Monster Expands Home Automation, Custom Selection
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 2/12/2007
SAN FRANCISCO — Monster Cable is diving deeper into the home automation and custom installation markets, introducing wireless Illuminessence lighting-control systems and offering select Home Automation home-control products under its own brand name.
Monster, which adopted the Monster Central Control name for use in these markets, already offers OnQ-supplied structured-wiring enclosures, which will house Monster-branded HAI products and select Illuminessence components.
The lighting-control systems, built on wireless-RF mesh-network Z-Wave technology, includes RF-equipped in-wall dimmers and plug-in dimmer modules, in-wall light switches and controllers ranging in price from a suggested $99.95 to $149. The components are ideal for new construction and retrofit installations, the company said.
Illuminessence dimmers and switches can be used in conjunction with the Monster Central AVL300 controller to control lighting throughout the entire house and integrate the operation of a home theater with the lighting in the home theater room.
Monster has also packaged lighting components into kits. The Monster Central lighting kit 1000 includes the AVL 300, a handheld controller, two LD-300 light station dimmers, and two IWD-600 in-wall light station dimmers at a suggested $899.
With the Illuminessence keyless entry and lighting controller, people can open their garage doors and turn on select house lights from their existing in-car garage-door opener or from their pocket. The Illuminessence keyless entry system includes the pocket keyfob controller, the plug-in garage link controller, and plug-in light station controller for $249.
Under Monster's partnership with HAI, Monster gets a private-labeled product in which the Monster Central name and logo appears on the outside of HAI-manufactured home-control modules, which can be installed directly within the Monster Central OnQ structured wiring enclosure. Monster Central's Illuminessence product will also work directly with HAI products.
HAI products allow for the integration of security, fire alarm, climate control, lighting control and user-interface products such as keypad consoles, touch screens, and Web-screen interfaces, including Web-browsing PDAs.
