Creston vs Control4: Smart Home Lighting Automation System Comparison

Home lighting technology has come a long way in a short amount of time. Today, walking from room to room, flicking switch after switch, seems like something from the dark ages.

The latest improvements in smart home lighting balance ease of use with maximum energy efficiency, delivering practical benefits that improve comfort, strengthen security, and save energy. Combine these features with home lighting automation systems that allow you to control your lighting with the touch of a button, and your home will be transformed with new functionality and ultimate convenience.

So, say farewell to flicking and hello to smart home simplicity with a home lighting automation system.

Let’s explore the benefits of home lighting automation and compare the features of two leading brands: Creston and Control4.

Both companies offer state-of-the-art lighting automation systems that provide a wide range of smart-home functions, including smart lighting controls and integration with security systems, HVAC, and third-party smart devices.

While both Creston and Control4 systems are capable of smart home functionality, there are some differences that may be helpful to factor into your decision-making process based on your needs and personal preferences.

What is home lighting automation?

If you’ve ever returned home in the dark, hands full with children, groceries, or pets, and had to fumble around madly searching for the light switch, then home lighting automation is the perfect solution for you.

Home lighting automation gives you the power to operate your lights with a simple voice command or from the convenience of your smartphone. In combination with smart lights, smart controls, and other smart devices, this technology allows you to create a safer and more accessible home environment.

Through sensors and/or networked lighting controls, your home can perform a wide variety of different functions, from setting the perfect ambience for each room and closing the blinds to adjusting the temperature and automatically turning on lights when you enter a room, all controlled by voice-assisted AI, wall-mounted touchscreens and keypads, and other smart devices.

Custom ambience

Lighting is a powerful tool in creating the ideal environment, no matter the purpose of the room. A smart home lighting system enables you to set a different scene for each space within your home. From the perfect atmosphere for movie night to the right mood for entertaining, you can program home lighting automation to control your lighting and produce the right light level in the right areas according to your needs.

Centralised control

Home lighting automation allows you to control your lighting from a central smart home lighting control panel. You can choose to connect any number of rooms to the system and operate each light separately or all at once with the push of a button or using pre-programmed voice commands.

Timing and automation

Smart home automation lighting control can assist you in creating a more energy-efficient home. You can activate lights only when a room is in use by utilising motion sensors. You can also use timers to schedule when specific areas are illuminated, effectively reducing your energy consumption and saving you from reminding others to turn off lights when leaving a room.

The benefits of home lighting automation

Home automation is in high demand these days. As a result, lighting and electronics companies are focused on continuous improvement and innovation in the race to stay ahead of the competition. This is fantastic news for you, as this means automation technology will only keep getting better, smarter and more convenient as we move into a future where smart homes will be commonplace around the globe.

A huge benefit of smart home lighting automation, from a practical perspective, is that you don’t have to rewire your entire home to take advantage of automation technology. The installation process can be as simple or complex as you want, depending on the functions you wish to be incorporated into your home; and your budget.

Choose between a wireless or wired system or a combination of both to take control of time and energy-saving tasks around your home by automating your lighting, security, and temperature through a centralised operating system.

Another great bonus to lighting control systems for homes is the ability to learn more about your daily living habits. Automated technology allows you to track and gather data about the energy usage within your home, opening up opportunities to better understand where your household consumes the most power and enabling you to implement energy-saving measures that will help reduce your power bill and save you money.

Creston home automation

Specialising in the manufacture and distribution of advanced control and automation systems for both commercial and residential applications, Creston Electronics provides integrated solutions to monitor, manage, and control audio, video, lighting, blinds, and temperature.

Creston has streamlined technology in the home to drive efficiency and create more satisfying and effective user experiences.

Control4 home automation

Control4 is one of the leading automation systems for homes and businesses, offering personalised smart home automation to control connected devices such as lighting, audio, video, HVAC, and security.

With a strong focus on interoperability, the Control4 system integrates with thousands of third-party products to create an intelligent, user-friendly home environment.

Creston vs Control4: Ease of use

Creston

Creston offers two operating systems in their home automation range: Creston Custom and Creston Home.

Creston Custom

The interface for this bespoke system is built entirely from scratch in accordance with the project requirements. This means you can customise the display as much as you want, selecting the exact layout and design you prefer and having your integration provider create the ideal user experience for you.

The Creston Custom system enables easy scalability, meaning it can adapt to suit a small apartment project or work just as effectively in a large-scale commercial setting. Being fully programmable, you can also schedule specific functions or scenes to occur at certain times or by the push of a button. For example, a morning scene might consist of blinds opening, your TV turning on to a particular channel and volume level, the temperature adjusting for the time of day, and light levels changing to imitate the morning sun.

Creston Home

The Creston Home user interface is designed for simplicity and resembles iOS in appearance and experience. It features a relatively standard layout and offers less customisable options than Creston Custom. However, it is comparatively easy to program and still provides features that allow for unique functionality.

This system is ideal for small to mid-sized residential projects seeking a high-end automation solution that offers some level of customisation at a more budget-friendly cost.

Control4

Utilising Apple’s icon-based user interface, the Control4 system offers set commands and control over devices. Whether you choose to control your system using a touchscreen, tablet, or smartphone, the interface will display in a similar format, meaning it’s extremely easy to navigate without any training.

While Control4 offers good smart home functionality, there is little customisation available, limiting you to the tasks that have been pre-programmed into the system. However, with a great emphasis on third-party integration, there are a wide variety of connectable smart devices that provide you with control over your home.

Creston vs Control4: Lighting

With smart lighting and home lighting control systems steadily rising in the most-requested home upgrades in recent times, smart home lighting automation has become a hot topic of interest for homeowners.

Both Creston and Contol4 allow for the seamless integration of your preferred lighting system, enabling you to control when, where, and how your home is illuminated using touchscreens, keypads, and mobile devices.

Pre-programmed timers determine when your lights are activated, and motion sensors detect movement within the house to provide hands-free illumination when and where you need it.

So, when it comes to lighting Creston and Control4 both provide you with intelligent ways to automate your home, with options as endless as the flexibility and customisation of the system you choose.

Creston vs Control4: Hardware

Hardware fails, in most cases, where inexperience and misuse exist. If your system is not installed correctly, if you cause damage, or if you neglect to have the system serviced, your hardware can stop working effectively. Therefore, regardless of which automation product you choose, you must ensure that a qualified provider installs and maintains your system to get the best functionality and longest life out of the hardware.

Both Creston and Control4 manufacture their equipment in-house, providing ultimate control and compatibility.

Creston

Creston offers over 50 years of experience and reliability in producing electronic devices. Their dedicated manufacturing process involves subjecting their products to rigorous testing, including exposure to extreme temperatures, drop and stress testing, and overloading the software. This ensures Creston constantly delivers the highest quality products to the end-user.

Control4

With close to 20 years in the home automation market, Control4 has recently merged with SnapAV to offer extensive opportunities in the area of smart home hardware and integration capabilities.

Investing heavily in the ability to interconnect with other smart products, the Control4 system can integrate with thousands of third-party devices, allowing you to easily increase the functionality of your home and control intelligent tasks like your lighting, heating, and security system.

Creston vs Control4: Additional features

Creston

Security

Creston offers the ability to integrate into cameras with real-time feeds, door and gate entry systems along with boundary sensors and alarms. The only disadvantage here is the requirement for security functions to be programmed into the system rather than providing intuitive connectivity and integration.

HVAC

With Creston’s endless customisation power, you can easily control the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning within your home. Integration is possible with most common HVAC brands and allows you to set room temperatures and switch automatically between heating and cooling. With the scalability of the Creston system, you can also have additional functionality programmed in, such as water temperature control.

Control4

Security

Control4 offers the same functionality as Creston when it comes to security features. However, rather than having to program each device, the Control4 system has a built-in security system, making it extremely easy to access and control connected security devices. Focus has been placed on the simplicity of use in the Control4 security system, offering the ability to integrate with a broad range of security door systems.

HVAC

The integration capabilities of the Control4 system with HVAC units are less flexible than Creston. However, the list of Control4 compatible products still covers the most common HVAC brands on the market. With pre-determined settings allowing you to control basic functions, where this system fails to offer complete customisation, it makes up for it with a quick and easy integration process.

Creston vs Control4: Integration

Creston

The Creston home automation system has the capabilities to integrate and control any number of third-party smart home devices, such as your speakers. However, to allow the system to communicate with these devices, you will need to rely on the services of a programmer to add each product to the automated control system.

This solution may suit installations and homes where the system will automate and control many functions and customisation is key.

Control4

Likewise, Control4 also has the ability to integrate with countless smart devices from some of the most popular providers in the world, including Google, Amazon, and Sonos. However, the Control4 system offers purpose-built controls that allow you to operate and control each device easily.

This solution may be ideal for small home upgrade seekers interested in ease of use and a quick installation time.

How to choose the right system for you

When deciding on the most suitable automation system for your home, much like choosing the best shirt to wear for the day, it all comes down to the right fit. The right system for you will be the one that fits your needs the best.

Both Creston and Control4 offer superior hardware and software that is easy to use and provides a range of functions and features that make your home more flexible and convenient. From controlling your lights to increasing your home’s security, choosing between the two systems will ultimately rely on a few determining factors: how much customisation is required and how much you are prepared to spend.

Creston provides a robust system that can integrate and control a large number of smart devices with almost endless options for programmable features and settings. However, to achieve full control and customisation, you need a qualified integration expert to program your system.

On the other hand, Control4 offers a simple integration process with many leading third-party products and everyday devices such as Google Home but is unable to provide extensive customisation options.

Design and install automated home lighting systems

We specialise in designing and integrating smart home lighting automation systems. From our complete end-to-end consultative process, detailed plans, and expertise in all modes of lighting and lighting controls, Hampshire Light works closely with you to establish your lighting needs and collaborate with electrical engineers to ensure your lighting vision is brought to life. We will help you automate your home and create a convenient, functional, and brilliantly lit smart home environment that saves you both time and energy.

Contact us for more information about smart home lighting automation systems or to discuss your unique requirements directly with our expert lighting consultants.