Outdoor lighting can do so much more than help you see in the dark. With the right fixtures and the right outdoor lighting design, it can boost ambiance, improve safety and security, or increase your Portland, OR, home’s curb appeal.

Getting the right look starts with the design aspect. At Eighteen Group, our experienced team can evaluate your outdoor spaces and help you build a custom smart lighting design to showcase your home in its natural splendor. Keep reading to learn a few considerations to keep in mind before starting your design.

In a breakdown of the typical residential utility bill, the EPA’s Energy Star program estimated that lighting costs made up 12.5% of the total bill. Now, we know that lighting isn’t the biggest energy suck in your Lake Oswego, OR, home (that honor goes to the HVAC system), but that still comes out to a significant amount of money spent every year. And your percentage might be even higher depending on the size of your house.

A smart home lighting control system can reduce your energy output and save you money on monthly utility bills. Every little bit helps, and over time those small reductions will add up to big savings. Keep reading to learn 3 ways smart lighting can help you save money and be more eco-conscious.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that’s prompted stay-at-home orders across Portland, OR, and the United States, home entertainment has become more important than ever. How can you keep yourself and your family occupied and in good spirits when you can’t leave the house? Multi-room audio video setups are one solution.

Keep reading to learn 3 home spaces where AV installation can make a real difference in your comfort and entertainment levels, including some areas that might surprise you!

Your home network has become more important than ever in the wake of social distancing. As you work from home and your children attend online classes, you might become more aware that your network is slow or inconsistent. Now is the perfect time to upgrade your home network. A professional can help you strengthen your system and make it more reliable while maintaining an appropriate social distance. Learn why you should trust a professional with your next home network setup in Lake Oswego, OR.

Now that the summer months are getting closer and closer, it’s time to think about your Portland home’s outdoor space and all of the ways you can enjoy it. Maybe you have a great pool and outdoor kitchen, along with perfect lighting all around. Have you installed a high-end outdoor speaker system, though, to add an extra spark to them?

If not, consider these three reasons why an outdoor speaker system can make your home more enjoyable and connected.

Watching movies is a great pastime, and if you choose the right audio video installation provider for your home theater, your media room can give you a fun place to watch all the summer blockbusters.

Watching a movie at home in an intimate, familiar setting with your friends and loved ones is comforting and gives you the luxury of choosing from any movie you want. You can even watch a movie that came out 50 years ago and would never be available to watch in a traditional movie theater.

A home media room can provide time for you to bond with your family, can be a comfortable, familiar setting for any need, and can be a multi-use space in your Lake Oswego, OR home.

As the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates social distancing, more people have been working from home than ever before. Working from home can pose several unique challenges to those who have no experience doing so. Among them, maintaining a routine without the physical separation of home and work can be difficult for some. Luckily, there are many technology tools available to help you adapt to your brand-new workspace. In this blog, we highlight specifically how LED lighting can help you to keep a routine while working from home in Portland, OR.

With a home theater, you can enjoy all the fun of going out to the movies from the comfort of your home in Lake Oswego, OR. And even better, you can enjoy all the fun in your comfiest lounge clothes and with unlimited free popcorn refills. 

But a home theater installation isn’t a project you should rush into. There are many factors you need to think about before you can create the theater of your dreams. Eighteen Group is here to help guide you through the entire process of installing a home theater. Here are 5 factors you should consider at the beginning of the project.

Have you dismissed the idea of adding motorized shades to your Portland, OR, home because you’ve heard they’re loud, bulky and difficult to use? At Eighteen Group, we’ve heard all the myths surrounding smart shades, but we’re here to uncover fact from fiction and help you realize the value that motorized window shades can add to your home.  

Keep reading to discover the truth behind the top 4 misconceptions we hear from homeowners about motorized window treatments.

Smart homes are no longer relegated to science fiction. Recent technologies have made them available to the public, and devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home have popularized the concept even more. Are you interested in adding smart technology to your home? You might be tempted to install the technology yourself, but it is more work than you would expect. Learn why you should trust a professional to install a smart home automation system in your Portland, OR home.

There are many different ways of experiencing audio, and countless musical styles to sample. Whole-home audio allows you to add high-quality sound throughout your home, whether it be individual songs in each room or the same song synced throughout your home for a party. Read more to learn all of the different ways you can utilize your whole-home audio system throughout your Portland, OR residence and how Eighteen Group can help.

Lighting is one of the last things you might think about when completing an audio-video installation, but it is vitally important to your viewing experience. Nothing is worse than a glare on the screen or having to stumble in the dark to grab a snack in the middle of your favorite movie. Learn what lighting options you should consider in your next audio video installation in Lake Oswego, OR.

Taking the leap into all the moving parts of a home theater system can be intimidating. You have to figure out every element of AV configuration, including details like screen placement, acoustics and more. And the considerations don’t stop there! Fortunately, Eighteen Group is a trusted Oregon team that you can rely on to do the heavy lifting, from design to installation to support. Learn why you need a professional for your home theater installation in Portland, OR.

The number and type of devices that use your home wireless network is staggering. The list includes everything from computers and phones to home automation and appliances. With all those devices drawing bandwidth from your Wi-Fi, it’s no wonder your network occasionally feels all gummed up.

Luckily, all hope is not lost. Once you’re familiar with the basics of home network design, getting better performance seems much less daunting. This is especially true if you hire someone with extensive experience to handle the job. If you want to see more of what an integrator like Eighteen Group can do to improve your home network design, keep reading. Happy Valley residents and their neighbors throughout Oregon shouldn’t miss out on this opportunity.

There are many smart home systems that require or can be improved with low-voltage wiring, but none will make more of an impact in your everyday life than lighting control. Lighting control adds tremendous benefits in terms of health, productivity and convenience, but your system won’t work properly – or perhaps at all – without the right low-voltage wiring.

If you’re a bit confused by what you just read, don’t panic. Our latest blog will show you everything you need to know about low-voltage lighting and why Forest Heights residents should join other Oregon homeowners in installing this technology.