Over the last couple of years we have seen countless lighting products released with the ability to control not only brightness but also color, ambiance (temperature) and other effects. Though some workarounds were created to have these products integrate with Control4 the integrations lacked a native user interface to easily control the features of modern lighting products..... until now!
Control4's OS3.3 has provided us with a modern interface allowing for full control of lighting products:
The interface is now available both on Control4 touchscreens and mobile apps.
The following features of the interface provide the customer with the ability to:
control brightness
control full color spectrum (including lightness)
control temperature (adjusted for the temperature range of products, in Kelvin)
set custom presets
and more!
Due to this major change DriverCentral's developers have been furiously making updates to all of their lighting drivers to support the latest features.
Drivers that have been updated include:
Driver updates to be on the lookout for in the very near future include:
Adeo Control SGDD-C4-4 Server Gateway DT8 & DMX Driver Suite
Note: Links are to the Control4 versions of the driver. Drivers are also available on other platforms.
Unique Facts:
The Chowmain name was created after a few too many beers and coming up with a joke about Chowmein going well with Extra Vegetables, another driver developer who has since been purchased by Control4. (Changed Chowmein to Chowmain to make it more searchable in google.)
In 2018 Alan won a Connected Magazine award for being the most influential person in the industry: https://connectedmag.com.au/golden-paul-2018-how-you-like-me-chow/
Find Chowmain Here:
Company Website: http://www.chowmainsoft.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chowmain_soft
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chowmain-software-&-apps
Love our drivers... Let us know!
Drivers need improvement... Let us know!
DriverCentral has improved product reviews in our marketplace so that you may easily share your opinions with the rest of our community.
Reviews can be submitted by visiting the desired driver page and clicking on the 'Extended reviews' tab.
Information on the tab will display previously submitted reviews for which you can show approval by clicking like/dislike buttons. Otherwise, you can let us know what's on your mind by clicking on the 'Write a review' button and quickly filling out the review form.
Since this is a new feature there are some products on the site that may be missing the 'Extended reviews' page. If you wish to submit a review for a product but do not see the option to do so visit help.drivercentral.io and let us know you would like to leave a review. We'll reach out to the developers and let them know of your request so that they may turn that option on for you!
We're greatly looking forward to your comments!
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INTRODUCING A DRIVERCENTRAL DEVELOPER
Domosapiens was created in 2006 as the founder/owner, Paul Biron, was building a new house with the clear intent to overdo everything in Home Automation. The house, located near Montreal, Canada, contains 78,000 feet of wiring.
Domosapiens began developing drivers in 2013 when a Control4 dealer asked about solving a client problem with an HAI security system which often beeped in the middle of the night. This is how their first and most complex Control4 driver was born - the Leviton/HAI Omni-Lumina IP driver. The driver successfully fixed the client's problem.
As Domosapiens' founder had selected to implement Control4 in his house, several drivers followed - mostly answering in-home needs he had. These drivers are all put to real, everyday use!
As one of DriverCentral's first developers, Domosapiens has continued to develop value-added drivers, providing enhanced functions for Shades/Blinds, Keypads, Lighting, Experience Buttons, Thermostats, etc. Domosapiens always tries to maximize the functions for clients while reducing the installation effort by the dealer, helping to increase project profitability.
Domosapiens has also developed many manufacturer-sponsored drivers, many of which have been certified by Control4. Some of Domosapiens' clients include Somfy Systems, Atlona, Sinopé, Audio Authority, and Dooya.
Check out their page!
Domosapiens currently has the following drivers available:
INTRODUCING A DRIVERCENTRAL DEVELOPER
DTI Automation Pvt. Ltd. is a company specializing in the field of home automation. DTI stands for Designing The Imagination. It is headquartered in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. The company was established in the year 2011 and in a short span of just two years, it was awarded as GOLD dealer of Control4 in the year 2013. In 2020, DTI received the Control4 DIAMOND Dealer Badge. The company uses Control4 controllers and related software and programming to customize automation to meet their customers' needs.
Back in 2014, when the Automation Industry in India was growing and demanding a reliable and cost-effective lighting solution, some local Indian brands were trying their best and coming up with really robust and quite cost-effective lighting systems. but they lacked software development and User Interface. DTI's efforts were the icing on the cake. DTI developed exclusive Control4 drivers for many Indian Lighting Systems like Raylogic & Vavis. DTI also developed some cool drivers like EPG, TataSky IP Control, Yale Lock RF 2-Way Driver, Apple Siri Shortcut. And that's not all, DTI makes its own hum-free fan module which is very compatible with Control4.
The latest game-changer drivers from DTI are based on Integration with the Apple ecosystem. There are two drivers, first driver provides Apple shortcut integration with Control4 this is a very simple but too powerful driver, and the second driver is enabling a whole new level of integration. This Apple home kit driver enables controlling of all Control4 devices via Apple’s Native Home app which enables lots of new features like Geofencing, Remote access without 4sight, Siri Voice commands integration, and many more.
DTI always encourages integrators and dealers, you can see it in the fact that all drivers are free for Control4 showrooms and also they have wisely created driver documents and a very organized driver support team.
Check out their page!
DTI Automation currently has the following drivers available:
Homemation is a dynamic distribution company that supplies premium audio visual, automation, and other lifestyle products to the South African and Sub-Saharan markets. As one of the largest South African distributors with over 20 years of experience in the industry, Homemation has offices and showrooms based in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Homemation started developing drivers for their own showrooms and personal houses. A few years ago, another industry veteran and DriverCentral Developer gave Homemation a huge nudge to publish and distribute drivers, starting with the Occupancy Driver. While Homemation mostly still writes drivers for their Showrooms and personal homes which allows them to battle test them before release, they have now written a few drivers specifically for dealers as well. No matter the origin of the driver, Homemation now releases them on DriverCentral for all to use.
Homemation's products serve the residential, commercial, and hospitality markets, and they have certified specialist retailers and qualified custom installers who are able to create solutions for any project.
Check out their page!
Homemation currently has the following drivers available: |
4Drivers has developed Control4 drivers since 2007, when its founder, Andre Nader, made some drivers still in C ++ to integrate lighting systems and Brazilian biometers with Control4. In 2010, the development company released drivers for several Brazilian integrations for Control4 resellers, and there are now thousands of drivers running in homes and businesses in Brazil. 4Drivers became a developer on DriverCentral late last year, already releasing five drivers on the marketplace.
Check out their page!
4Drivers currently has the following drivers available:
INTRODUCING DRIVERCENTRAL'S NEWEST DEVELOPER
Integrity Softworks is the development division of Integrity Home Theater, a custom electronics integration firm launched in 2002 in Denver, Colorado. Founded by a home theater enthusiast and life-long programmer, it was a natural fit to offer custom software solutions for the CI industry.
This developer is currently authoring custom modules and software solutions for the URC Total Control system. Their developers have been creating solutions with URC products for nearly two decades in real-world environments. That boots-on-the-ground experience gives them a unique perspective when it comes to developing automation software.
Integrity Softworks uses modern programming paradigms, which ensures that their drivers will be reliable, flexible, and easy to use. The company is currently available to program custom solutions for manufacturers and integrators.
Check out their first driver below and keep an eye on their page for more drivers to come!
Hibersense makes sure that you’re comfortable in every room.
Hibersense makes it possible to control the temperature in each of your rooms. Whether it’s the living room that never feels quite right, that one bedroom that never gets warm in the winter, or the guest room that’s unbearably hot in the summer, Hibersense is the solution.
The Hibersense module from Integrity Softworks fully integrates this revolutionary comfort control system into URC’s Total Control home automation system.
The remote and tablet interfaces show the current status of the Hibersense system, including the current scene, HVAC state and building occupation status. From the UI, the homeowner can select any of the scenes defined from the Hibersense mobile app in their account.
The integration has access to a variety of sensor data from Hibersense, including building and room occupation status, room temperature, HVAC system state, and Hibersense scene state. Two-way commands can retrieve the current room temp, occupation status, and active scene, as well as activating a specified scene from within a macro.
ADD SOME COLOR
Thinking about providing colored lighting solutions to your clients? Adding color is a great way to increase the wow factor of any job and provide something unique to your customers.
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN ADDING COLORED LIGHTING TO A SYSTEM
When choosing colored lighting, there are key aspects that should be discussed:
While making a room purple or adding green accent lights is absolutely fun, changing the color of light also has health, wellness, and productivity benefits. Enter circadian lighting.
The goal of circadian lighting is to follow the human circadian rhythm - our internal clock. Lights can be programmed to shift color temperature throughout the day to better match the natural daylight we would normally experience. Studies are analyzing the possible positive impacts that utilizing this method of lighting can have on health and increased productivity.
Dealers can help improve customers' lifestyles by incorporating Circadian lighting solutions into their projects with the help of drivers.
Read more on Circadian lighting here.
COLORED LIGHTING RESOURCES
Need more information on colored lighting? Here are some resources to help get you started:
ProSource U. ProSource members can use the new and improved ProSource University for resources on lighting design, configuration, and programming.
Nexlux. This product (available from Amazon) is a great, simple solution for adding colored lighting to a project. Axon Engineering has developed a simple IP driver for control on both Control4 and ELAN systems. Check out this and other solution Axon Engineering has provided HERE.
KNX. KNX is quickly becoming the leading standard in lighting integration. Janus Technology has developed a beautiful color integration for Control4 systems. Check out what Janus has been up to HERE.
IR-controllable lights. Many lighting manufactures use a simple IR-based controlled lighting. There are a few drivers that can control these lights:
WiFi Controlled Bulbs. Tired of the experience with control4 and Phillips Hue? Try out some of these solutions
Advanced Lighting Configuration. Customize your clients experience with these drivers: