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by Chase Bouchard
 
If you haven’t heard about the new residential platform from Crestron, then now is the time.
 
With Crestron Home™ software, we’ve taken a new approach to residential system design, configuration, deployment, and user experience. Even if you’ve actively followed the progression of the platform, it’s easy to miss or forget some of the many new features. Since the inception of the platform in the fall of 2019, there’ve been three major updates. We expect to release another update around the time of this blog post. Hopefully, you can take away at least one useful thing from this post and use it to provide value to your upcoming job.
 
1.  myCrestron Remote Monitoring Service
This platform provides value prior to deployment and after installation. With every Crestron Home deployment, you should prioritize connecting your control system (MC4-R or CP4-R) to the myCrestron platform as soon as you complete installation. Most important, myCrestron provides a secure backup of your Crestron Home configuration. If anything were to happen to the existing control system, you would have a backup that you can load to another control system. myCrestron also makes it easy to order custom engravings, receive notifications if a control system were to go offline for a period of time, and review logs of devices.
 
The platform can also provide value prior to installation. Our team is working hard to continue adding features to our pre-configuration tool. This tool allows enables you to complete most of your lighting configuration prior to installation. You can choose enclosures, and add modules, keypads, and dimmers, to which you can then assign loads. The tool also gives you the option to order engravings for your switches and keypads before going on site.
 
This platform will continue to grow alongside Crestron Home and become an even more valuable tool, as it will decrease the time spent on site. To learn more, please watch this webinar, hosted by the myCrestron product manager.
 
2.  Rearrange video sources in Crestron Home application
I always show this during my Crestron Home presentations because it’s a feature that rarely jumps out at people, at first. In the “Source Routes” tab of the configuration application or XPanel, you first navigate to the “Available Sources” tab.



From there you press and hold on the source you want to sort, and it will be highlighted in green. You can then drag it to your preferred location in the list.
 
3.  Advanced User Password
This can be set in the system password section during the configuration of your Crestron Home control system. You’ll want to set this for each of your deployments.



This password provides you and the end user with the ability to modify these settings in the Crestron Home application:

• • Hide rooms
  • Hide subsystems within rooms
  • Hide crucial subsystems on the home screen
    • Security
    • House access
    • Cameras
  • Speakers
  • Change and enable sounds for events
    • Doorbell presses
    • Occupancy sensors
    • Driveway sensors
  • Modify Quick Actions and Scheduled Events
•  
  Setting changes made here through Advanced User Password will modify the interface on individual devices when hiding rooms and subsystems. For example, if a user makes changes on his/her phone to hide a room, this will not propagate to the TSW touch screen in the kitchen. Giving the end user this freedom is just another great way to provide value to your projects.
   
  4.  Scheduling events based on astronomical clock
  Crestron Home enables you to schedule events based on sunset and sunrise. This can be done easily via the “Scheduled Events” tab within the configuration.
  
  
  
  5.  Now, you can control Lutron devices via Crestron Home!
  Yes, that’s right. Crestron and Lutron are finally working together. We tightened our integration of Lutron within Crestron Home. We currently support Lutron QSX, Homeworks™ QS, Radio RA®2, and Radio RA2 Select systems. As the Crestron Home platform evolves, this integration will continue to grow more robust.
   
  For more details on the features mentioned here, please review the Crestron Home Product Manual or watch this joint webinar, featuring Crestron and Lutron product managers.
   
  For more information:
  Crestron Home Technical and Marketing Resources
  Crestron Home Product and Feature Updates