already have.
- Front coverA glass front with openings for the lens, the sensor and the button.
- Camera and lensThe First Alert VX1 we install has a 5MP camera with a tall 180-degree view, so you see faces and packages.
- Night visionInfrared LEDs beside the lens let the camera see the porch after dark.
- Button and light ringThe button visitors press. The ring makes it easy to find at night.
- Speaker, microphone and main boardTwo-way talk lets you answer from your phone. The board handles the video and the Wi-Fi link to the app.
- Mounting plateConnects to your existing doorbell wiring, so there is no battery to charge.
Illustration. Parts are simplified and not a teardown of a specific model.
Your alarm panel is also your smart home hub
The First Alert ProSeries panel has Z-Wave built in. It can run up to 78 devices: up to 6 locks, 6 thermostats, 6 garage doors and 60 lights, valves or shades. Devices can react to your alarm, so arming at night can lock the doors and turn off the lights.
Smart locks
Keypad locks with codes for each family member, the dog walker or a contractor. Lock and unlock from the app, and see who came in. We install locks from Resideo's tested Z-Wave list, including models from Yale, Kwikset and August.
Lights and switches
Schedule lights for dusk, light a path when you come home, or make the house look lived-in while you travel.
Garage doors
See if the garage is open and close it from anywhere, by Z-Wave or through myQ, Genie and Overhead Door.
Water and temperature
Leak, flood and freeze sensors, and water shutoff valves that close on their own when a leak is found.
Device limits per the ProSeries datasheet; compatible devices per Resideo's Z-Wave compatibility chart. We confirm every device works with your panel before we install it.
What is inside the smart locks we install
Scroll to take one apart. It is a real deadbolt first, with a keypad and Z-Wave radio built around it.
- Touch keypadA code for each family member, the dog walker or a contractor, and a history of who came in.
- Exterior escutcheonWeather-sealed metal housing, with a keyed cylinder as a backup.
- Z-Wave radio boardTalks to your security panel, so you can lock up from the app or when you arm the system.
- Deadbolt latchA standard deadbolt that fits most doors, installed and aligned by our techs.
- Interior housingThumbturn on the inside, so it still works like a normal lock.
- Battery packStandard batteries, with low-battery alerts in the app long before they run out.
Control4 and Sonos
When you want audio, video, lighting and climate to work as one system, we design and program Control4 and Sonos around your rooms.
Control4
One app, touchscreen, keypad or remote for lighting, music, TV, climate and security. We set up the scenes and schedules, and adjust them later. Control4 is now part of Resideo, the maker of our alarm panels.
Sonos
The same music everywhere, or something different in each room, from the Sonos app. Sonos also works with Control4, so music can be part of your scenes. More on home audio.
Smart home FAQ
Do I need a separate smart home hub?
Will my existing smart lock work?
Does smart home cost extra each month?
Can I control the system by voice?
Plan your smart home with a tech
We'll walk the house, check the devices you already own, and give you a written plan and price.