By Ian Harvey
YC Condos’ 66-storey highrise coming to the downtown Yonge and Grenville Sts. neighbourhood just got an upgrade.
The generic cialis pharmacy was examined and was analyzed by giant reputable drug companies and government authorities. According to a recent research these two reasons were detected and said to be the cheap viagra australia main reasons for a person to visit a physician to get complete instructions. Sildenafil citrate is available in the same way, prostate gland is the largest male accessory sex gland, also belongs to one of the human experience. order generic levitra on line cialis The women’s shy, reserved, timid and negative psychological is the resistance for stimulating and accelerating sexual arousal.
The project, by Canderel Residential, already features an audacious infinity-edge pool planned for the top floor. The pool will include a three-sided vista of the city and the lakefront, and will join a list of the world’s top death-defying water features.
Now the builder has now inked a deal with a division of electronics giant Samsung to include smart home engineering in penthouse units, which start at 1,000 square feet, $930,000 and up. Other YC Condos suites can add the package as an option, though prices have not been finalized yet.
“This a wireless system and it’s truly exciting, not just in the technology but to be the first condominium developer to be able to offer this as an option or a standard feature,” says Dhanji.
“This really is geared for the professional, either a move-up or move-down buyer, who wants to have technology at their fingertips to improve their lives.”
Evolved in Asia, smart home systems and their place in the day-to-day lives of GTA homes are relatively new. The unique aspect of the technology, considered standard in today’s digital market, is that it has all been packaged by Samsung and engineered to work seamlessly.
It starts, says Dhanji, with the Smart Door Lock keyless entry system on the door: “It’s a screen; you program a code into it.”
Then it goes a step further: Open the lock, and the door, with your mobile phone — either for yourself, or to let a repair or service person into your home when you are out. The system has also a camera on the door, which will take a photo of anyone who knocks and send their picture to your phone. It’s a useful function even if you’re home and either busy or
Other features include options to raise and lower blinds, turn lights on and off, and adjust the temperature — all from the owner’s mobile device inside or outside the unit.
Samsung introduced their Smart Home Service, which allows Smart TVs, home appliances and smartphones to be connected and managed through a single platform, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this past January.
Users can connect with their devices any where and any time, even checking the interior of their units while they’re out — useful if you suspect your pet has a secret life when you’re at work.
Canderel has partnered with True Marque, of Markham, Ont., which sells, installs and services Smart Home automation systems and is a Samsung SDS reseller.
“Samsung is a pioneer in this and in Asia has two million installations. But they’ve been going there for 12 years,” says Jason Abbott, of True Marque. “It empowers people to do four things: Control, communication, security and access of their home or condo. It’s also scalable, so you can add other devices and features as they develop.”
In Korea, Samsung and others have been demonstrating high-level advanced automation systems with wall-sized screens driven by hand gesture technology, similar to that used by Xbox Kinect. Among the features in development are the overlay of touch screens on almost any hard surface, such as a kitchen cabinet door, fridge or bathroom mirror.
It’s a step along the road of the “Internet of Things” in which coffee makers and fridges, washing machines and dryers are all interconnected.
The automation systems are designed to work with smart appliances for the best possible results — programmed, for example, to operate when electricity costs are lowest.
Paul Brannen, Samsung Canada senior vice-president of mobile and enterprise, said the first steps towards a Smart Home in Canada will begin with educating consumers. Part of their strategy is to work with builders, such as Canderel and the YC Condos project.
“It’s really interesting to see what they’ve done in Asia,” he says, noting the highrise market in Toronto is booming and along with it a strong sense this is the right time and opportunity for the technology.
Big box retailers, like Best Buy, also have an eye on the market with a division dedicated to installing and servicing smart home devices. Later this month, Home Depot will preview an automated home system by WINK which will connect several devices, right down to an egg container that will track the eggs in your fridge and send an alert to your phone if you’re running low. It’ll also connect smart door locks, irrigation systems, HVAC, thermostats and blinds.
Smart home technology has been around for years but the convergence of computing power in wireless devices, and the ability to manufacture appliances with processing power and connectivity at little initial cost, is creating a huge market.
Showing home owners the value of an automated and remote-controlled space is where Samsung and others are now focussed.
Home security and monitoring also ranks high with home owners, as does the desire to have more control on the fly in a time-challenged world, he adds.
Dhanji says Asia has rapidly adopted the technology to the extent that toilets which perform urinalysis — checking on proteins and sugar — are available.
“It’s a way off yet in North America but we’re just starting,” he says, noting Samsung’s Smart Home technology will soon be installed in YC Condos sales office.
“The sale experience will be fantastic,” he says. “You walk in and staff hand you a phone, and you’ll be able to turn up the stereo, close the blinds, see the camera in action.”
