What are Control4 and Savant?
Control4 and Savant are automated solutions consisting of smart devices that can be controlled remotely. Their technology involves:
- Seamless operation of every device in the hub.
- Extending the life of household appliances.
- Convenient control via smartphone.
- Security systems.
- Energy efficiency and reducing utility bills.
- Audio and video solutions for home theater and conferencing.
The two are popular customer choices for smart home systems. They offer all known integration solutions for homes and businesses. But how to figure out which is better? While each system has undeniable advantages, you will likely select the one that meets your needs and budget.
Expert Tech will consider smart home elements such as sensors and thermostats, lighting, connection types, hub protocols, security systems, music, AV solutions, and your budget.
Automated Home Elements
The choice between a Savant or Control4 system depends on your personal preferences, but you should pay attention to several essential nuances.
A must-have of an automated home is a hub that unites all the gadgets, devices, and appliances in the house and allows you to control them remotely.
The rest of the smart home is assembled based on your lifestyle. These can be devices of two groups:
- Sensors and thermostats that control humidity, temperature, and smoke. During the emergency, the signal is instantly transmitted to the controller, and the owner receives a malfunctioning message on the smartphone. Such a system allows you to respond quickly to any changes and prevent issues.
- Control4, for example, offers a better solution for thermostats. If you have the Nest thermostat, then Control4 would be your choice. Savant also offers climate control, but alternative systems might be harder to deploy.
- Household devices: ACs, outlets, switches, etc. They get instructions from a remote access device and execute them.
Home automation technology may have a relay that provides the bulk of the automation. This includes underfloor heating, lighting, gate control, smart technology, and garden irrigation.
For instance, Savant lighting operates through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Mesh Technology. Smart lights exchange relay commands within Bluetooth range, creating an interdependent mesh of Bluetooth communication pathways.
On the other hand, Control4 lighting keypads enable backlighting to switch on or down based on the light in the room and change specific color if your garage is left open.
How Control4 and Savant Connect
There are two types of connection: wired and wireless.
Pros and cons of a wired connection:
+ high level of reliability;
+ higher price;
– the complexity of installation.
Pros and cons of wireless connection:
+ ease of installation;
+ a wide range of systems;
– the quality of radio communication;
– frequent troubleshooting and battery replacement.
Control4 and Savant efficiently blend wired and wireless devices, allowing you to place them in areas where cable access is impossible. However, Control4 seems to be higher in wireless technology integration, allowing for fewer cables.
Hubs
The main difference between hubs lies in their communication protocols to connect to devices.
The most popular wireless smart home control protocols are ZigBee and Z-Wave. They feature high communication speed and low power consumption: compact sensors can operate on one battery for several months.
Conrol4 used ZigBee in all its automated devices and recently added the Control4 Z-Wave Module and USB Dongle for lighting, comfort, and security solutions to integrate with Z-wave devices. Savant uses ZigBee, Z-wave, and Insteon. So both are universal systems that support more than one protocol and work with devices from 3rd party manufacturers.
How to Choose the Right Hub?
To operate an automated home comfortably, you must choose the right hub. What to look for when choosing a model:
- Smart home architecture – which devices and how many you will install. If you are planning on several similar devices, for example, smart light bulbs and entertainment, they are easy to control through a smartphone, which acts as a controller. Then the best bet would be a Savant app for Android or Apple devices. But if there are a lot of different gadgets and devices, and you need to configure a different scenario for each, you should consider Control4 because it best integrates with different brands, such as Nest, Alexa, Sonos, Lutron, Honeywell, LG, and others.
- The type and number of communication protocols supported. The more protocols, the more devices you can connect to the hub. For example, when arranging lighting or climate control, ZigBee and Z-Wave are suitable, and when automating household appliances, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is more than enough.
Smart Lighting – Control4 or Savant?
Smart lighting is popular in homes, offices, and hotels due to the following:
- The ability to control lighting outside the home for those who constantly worry about leaving lights on.
- Savings on utility bills due to reduced electricity consumption.
Control4 and Savant have a simple and intuitive control system that even the smallest family members can handle. Each comes with its own lighting system but will also integrate with Lutron bulbs. However, unlike Control4, Savant can’t automatically adjust based on the amount of ambient light the control pads receive.
Security Systems
Pay attention to the following security level of the system if you are planning to purchase a smart home in 2022.
- Leak protection
- Short circuit protection
- Fire protection (a smoke sensor)
- Autonomous power supply (diesel generator)
- Automatic fire extinguishing system
- Emergency signaling for service calls
These measures will reduce the risk of hazardous consequences during any emergency.
Control4 and Savant use smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, water leakage sensors, and temperature and humidity sensors.
Security System Options
To ensure security, you can use the following:
- Smart cameras with motion sensors can also transmit a signal to the homeowner or law enforcement agencies. Depending on the camera’s capabilities, you can monitor a babysitter or the entire house while at work.
- An intercom system that allows you to remotely open and close gates, windows, and doors.
- Connecting several cameras (the number depends on the system) and viewing the recording in real-time.
- Motion sensors that detect people and animals. These sensors are helpful at night or in your absence when unauthorized movement in the premises signals a break-in.
- Door-opening sensors will also help to detect intruders – turning on the sensor can activate the camera and deter uninvited visitors.
When it comes to your home security, Control4 shines. It offers complete surveillance and NVRs with remote control and views through your television, Control4 touchscreen, and smartphones. Its IP cameras deliver exceptional HD footage.
Savant security options are confined to the Entry System that covers video recording, answering, seeing, and speaking to visitors from any part of the world. While Savant offers a connection to a door camera, Control4 has a more robust built-in intercom and surveillance system that can cover the whole house, inside and outside.
AV Solutions and Music
Many attest to the fact that Savant offers a better AV experience. Its UI design is easy to use than that of Control4.
Customers looking for an automated conference room can avail of Savant’s solutions for the best audio and video devices for conferencing and home theater.
The two, Control4 and Savant, have the ability to stream music through the house. The Savant system has built-in Deezer and Pandora.
Control4 works with Tidal, iHeartRadio, Napster, Tunelm, and Qobuz. The two systems also give you access to Spotify.
What is Your Budget?
Your budget or how much you are ready to spend will be decisive when choosing a smart home system. Both Control4 and Savant are good systems, but Control4 is less expensive than Savant. If you are looking for an affordable smart home solution, then Control4 would be the best option.
How Much Do Savant and Control4 Cost?
The Savant systems cost depends on what you are looking for. For example, an automation system starts at $1,600, while the price for the company’s Audio Matrix will be around $2,500.
As for the Control4, home automation may range between $1,200 to $25,000 and even more, depending on the size of your house and what you want.