Harrison, N.Y. – URC has developed an IP-based home-control system targeted to distributors serving custom installers.
The Complete Control Generation Two (ccGEN2) system complements the company’s premium Total Control two-way home-control system, which is sold only direct to installers. Both are IP-based systems whose components can be connected to CAT-5 wiring preinstalled in existing homes to control any product that sits on the IP network or can be controlled by IP, said marketing director Cat Toomey. The systems, however, are also targeted to new construction and remodeling jobs.
The systems also feature wireless Z-Wave for wireless control of lighting, door locks, thermostats, shades and the like.
The ccGEN2 products will be available through distributors only to dealers who have been authorized by URC, the company said. Employees must also complete live or online training and become certified.
Current dealers served by URC’s distributors “may now effectively grow their systems beyond basic handheld remotes and base stations to multi-room, two-way control and complete automation in an affordable, natural way,” the company said.
The company, added Toomey, is bringing IP-based home control “to the indirect installers who are now getting into whole-house automation.”
The ccGEN2’s components include a $599-suggested central processor. A $399 auxiliary controller accepts IP commands and reissues them as IR or RS-232 commands or triggers relays. A $299 Wi-Fi controller can be used instead of the auxiliary controller in places where installers don’t want to run Cat5 cable. A pair of remotes at $299 and $599 provide wireless control of systems when a $250 RF antenna is plugged into the home’s CAT-5 cable network.
Other products include a $259 Z-Wave extender, $149 RF repeater, $199 single-gang in-wall keypad connected to the CAT-5 network, a $599 in-wall keypad with touchscreen, a $399 iPod dock, a $450 indoor network camera, a $540 indoor dome camera, a $649 outdoor dome camera and other components.
All prices are preliminary.
