Whether you’re in Scottsdale or Seattle, Tempe or Tacoma, your home has probably become a place for everything this year thanks to COVID-19. Our living rooms are now movie theaters, our backyards are now stadiums, and our kitchens are now our favorite neighborhood restaurant (or bar). But even as we all start to come out of our caves this fall, one thing is for sure: we want our homes to be able to keep up. This is where home automation comes into play.
With the Internet of Things technology already fueling devices around our homes and buildings, real-time cloud-storage data updates refreshing every day, and remote work and management now the norm, the idea of personalizing everything through automation has surged, according to Lee Travis, owner of Wipliance LLC.
Travis started Wipliance in 2006 with home audio/visual as his main selling point. But soon after, Wipliance, which has its home in the Greater Seattle area, expanded into network and Wi-Fi, security and surveillance, and even window treatments, like automatic shades custom-fit to your windows.
“Builders and homeowners wanted us to do everything. Not just surround sound, but the phone network and cable—which is now Wi-Fi—around the home or commercial property. The automation space, which was mostly just accessible to high-income individuals, grew later. Today, anyone can put in some form of automation in their home,” Travis explains.
Wipliance provides integrated technology for homes and businesses. Today, the company supports residential installs, as well as commercial building projects, including condos, restaurants, bars, and companies looking to automate conferences spaces and offices.
Wipliance has been one of the fastest-growing companies in the automation space and claimed the title of Top 100 Dealer by CEPro the past seven years. In 2018, Wipliance earned the Winning Lutron Excellence Award for Best use of Voice Control before recently winning the prestigious CES Integrator of the Year Award.
But even with the upending of practically every part of our daily lives because of the coronavirus, from business to school, entertainment to health, Wipliance has managed to lean into the new normal. In fact, it has opened up even more opportunities.
“When COVID first hit, we closed in Seattle, temporarily, as far as impact to our customers. But then people started figuring out that they would spend more time from home. So, we have been super busy with people wanting to upgrade their Wi-Fi,” says Travis. “Then security became hot this summer and people started spending the money from vacations and football tickets and changed it to audio/video. There has been a wave of home technology improvement because of everything that has happened this year. People want great Wi-Fi and security, and to be entertained.”
Part of that entertainment here in the Phoenix area is spending time on our patios and hanging out in our backyards. Even when it is chilly in the Valley, albeit briefly, Arizona still gives people the opportunity to go enjoy the outside. In turn, this created another major selling point for Travis’ Wipliance.
Integrating shades in a home’s smart system creates the ability to gather and control natural daylight. This creates the convenience with the choice to operate multiple shades at one time or integrate them with lighting controls. With nearly-silent motor operation and the ability to integrate with home automation platform’s, Wipliance’s shades are helping homeowners be comfortable both inside and outside as the company is able to not only cover patios during the summer but provide warmth inside Arizona rooms during the winter.
“We do a lot of shades here and in Seattle, but the big difference here is that people spend a lot more time and money on their patios or landscaping,” he says. “We have shades where you can enclose an outdoor space and keep spaces cooler. In the summertime, if you have it at 75 degrees inside, you can keep it around 85 on your patio.”
More homes and businesses are becoming connected, intelligent, and changing the way we live for the better. Automation is moving us closer to the once-dreamed up idea of a technologically advanced home or place to work. As demand for automation continues to rise, especially in the wake of COVID-19, Wipliance is sure to be there to help make life easier by the touch of a button.
Wipliance -Call (480) 771-5500 or visit www.wipliance.com
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