It seems everyone has their eyes glued to their smart phones or tablets these days. It’s easy to deride social media for taking the place of face-to-face conversations and to lament the days that thank you notes were written on stationary and sent off with a stamp. I have even tried to put myself on a technology ‘diet’ a few times. But what of the flip side? Our favorite window covering manufacturer, Hunter Douglas, has shown that the smart phone (or tablet) can make our lives easier in yet another way. Their PowerRise® technology has been around for a while, letting us use a remote or wall switch to operate some of the latest window fashions. But now, we can use our gadgets (both Apple® and Android™) to wirelessly raise, lower, traverse and tilt almost everything they make – including wood and metal blinds. The old ways of hard wiring through walls and ceilings are gone!
Of course, that’s not all. This new technology, the Platinum™ App, gives us the option of setting the mood in a room by controlling the natural light through the use of “Scenes.” For example, the shades on the east side of my house rise while the ones on the west side lower every day at the same time, giving me a customized “Summer Afternoon.” At night, blinds, shades, and draperies all close giving me a private “Nighttime” scene while I go about my business. Pretty cool, huh?
Wondering how they do it? First, Hunter Douglas uses a combination of both radio waves (RF) and infrared signal (IR) to give us the best of both worlds. The IR signals cannot be interrupted by radio signals, such as radio towers, airport beacons, cell phone towers, etc. and the RF signals cannot be interrupted by sunlight. Because of this, we have the ultimate control. Next, the Platinum™ App Bridge is the hardware at the heart of the system. It stores all the programming data and sends signals to operate window coverings via Platinum™ Repeaters. You only need one bridge for your entire home network and one Repeater for each room with window coverings. Throw in an Ethernet cable to connect the Bridge to a wireless router, top it off with a DC power supply, and your hardware is ready. Eyes glazing over? It’s ok, Hunter Douglas certified installers will take care of that for you.
Finally, head over to the Apple iTunes® Store or GooglePlay site and download the free App. It’s extremely intuitive and easy to master; but you might just spend hours creating loads of special “Scenes” because the possibilities are truly endless. “Daytime Privacy” anyone? The App also includes an intuitive timer for automatic operation of scenes. Each day of the week can have different programming. Best of all, the programming is stored in the Platinum™ App Bridge, so it works even when the mobile device is not home, or worse yet, ‘dead.”
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2303 S. Stockton St., Lodi, (209) 334-4060, classicdesignftc.com