Understanding Professional Automation Platforms vs. DIY Smart Home Products

You've decided your home needs smart automation. Now comes the harder question: which system? With so many options available, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by features, capabilities, and competing claims.

The right home control system should make your life simpler, not more complicated. It should work reliably every day, integrate the technology you already love, and adapt as your needs change. Here's what to look for when evaluating your options.

Managing One or Two Rooms to an Entire Estate

Not every home needs the same lighting control system. A 2,500-square-foot colonial has different requirements than a 10,000-square-foot estate. Lutron, a pioneer in lighting since the 1950s, offers solutions that scale beautifully to match your home's size, complexity, and your vision for how lighting should work.

As a Lutron Platinum dealer, we help Connecticut homeowners navigate these choices every day. Let's break down what makes Lutron special and which system might be right for your home.

Exploring Today's Possibilities for Creating an Authentic Theater Experience at Home

There was a time when home theater might have meant a large TV in a basement room with a sound system and some sizable speakers. Ever since the 1990s, dedicated home theaters have evolved into spaces that rival commercial cinemas, delivering stunning visuals, immersive sound, and comfort that makes you never want to leave the house for a movie again.

Whether you're planning a new build or converting an existing space in your Connecticut home, modern technology offers possibilities that were either prohibitively expensive or not possible for residential cinema. Let's explore what goes into creating a truly exceptional home theater experience with today’s options. 

Discover the Latest Premium Lighting Controls from Lutron

There's something deeply satisfying about a well-crafted light switch – that solid click, the weighted feel, the sense of quality under your fingertips. Most smart home controls have shifted away from this tactile experience in favor of flat buttons or touchscreens. But what if you could have both the classic feel of a vintage toggle and the intelligence of modern lighting control?

Lutron's new Aviena keypad delivers just that. Combined with recent enhancements to their Palladiom line, these premium controls prove that smart home technology can honor traditional craftsmanship while delivering cutting-edge performance.

Modern Lighting Systems Practically Pay for Themselves

Your old incandescent and CFL bulbs aren't just wasting energy – they're limiting what your lighting can actually do for your home. The lighting upgrade that seemed like a nice-to-have a few years ago has become a smart investment that pays for itself while unlocking capabilities you never knew were possible.

Modern LED lighting systems with intelligent control are more than just efficient illumination. They're about creating the right atmosphere for every moment, supporting your health and sleep patterns, and giving you complete command over your home's ambiance.

Exploring Elegant Keypads and Exceptional LED Tape Lighting

Lutron began its journey in lighting control when founder Joel Spira invented the first solid-state dimmer in 1961. Still family-owned and operated, today it’s recognized as a global leader in lighting control, LED technologies, and energy-saving as well as aesthetically beautiful lighting. 

As a custom design and electronics integration company, C&T Systems provides clients with the best in smart home technology. In the world of lighting control, that brand is Lutron. 

With over 2,700 patents, Lutron continues to make its mark with new innovations nearly every year. Here, we’ll explore the latest Lutron products that are changing how we illuminate our homes. 

How to Balance Outdoor Sound and Not Upset Your Neighbors

Many people spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on outdoor amenities like pools, decks, gazebos, and outdoor kitchens. Yet when it comes time to entertain, the sound comes from a lone Bluetooth speaker. It might sound fine when you're nearby, but without turning it up loud, no one will hear it well on the other side of the pool. Crank it up, and it's likely to draw a complaint from the neighbor.

There's a better way. Professional outdoor audio design creates that perfect soundtrack for your Connecticut backyard without turning your property into a noise complaint waiting to happen. The secret lies in understanding how sound behaves outdoors and working with it, not against it.

Automated Shading Makes Managing Natural Light a Breeze

Do you practice a daily ritual of walking around your home, tugging at cords, and adjusting blinds room by room? Those days are becoming distant memories for Hartford homeowners who discover the freedom of motorized shade control. At C&T Systems, we've seen firsthand how this simple upgrade transforms homes from functional to brilliant. Motorized shades are a wonderful luxury, to be sure – but they're also an eminently practical solution that makes sense. When summer sunshine streams through your windows at 5:30 AM or when Connecticut winter drafts sneak past your window treatments, the value of intelligent shade control becomes crystal clear.

By Joseph C. Colangelo, President of C&T Systems

     It was Thanksgiving night and we had eaten a turkey dinner with all the fixings, watched some football, and played two rounds of what has become our family’s annual setback tournament.  My sister-in-law was pulling brisket out of the oven and preparing us for a post dinner snack.  Our dog Sox was in the backyard doing his business and as I stepped onto the rear deck to check on him, I didn't quite maneuver correctly around the icy second step of the deck, slipped and popped my right patella tendon.  That’s right, I popped my patella tendon; like a day old balloon. After a ride in the ambulance, some time in the ER and a surgery to repair the tendon, I found myself in a full leg cast and in a blossoming relationship with the couch. Unfortunately this newfound romance was one-sided.

Live and Breathe Easier by Installing a Smart Air Purification System

How healthy is your home? You probably don’t know because, most of the time, the problems are invisible. This is especially true when it relates to air quality. You can’t see if your indoor air is impure. However, you’ll undoubtedly experience the effects: allergies, frequent colds, fatigue, and other health issues. Those unseen contaminants in the air, such as viruses, bacteria, and minuscule airborne particles, can make your home an unhealthy place to live.

When you have an air purification system in your home in Hartford, CT, or the surrounding areas, you’ll dramatically improve the air quality in your rooms. We recommend using a Pure365 air purifier. Read more to learn how this medical-grade purifier reduces indoor pollutants to give your home a clean bill of health.