Home automation offers incredible convenience while enhancing a home’s beauty and providing the best home entertainment. Yes, it offers one-touch control of your lighting, climate, entertainment, security, and outdoor amenities. But it does so much more. 

From whole-home audio that brings high-fidelity music and surround sound to every room to lighting that aligns with the color of daylight, today’s technology offers nearly limitless possibilities. In the hands of a home automation expert, your smart home performs your everyday tasks automatically. It creates the ideal atmosphere for your and your family’s moods and activities. With one touch or voice command, your entire home transforms. 

At Eighteen Group, we design, engineer, install, program, and support smart homes in Portland, OR, and the surrounding areas. Our team is comprised of experts in their field, from automation to engineering, design, and home entertainment. The result is a smart home that responds effortlessly. 

Here, we’ll explore why homeowners turn to us for their smart home needs and the difference working with experts makes.

It's that time of year when we look forward, resolving to do things a little better and complete some of the dreams we've put on hold. What's on your list? A new or upgraded home theater often ranks high for homeowners looking for the best home entertainment. 

Home cinemas have changed dramatically as technological advancements transform what's possible. To help you envision your ideal home theater design, let's explore a few of the latest trends and how people are transforming rooms into the heart of their homes: a place where friends and families gather and quiet moments offer replenishment.

Did you know that, on average, a person in America uses about nine apps daily? Of course, for some, that number is astronomically higher. If you’ve embraced smart home living, you may have an app for your lighting, one for your shades, and another for your smart video doorbell. And so it goes, adding one more app for every smart device. 

That experience, however, is a far cry from a genuine smart home in Portland, OR. As a home automation integrator, Eighteen Group creates a seamless experience in which all connected devices and systems are integrated and manage from one centralized hub. Then, we program your smart home to perform everyday tasks and prepare itself for you in advance. 

From the moment you wake until you go off to bed, your home creates the perfect lighting and climate, entertains you with the right music in the right room, and sets the stage when it’s time to relax and watch a movie or immerse yourself in a heated spa, surrounded by high-fidelity music. It keeps you secure by locking doors, setting alarms, and letting you know when someone arrives at your home.

Are you ready to experience smart home living at its finest? Let’s explore the full potential of an integrated smart home. 

It can be hard to keep up with today's ever-evolving technology, particularly in home entertainment. As a premier audio, video, and home automation integrator serving Portland, OR, we've witnessed the incredible changes firsthand. 

Today, homeowners enjoy dedicated home theaters that rival commercial cinemas. They experience audio systems that deliver high-fidelity, detailed music to every room. When they walk outside, swim in the pool, or head to the shower, the music follows them. And they control it all from a high-resolution touchscreen. 

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. So, where do you begin? That's where our team of world-class experts at Eighteen Group comes in. Our AV install solutions are custom-designed for every client and home. After all, no two families are the same, and their home entertainment systems shouldn't be either. 

Let's explore the nearly limitless options and discover which home entertainment solutions may be right for you. 

The popularity of home theaters is on the rise as more and more homeowners discover the magic and comfort of large-scale entertainment without stepping outside. Home theaters used to be a luxury element for only a select few, but today, they can be found in many homes of various sizes. The convenience, the experience, the personalized touch—there's so much to love! 

As the demand for home theaters has increased, so has the need for resources like Eighteen Group to share information about setting up the perfect movie-watching space. Continue reading as we explore some key details you’ll want to include when planning a home theater installation in your Portland, OR, home.

Control4 is a leader in home automation solutions and a brand we proudly represent at Eighteen Group. As your local Portland, OR, area experts, we believe that a professional Control4 installation offers more than just fancy technology; it can provide an elegant lifestyle change that simplifies daily tasks.

Continue reading to learn why you should only trust a professional Control4 installer with your valued smart technology.

Homeowners looking for improved security, enhanced comfort, or streamlined daily routines turn to smart home devices for support. But, as you consider adding these features to your home, there exists a critical decision for you to make: do you go the DIY route and mount these challenges yourself, or do you turn to a professional smart home integrator? Continue reading to compare these two paths for adding intelligent devices to your Portland, OR, home.

A private home cinema can absolutely transform your home entertainment, creating the ideal space for your family and friends to kick back, relax, and enjoy a movie night or TV show marathon together. The elevated media possibilities are endless with a dedicated theater!

But while it's tempting to go the DIY route when setting up a home theater, there are significant advantages to enlisting the services of a professional team like ours at Eighteen Group. In this blog, we'll explore the numerous benefits of a professional home theater installation and why it's a worthy investment for your Portland, OR, property.

Lighting does more than just illuminate a space—it also sets the mood and vibe. Lighting can enhance or ruin your interior design and décor; it can give your home a lively, welcoming feel or make it a dull and depressing space. Therefore, it’s vital to find the right lighting for your home. 

Read on to learn more about home lighting design in Portland, OR, and the benefits of hiring a professional for the task.

Smart homes offer a luxurious lifestyle, providing ease of control on an incredible scale. One touch or voice command manages every aspect of your home, including smart lighting, whole-home audio and video, the security system, climate control, pool, spa, and more. These customized smart solutions create a seamless design that blends beautifully with your home’s aesthetics.

At Eighteen Group, every one of our smart homes is unique, created with the homeowner’s lifestyle, moods, and activities in mind. Let’s explore what working with an expert-level smart home company offers and how it can transform your home in Portland, OR.

Motorized window treatments are rapidly jumping high on the list of most in-demand smart home technologies. They are popular with homeowners because they offer health benefits, improve productivity, and enhance energy efficiency. 

Today, we will highlight a few things you probably didn’t know about motorized blinds. Continue reading to learn about everything your smart blinds in your Portland, OR, home can do.

Home theater design isn’t a new concept, but its popularity and demand have recently grown to a large scale. Perhaps the pandemic played a vital role in this, or maybe people are just realizing the luxury of cinema-quality experiences in their own house! Whatever the reason may be, home theaters are a great addition, and we love them.

Carrying out the project, however, can get tricky if you do not hire the right people for the job. Let’s talk about some common mistakes people make with home theater design in Portland, OR, to learn why hiring a professional is better than DIY. 

Did you know lighting can transform how you feel in specific spaces throughout your home? For instance, dim lighting can make rooms feel cozier, or bright lighting can give you more energy. With smart lighting technology, transforming an area from exciting to serene is as simple as pressing a button. 

Continue reading to explore ways to use smart lighting throughout your Portland, OR, home to enhance how you live and feel.

Motorized shades are an increasingly popular choice of window treatments for homeowners. And rightly so! They offer comfort, convenience, and benefits that we couldn’t even dream of with traditional window coverings. 

However, since they are still comparatively new, quite a few people make mistakes that take away from the seamless experience motorized window treatments can otherwise offer. 

Read on as we discuss some of them to make sure you don’t make the same mistakes and can enjoy the full benefit of motorized shades in Portland, OR.

As summer brings warmer weather and increased outdoor activities, it's important not to overlook the security of your Portland, OR, home! Installing a smart home security system during the summer months provides essential protection and peace of mind whether you’re home or away. 

But why is summer the perfect time to bring this innovative system to your premises? In this blog, we’ll check out the reasons why installing a smart security system this season is key and how it can help protect your home and loved ones.