WITH THE UPCOMING HOLIDAY TRAVEL SEASON, EVOLVE TECHNOLOGIES CAN HELP YOU IMAGINE A SMART GARAGE

Garages aren't just the breezeways of life. Apparently, at least in Dallas, they are historic! The National Register of Historic Places, in 2020, added the DalPark parking garage in downtown Dallas to its list. 

As the holiday season revs up, there will be more traveling. Even if your family takes an Uber to the airport for major holiday travel, there's still gift shopping, grocery shopping for Thanksgiving, Nativity plays, ballet recitals of the Nutcracker, office holiday parties, and more.  

The garage door openers will be busy.  

Can a garage be smart? Yes, you can have a smart garage. There are a host of smart garage door controllers, smart garage door openers, and other options. Evolve can design and create a smart garage experience that is way more than bicycles and a beer fridge.  

Smart garages are a thing, and Evolve Technology can make it your thing.  

 

SHOWPIECE - FIRST THING YOU SEE GETTING HOME

The garage is the first thing you see when you get home. For those fortunate enough to own homes, the garage can be a reminder of incomplete things or of a lack of organization: the bikes leaned against each other or the old Rubbermaid trash bin holding rakes, baseball bats and hockey sticks. We were serious about organizing the garage when we moved in here, but other things happened.  

And, when you get home at the end of the day, it's the last thing you want to think about.  

But it's time to think about more than just getting a pegboard and hanging the weed-whacker somewhere. A smart garage is a real option.  

Evolve knows that a top-line principle of smart homes is options. The idea that you can do something or operate something without having to physically stand near it, turn knobs, and press buttons, is what makes a smart home smart. You tell it to do something rather than show it.  

HOW WE GOT TO SMART GARAGES - SMART EVERYTHING ELSE

Even a hundred years ago, appliances had plugs. If an appliance was plugged in, it was usually on. Then came the first smart development: power switches. An appliance could be powered but still be off. Brilliant! The next step in smart homes was having multiple settings for something. In the 50s and 60s, blenders got different settings for puree and chop.  

The key today is remote access to perform any task: adjusting the home thermostat from the office (Dads love that one), turning off the home security system when the wind sets it off, and, of course, opening and closing the garage door. It's not just open and close with a small "clicker." It opens and closes from far away with your phone. Or, you can automate it so it opens at specified time without even having to use your phone.  

SMART ACCESS - SELECTIVE ACCESS

It's still an add-on, not a full room. The garage is mostly storage: lawnmower, paint (there's always, somehow, cans of paint), trash cans (depending on how cruel your HOA is), and a very expensive item: your car.  

It's supposed to be secure. And it is. But maybe it needs to be selectively secure.  

In days of yore, there was one garage door opener that worked on an analog signal. You pressed a button, and the door opened. But this was easy to spoof, and burglars soon took advantage of it.  

Today, instead of "DIP-switches," which were useful but not foolproof, some garage door openers send an original numerical signal to a garage door opener every time it's opened or closed. And even that is 30 years old!  

AMAZON KEY AND OTHER APPS

Your teenager will probably lose their garage door opener. Yet if they survived a thirty-thousand-foot fall from a mid-air plane collision, they still would not lose their smartphone. There is a galaxy of apps available for a galaxy of different makes and brands of garage door openers. And they can all go on your teenager’s smart phone. 

Evolve Technologies uses the Control4 platform, which includes cross-compatibility with other platforms such as Alexa and Google Home. Additionally, this compatibility makes room for thousands of additional software, apps, integrations, and more.  

4Sight represents Control4's integration solution for garage and passage doors in homes. From the outset, Evolve recognized the importance of selecting brands that are innovative, functional, and high-performing for our primary products. This is precisely why we opted for Control4. Control4 is compatible with numerous add-on apps, digital home suites, and various smart devices, including Google Echo, Alexa, and Apple Smartwatch. 

Even better, there are now apps and services that can use software similar to the Billioncode innovation. Delivery drivers can get a one-time code to open your garage and leave packages inside.  

NOVELTY GARAGES 

There are countless other valuable and aesthetic options for the garage. Lane lights are in-ground illumination that runs along the side of your driveway like a runway. These are fun and valuable for the errant bicycle left there.  

-- Now That’s a Garage --

• A 2009 Maserati Gran Turismo owner whose "minimalist" garage has a library, lavatory, kitchenette and hide-away TV 
• A detached garage in Connecticut that is actually an 8,000-bottle wine cellar  
• A bar in your garage

THE SMART GARAGE AND THE SMART HOME 

Over the river and through the woods for the holidays means a lot of in and out of the garage. Since it's still part of your home, even when you’re not there, let Evolve Technologies help you make it an ideal first room of the house!