Southern Maui Villa Gets Complete Security System Upgrade with Control by ELAN

After trespassers broke into a Southern Maui home and destroyed its interiors and newly installed A/V equipment, Eco High Fidelity went back in to start from scratch.

PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA, February 28, 2017 — For the last two years, technology integration firm Eco High Fidelity and local partner Bailey & Sons Electric have been remodeling a luxury Southern Maui residence to include home automation, integrated lighting, and cutting-edge audio and video. At first, the goal of the project was to build a sophisticated yet seamless system that integrated an ELAN Entertainment & Control System with Lutron and other subsystems to control the home’s lighting, media, shades, pool and climate. That is, until a group of teenagers broke in while the homeowner was away and hosted two massive parties that nearly destroyed the residence.

“Doug Ruppenthal, the owner of Maui Joinery Building, went from wrapping up a successful project to having to overhaul the entire house from top to bottom,” Eco High Fidelity owner Tommy Kissell explained. “The residence was a wreck: the floors and carpets were destroyed, the interiors and exteriors required repainting, televisions were smashed, and the Lutron lighting keypads were quite literally ripped out of the walls.”
The complete overhaul required Kissell and his team to remove all of the in-wall automation and reinstall it. This time, the ELAN system’s capabilities were to be significantly expanded to control a new comprehensive security system that would provide 24-hour protection and surveillance of the home, in addition to the lighting, shades, pool, climate and audio/video in the original installation. “It was a tough process, but the end result turned out to be an even better system than the original,” Kissell added. “Luckily, the system was entirely centered around the ELAN platform, so we had a single interface that made it very easy to add new control components.”
Kissell’s enhanced security system included the addition of seven exterior cameras and three interior cameras, Quickset automatic door locks, and an interior Panasonic phone system with an enhanced Luxul computer network, all of which are integrated into the ELAN system, anchored on one ELAN gSC10 system controller and is operated by multiple ELAN gHR200 remotes, iPads, and smartphones equipped with the ELAN Mobile app. “Now, the homeowner can keep track of the home from anywhere on the island – or anywhere in the world – by accessing the camera feed directly on his phone,” Kissell explained. “The expanded security system provides a new peace-of-mind that is essential given what had previously happened without it.”
In addition to its new surveillance capabilities, the upgraded A/V system also employs a large Lutron Homeworks Lighting Control System, with multiple dual processors and dual locations for power modules. The Lutron system is integrated into ELAN for easy control of the lighting and newly added custom electronic shades. “With one controller, it’s possible to seamlessly connect Lutron lighting and shades, security cameras and automatic door locks, pool climate control, and more,” Kissell emphasized. “This gorgeous beachside home is now completely up-to-date with luxurious technology and is protected like never before.”
Although Kissell and his team have never experienced a setback quite like this before, their team has learned to adapt to the unique challenges that completing installations in remote Maui has posed. “The complexities of high-level custom integration ultimately remain the same,” Kissell said. “With unpredictable client expectations and job site conditions, a plan can quickly be derailed.”
After completing the second A/V upgrade, the homeowner is thrilled with his new automation system that includes seamless control of all of the home’s subsystems, as well as a new cutting-edge security system that keeps him constantly in-the-know. “Custom integration never goes according to plan, and when curveballs come we have to adapt. The ELAN Entertainment and Control System is the platform and technology to do exactly that,” Kissell concluded. “ELAN is continually developing and evolving the platform to work with other brands and manufacturers to create a seamless connected home solution.”
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*Initial reporting was provided by Tommy Kissell
About ELAN
ELAN, from Core Brands, develops an award-winning line of whole-house entertainment and control solutions distributed through a comprehensive channel of select dealers throughout the United States, Canada, and countries worldwide. The new ELAN 8 update was honored with the “2017 Human Interface Product of the Year” award from the Consumer Technology Association’s Mark of Excellence Award Program Committee at CES 2017. To learn more, visit www.elanhomesystems.com.
About Core Brands
Anchored by the ELAN Smart Home Control Platform, Core Brands combines the strengths of its iconic control, audio, power management, connectivity and video distribution brands – ELAN®, SpeakerCraft®, Gefen®, Niles®, Panamax®, Proficient®, Furman®, Sunfire® and Xantech® – to deliver a portfolio of connected home and commercial solutions to its channel partners and end users. For further information, visit www.corebrands.com.

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