The images show the pre-drywall stage with the following competencies covering:

• Infrastructure wiring to include telephone, internet, cable, and other called structured wiring.
• Video wiring for cable TV, BluRay DVD, and streaming video.
• Distributed audio including speakers and volume control in each room giving the homeowner access to iPod, CD, AM/FM, and streaming audio from Pandora.
• Home automation to control the different subsystems including security, HVAC, audio, video, and lighting control.

Its an amazing home and we are looking forward to seeing the final product.

WHAT: An organized community of fresh and talented individuals with common goals in our industry.

WHO: A society with architectural, design, planning, engineering, developmental, and construction influence.

WHERE | WHEN: We meet monthly at an ever-changing and exciting venue in the greater DC area for an agenda-free happy hour. if you have not gotten an invite, or need details, please email me at lee@energylightcontrol.com.

Ever wondered how much money your TV really costs you? How about how much electricity the computer you leave plugged in all night consumes?  Or the basement lights that are left on?

Recently we have installed a number of consumption monitors around the DC metro area and now we know…

We’ve been using the eMonitor from Powerhouse Dynamics… www.powerhousedynamics.com.   Great product, easily installed, and very affordable.  They say that you reduce your energy consumption by 20% just by knowing and seeing your real time energy usage.

The eMonitor brings, for the first time, an affordable solution for homeowners to monitor the energy use on every circuit of the home, giving them visibility to where energy is being used – and wasted – and the ability to take action.

The eMonitor’s unique combination of circuit- and appliance-level monitoring, continuous analytics and diagnostics, tailored recommendations, wide spectrum of safety, cost, and usage alerts, and easy-to-use web interface, puts the homeowner in total control of their electricity use.

Total Home Energy Management™

Powerhouse Dynamics is building a Total Home Energy Management solution that lets you manage all uses – and sources – of energy in your home. Total Home Energy Management:

• Starts with real-time monitoring at the right level: every circuit in the home plus
  selected individual outlets.
• Continues with targeted suggestions for reducing energy use and
  leveraging renewable energy.
• Enables you to control your thermostat and other devices to maximize
  comfort while reducing costs.
• Adds ongoing alerts about appliance or PV problems, unusual usage,
  overloaded circuits, energy bills to-date and more.
• Provides you the ability to see how your actions impact your carbon footprint –
  and how you compare with others.

Check out www.bethesdagreen.org for more information…

Business incubators accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies by providing business support resources and services.  The Bethesda Green Business Incubator, created in partnership with the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, promotes the creation and expansion of green businesses that develop and supply environmentally sustainable technologies, products and services.

Bethesda Green works with and leverages Montgomery County’s strengths to create a green industry cluster that will generate economic, environmental and social value for the County’s businesses and residents.

WHAT: An organized community of fresh and talented individuals with common goals in our industry.

WHO: A society with architectural, design, planning, engineering, developmental, and construction influence.

WHERE | WHEN: We meet monthly at an ever-changing and exciting venue in the greater DC area for an agenda-free happy hour. if you have not gotten an invite, or need details, please email me at lee@energylightcontrol.com.

If you love music, you’ll love Sonos.

It’s as simple as that. Because only Sonos makes it so easy to add music to your life. In one room. Or many. Playing the music you own or endless songs and stations streaming from the internet. It’s a multi-room music system unlike any other. One that sets up instantly and expands effortlessly.

Instant access to endless music.

Sonos gives you a world of music at your fingertips — from the Internet and your computer. Play all the songs stored on your PC or Mac. Tune in to thousands of free Internet radio stations. And enjoy millions of songs and stations from the most popular online music services.

A multi-room system that’s flawless, flexible and fun.

At Sonos, multi-room music is our mantra. That’s why we created a system that flawlessly delivers synchronized music to every room and expands instantly without wires or hassles. So, whether you’ve got a one-room studio or a three-story house, Sonos makes it easy to fill your life with music.

Instant access to endless music.

Sonos plays it all. Music from your personal library stored on your computer. More than 100,000 free Internet radio stations, shows and podcasts. And music services that let you stream and download their vast collections of songs from the Internet to the rooms of your choice. Sonos gives you the freedom to listen to whatever you want, wherever you want. Play a classical album from your music library in the kitchen and the living room. Wake up to a local radio station in your bedroom or use an online music service to create a custom radio station to play all over the house. Whatever you’re into, rock or rap, interviews or instrumentals, Sonos gives you instant and endless music gratification.

Your Music Library

If you have a hard drive already filled with digital music or a CD collection just begging to be digitized, you’re in luck. That’s because Sonos liberates all that music from your computer so you can enjoy it in every room. Sonos supports all the most popular audio formats, including MP3s and iTunes®. And we make it easy to play music from other audio sources, like an iPod® or CD player.

Free Internet Radio

Sonos lets you tune in to more than 100,000 radio stations, shows and podcasts in every room of your house. Free of charge. The Radio guide lets you browse endlessly for both local and international stations or you can use Search to find a specific station. When you find what you love, add it to Favorites for your future listening pleasure.

Music Services

Don’t have any digital music on your computer or just want more of it? Not to worry. Sonos works seamlessly with the most popular music services for computer-free access to millions of songs and stations — no ripping or downloading required.

Power Plus Style

This is a powerful wand-style custom control designed to eliminate the need of numerous remotes and advance your living room TV watching experience.  Achieving an apex of power, style and versatility, it empowers you to easily control your system!

Ideal for areas in your home where you watch TV and have more than just a TV and cable box (i.e. TV, cable box, amp, DVD player, etc), this remote control is as intuitive for users to operate. Its unique synergies automate and simplify operation of even the most complex home systems. Its many highlights include a big, bright color LCD display, an open programming architecture, Narrow Band RF capability, and seamless integration with other control devices.

Ergonomics and Customization

The remote control display has vibrant color capabilities with an active matrix LCD that offers a 320×240 pixel window to any graphic you would like to provide, including BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF and animated GIF files, all of which can be assigned to any of eight adjacent activity buttons.

Selecting a New “Activity”

WATCH and LISTEN buttons on the remote control display activities you can control. When you want to watch something else (a DVD, a videotape or an HDTV broadcast), you simply presses the WATCH button and select the new activity. When a you want to listen to the radio or a CD, you touch LISTEN. Then, with the press of the button, the remote control automates the entire routine of turning on components, selecting inputs and favorites, even resetting the lights to the optimum scene for the selected activity.

Built-In Versatility – No need to point the remote, it uses radio frequency!

In the central system, for example, the remote control can trigger sophisticated smart macros, RS232 and relay controls via a centrally installed Controller. At each local system location, the remote control addresses an RF Base Station which extends the remote’s range to 50 to 100 feet, and eliminates the line-of-sight requirement.

Motion Sensor

The remote control is packed with practical features for you. These include a motion sensor that automatically turns on the display when the remote is picked up and refreshes when it’s moved, and automatic blue backlighting for all the buttons to ensure the remote can be used easily in dim or darkened rooms. A small integrated speaker optionally beeps in response to button pushes, indicating the remote control understands an instruction. A built-in time/date display, a low-battery alert, a rechargeable lithium ion battery, and a supplied USB programming cable further enhance its ease of use.

URC MX980 is shown above.