When you’re budgeting for a home renovation, it’s typically about “show me the money”—building a swimming pool, a new addition, or a media room. But sometimes, it’s what you don’t see that makes a homeowner’s life easier and more convenient. Enter the wireless system for a new smart home.
Manny Alvarez founded Hockessin-based Electronic Home Solutions in 2002 after information technology stints at Dupont and IBM. He designs all aspects of home automation, from lighting and audio/video equipment to surveillance cameras. Invariably, Alvarez replaces old-fashioned light switches with wall-mounted, removable keypads; plus, the system can work with a phone app.
Alvarez says that no one should feel intimidated or overwhelmed by their smart home. Because everyone has heard horror stories about homeowners experiencing buyer’s remorse after a high-tech installation—some people simply can’t figure out what they just bought, or how to use it—Alvarez is adamant about not pushing tech for tech’s sake.
“We spend a lot of time with our clients up front, understanding their needs and making sure that what we’re going to install provides them a benefit and improves their lifestyle,” he says. “We try to integrate the whole house, making sure that there are functional enhancements to their daily routine. The system has to be easy to use and reliable.”
To ensure interested clients are comfortable with the functions, Alvarez goes as far as to invite them into his own home to sample his system: “If they can’t come in and use my system the way I have it laid out, then I haven’t done a good job.” Still, each system is customized to the clients’ preferences; Alvarez will do a walk-through of clients’ homes, showing them how keypads will work conceptually, and making any adjustments they want along the way. After installation, homeowners have an additional 60 days to make any physical change, free of charge. “Until they get into the space and are living with it,” Alvarez says, “they won’t fully understand it.”
“It’s nice having the lights, cameras, and shades automated and easily accessed, either by the digital controls on the wall, which are labeled, or by the app,” says Thomas Grimm, who has been an Electronic Home Solutions client since 2017. “The app is very intuitive and easy to use.” In the second of two homes Alvarez outfitted for Grimm, Electronic Home Solutions installed lighting control by Savant, motorized shades, music, TVs, cameras, and Wi-Fi. “They decided on Savant for lighting control because they preferred the Savant keypads,” Alvarez explains. (Alvarez also partners with Sonos, Sanus, Vantage, Stealth Acoustics, and VisionArt, among other specialized electronics companies.)
Another major project that Electronic Home Solutions was enlisted for was an 1,800-square foot Tudor home in Greenville, which features an imposing glassed-in modern addition. The architect was Elie-Antoine Atallah of the Studio of Metropolitan Design, a veteran of architectural leader Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The last thing you want to do is disturb that level of work; therefore, the result was ultra-discreet. “That space contains several high-end speakers, and you would never know that they’re there,” Alvarez says. “We don’t take away from the décor with our technology.”
And while much of the installed technology is invisible, Alvarez does not do a disappearing act once the project is complete. “The fact of the matter is, manufacturers change technology all the time, and the most important thing is to have someone support you and work with you through that,” he says. “I’m probably the only contractor that will be there the day you move in and will be with you for a long time—hopefully forever.”
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