GregCAMS

If the electrical runs for your lighting loads have already been done then you wouldn't be able to do panelized lighting. The video here from Tym Homes based in Utah shows an example on a new construction. I wasn't able to it on my existing home. But in areas that had 3 & 4 gang plates originally I just put in a single 6 button keypad and hid the 4-loads behind walls in cabinets, etc to get rid of the wall clutter. That may be overkill in your case and for most people. In the future with a new home or teardown/remodel I'll definitely do the panelized lighting. For the rack the ventilation is important. If you can put a mini-split unit in that'd be ideal to control ventilation and temperatures in that space. Also units like those from AC Infinity are useful for the amps/devices that run hot. The other big thing that's been great is the WattBox and OvrC devices. I used to have the Pakedge system with BakPak and switched over to Araknis and OvrC enabled devices. This will allow you to do your own resets and your integrator to spot problems before you may notice. Co-sign on JSTRONG on the EA5 -- done with Tidal here but works great.

Lighting - Can go with Control4 and have plenty of options. If construction isn't that far along I'd look at their Centralized lighting option. This eliminates all of the wall clutter and simplifies your electrical plan and troubleshooting. If not hiding as many loads as possible and using programmable keypads is a good alternative. Controller - agree with SA C4 - EA5 all the way on this. It's robust and will handle your system as you scale. Remotes/Interface - I like the NEEO's (have 6 in the house) and have 2 SR250's. The 250's have gone in the drawer now that the network here is more stable and upgraded. They operate off the wifi so be sure your network is robust. Mine will occasionally lock up briefly and just is a quick 30 second restart of the device Multi-Zone Audio - Recommend Triad Audio Matrix. Have had unit installed along with three 8-zone Triad Amps and works great. They do run a bit hot so your integrator may want to install AC Infinity fans between them in the rack. Video - Would recommend looking at AVPro Edge 4k Matrix instead of C4. More robust and reliable in my experience. Currently have a C4 4K Matrix and at least one channel cuts out semi-regularly. Ended up installing OVRc enabled Wattboxes and programmed reset to handle this. Would recommend a Wattbox and OvrC devices to plug in for remote reset of devices anyhow (i.e. ,modem, router, switches, audio matrix, video matrix, cameras, etc). Huge time and money saver from service calls and the associated expense. Security - Like the DS2 door station from C4 (2N is the actual OEM). Integrates into phone via Intercom Anywhere app and touchscreens if you install thru the home. For locks as long as they are C4 compatible you're good to go. Have Yale Locks with touchscreen on both gates and Baldwin locks for all doors to the home. The Baldwin have been installed for 7 years with no issues. The Yale Locks for just over a year with no issue. They get exposed to extreme heat here (Vegas - 115 degrees) and the occasional rain storms with no issues. Climate - Would have to agree with others on the Control4 thermostats (OEM Aprilaire). I have Nest units integrated and worked fine until Google migrated everything over in the last few months. It still works but has been a pain. Network - Wire to everywhere you think you may need even if it's just a wish and not a 'today' project. Can attest to doing this on my home as a retrofit and would have been far less expensive if just did all the runs to everywhere imaginable upfront than doing so after the fact. Enjoy the project! Last there is a video on YouTube that's quite long but informative worth watching in small bits:

Yeah installed it about 5 months ago and works great with the EA-5, Triad Audio Matrix the C4 Tidal Driver. I had to use separate e-mail addresses associated with the main account for each of these zones.

Depending on your Tidal plan you can do separate streams at a time. For example I have the HiFi Family Plan and have 5 simultaneous streams. Two streams are dedicated to 2 guest rooms with C4 keypads programmed to Tidal playlists. Two others are 'free-floating' for myself and one other for the backyard/pool area. These allow you to play at least 4 streams of different music in those zones, add an additional zone and still play the music in the car or on the computer.

Thanks Alan! yep that matches my experience. the integration works fine in 90% of our cases. The main issue is having an interface (i.e. C4 Switch) needed for guests to turn on these devices since they won't have the app on their phone and I don't have touchscreens everywhere. BTW loving the Rachio driver installed last year!. Gotta check out your Kaleidescape one with my Strato C and Terra to see how it works.

Looked into several options and had similar issue. I ended up switching over everything for both front and backyard to FX Luminaire/Holm system. Their transformers can be networked together and controlled very well either thru their own app or thru the integration they offer with Control4. It was a bit costly but the reliability has been great.

Have used this app and Bond for quite some time. In general it works fine. However it is not sync up if you still have fan speed/light controllers installed or use the manufacturer's remote. For example I have Minka Aire 2 ceiling fans on the patio and 1 in the family room. When you turn on the light or fan using the Minka/Manufacturer in-wall module or remote control the Bond App and the Chowmain integration to Control4 does not pickup the status change. In this example when you open the C4 app it will reflect that the light is still off or fan not turned on. This has been validated by both the integrator on repeat truck rolls and tests as recently as today. If you don't have any manufacturer remotes or in-wall units it works great to ensure the status of the app matches reality.

Have 4 Baldwin Locks installed since 2009, zero issues with them and reliable. Have 2 Yale locks for outside gates access to backyard. They have also worked well and easy for service providers (pool, landscapers, etc) to access with their unique codes.

Have 4 rooms with Lutron Shades and 3 rooms with Somfy shades/motors. By far the Lutron shades are more reliable and much quieter. Bought the Somfy shades about 6 years ago and the Lutron ones 5 years ago. Have had 0 service calls on the Lutron units and have had to turn in 2 of the Somfy shades twice for swap. The Lutron units for comparable window size and options were about 40% higher than the Somfy shades. So just may come down to priority of needs and budget. Have 2 more rooms to do and definitely recommend Lutron.

Glad I found this issue. This has happened to my system 4 times in the last 3 weeks. Each time the integrator comes out to fix they do some kind of resolution but only lasts a few days. Was almost considering going to an Autonomic system instead. Have Triad 16 zone matrix and 2 8-zone amplifiers. Wasn't sure if Autonomic has these types of issues?

have only used Triad custom units and sound fantastic.

The firmware for me took 2 tries and then finally worked. I haven't done the Chowmain driver yet as my dealer is coming October 1st to do that part. On OS 3.0 and was planning to do 3.1 also at that time

Firmware updated today (v.2.8.2) to handle more than 6 devices but still recommended coverage is 2,500 sq ft.