Control4  has created a mobile App, Composer Express, to streamline large whole-home and single-room Control4 installations. The powerful mobile configuration tool enables Control4 Dealers to dramatically simplify and accelerate the set-up process for home automation systems.

“Now, a Control4 Dealer’s technician should be able to configure most one-room home theatres in very short order, or set up hundreds of devices in the most complex whole-home installations in a few hours by using their WiFi-enabled tablet or smartphone and simply walking around the building, installing devices and having Composer Express auto-integrate them into the Control4 system,” said Control4 chairman and CEO Martin Plaehn.

“Control4 solutions are designed to scale and deliver exceptional home automation experiences for installations of any size,” he said. “Today, we begin providing our dealers a dedicated companion app to our professional programming software, Composer Pro, which will help scale our Dealer’s businesses. As smart home adoption increases and demand for professional installers rises, Composer Express puts Control4 Dealers in a unique position to meet the expanding market demand,” said Plaehn.

Significant Time Savings for Large Smart Home Installations

Large smart home automation projects can have hundreds of devices that need to be configured – a process that in the past could take days to complete. Now, with Composer Express, a technician can walk through the project with a smartphone or tablet and integrate all the devices within a few hours.

Composer Express uses Simple Device Discovery Protocol’s (SDDP), powerful Internet-Of-Things discovery protocol, to automatically discover all SDDP-enabled devices on the network and lets the technician integrate devices into the system with a single touch. Composer Express also provides easy access to an online library of thousands of devices (including ZigBee devices) such as light switches, dimmers, keypads, and sensors, so that a broad range of devices can be seamlessly connected.

“This is the app I wish I’d had two years ago when I first set up my own Control4 system,” said Dennis Burger, a Composer Express beta tester. “This isn’t simply a miniaturised Composer Pro; it’s a fully functional companion app that combines the essence of Composer’s preliminary setup tools in a super-streamlined form, with added functionality tailored specifically for handheld devices,” said Burger.

Home theatre setup estimated to be 70 percent faster

Having the setup and configuration power of Composer Express in the palm of the installer’s hand significantly speeds up and simplifies the installation process of automated home theatre systems as well. Beta testers using Composer Express estimated installers would save approximately 70 percent of their time in setting up single-room home theatre systems.

Composer Express enables a Control4 Dealer’s authorised technicians to quickly add new customer accounts, register controllers, update the system OS, easily install Control4 and third-party devices, map the control and audio-video connections among devices, and verify the system to ensure that everything is networked correctly. And all this can be done onsite, right from their iOS or Android tablet or smartphone.

“Composer Express is so simple and intuitive. We believe entry-level technicians will be able to pick up the app and work their way through setting up a system in minutes,” said Plaehn. “And the process is so much faster, it’s going to be great for large systems.”

A new labour model for Control4 Dealers

In addition to providing installation simplification and time savings, Composer Express was also designed to help Control4 Dealers expand their business by decreasing the training time and logistics for entry-level technicians.

“With the Composer Express app for iOS and Android, Control4 Dealers can now locally train and deploy a new tier of Control4 technical staff,” said Control4 vice president, support and training Paul Williams.

“Creating a new tier of technicians who can be self-taught through online training allows Control4 Dealers to use their more skilled and experienced Control4 Tech 1 & Tech 2 Certified technicians for larger projects, so they can complete more smart home installations per month, and contribute more efficiently to top and bottom line business growth,” Williams continued.

The Control4 Composer Express app for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets is available worldwide for immediate download to all authorised Control4 Dealers and their employees on the App Store and Amazon Marketplace. Technicians can go through online training for Composer Express certification