Choosing the Right Remote

Often the center of home entertainment and control systems, remotes have assumed an important role in our homes. Here are few tips on choosing the right one for you.

Whether you’re looking for a handheld remote that operates your home entertainment system or a whole-house lighting or control system, the two most important things are that it’s simple to use and that it works.



Simplicity can be the hardest part. With the myriad features and functions of today’s electronics, a control system can have hundreds of buttons to confuse you and make something that is intended to make your life easier a royal pain in the sofa cushions—which happens to be where many controllers end up.

Wireless is the big thing among all control and lighting systems today, meaning no more additional wiring is required between a lighting switch and a lamp or system controller. Instead, radio frequency signals are sent to the switches or other devices. Beyond that, wireless “mesh” networks, which can use multiple pathways to send signals to other devices, are finding their way into home control and lighting systems, even handheld universal remote controls. These technologies, among them low-power ZigBee and Z-Wave, are capable of two-way communication, so the controller receives a signal about whether its command was received.

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[Link: electronichouse.com]