Goh (seated), seen here with a PCOM employee, says the interest in smart homes and buildings has gained momentum as contemporary lifestyles demand greater efficiency and comfort.
Imagine a home that turns on the lights and air-con when you walk into a room, draws the curtains when nobody’s home and alerts you to intruders. Now imagine no more because PCOM Pacific is making it a reality, writes ZIEMAN.
MANAGING your life from a smartphone sounds too good to be true, and it probably is. Still, with the PCOM Pacific’s avant-garde HOMEX Smart Home technology, you can now at least control the curtains, TV, door, lighting and air-conditioning of your home without having to lift a finger.
By putting in place sensors and smart-home programming, you can manage your home automatically.
Imagine opening the front door without fumbling with your keys, or entering a room without having to reach for the light switch. And with climate controls, the temperature is always right.
Brandon Peng, marketing manager at PCOM Pacific, is more than happy to show what the future looks like at the company’s HOMEX PCom Green House in Sinar Damansara Technology Park, Kota Damansara.
HOMEX, or Home Experience, is what the company is calling the “next generation smart home designed for modern living in 21st century Malaysia”.
With the HOMEX home technology you can tailor how your home “behaves”.
“Smart-home technologies allow you to integrate all your appliances and control them with your smartphone, which means you can control your lights, security system, TV, dishwasher or whatever just by controlling the sensors.
“This means you could be in Paris and still control your home with this smart-home technology. The remote function allows you to control and monitor your home anywhere in the world,” says Peng.
The HOMEX Green House certainly is futuristic and impressive, with appliances and devices that sense your presence and get to work seemingly on their own initiative.
“Even if you want to enjoy some reading time, you can walk into your reading room and sit on your chair with your favourite book in hand, and HOMEX Smart Home will take care of everything for you,” says Peng.
PCOM’s smart-home system can also be programmed into one-touch lifestyle scene modes that transform the home in a matter of seconds, whether it’s a quiet evening you’re settling on or a party that you’re hosting.
“Imagine hosting a party in your 10,000sq ft bungalow with many control switches to operate. The task can be daunting, and by the time you’ve finished preparing the house, you could be exhausted.
Peng says you could be in Paris and still control your home.
“With the HOMEX Smart Home’s one-touch lifestyle scene function, you can watch the fountain springs to life in an instant, as the porch lights illuminate brilliantly, the TV flickers on to display memorable family pictures, the air-conditioning lowers the temperature of the living and dining rooms, and the music of your choice comes on to create the atmosphere you have in mind.
PCOM Pacific, a Malaysia-based company, was established in 1999. It started off as a distributor of fibre optic products and became one of the leading players in the fiber optics industry. The company then branched into digital AV products and solutions as a natural extension of its existing business, supplying products to major household electronic manufacturers.
PCOM has also gained a reputation as consultant for major telcos and AV companies.
Perhaps the company’s move into the realm of smart homes was inevitable; certainly, it was logical.
“We are moving into an era that demands higher speeds for commercial and personal utilisation, where a 100% optical connection between service providers and consumers became inexorable. PCOM has been instrumental in overhauling the country’s connectivity infrastructure,” says regional director Eric Goh.
According to Goh, now that the high-speed connectivity infrastructure is in place, other technologies could be developed atop it. More and more people and companies, including high-end residences and elite homeowners, have refined their buildings with HOMEX.
Their smarthome solutions have been installed in such places as Tropicana, Sierramas. Country Heights Damansara, Bukit Damansara, Desa Park City, Mont Kiara and Cyberjaya.
“You can get this smart-home technology if you are willing to pay between RM3,500 right up to RM350,000 or more, depending on the requirements, for our experts to come in. The interest in smart homes and buildings has gained momentum as contemporary lifestyles demand greater efficiency and comfort.”
PCOM realised this and decided to offer smart-home solutions in 2008. Within a short period of time, they have transformed hundred of homes into smart homes with great success.
“The impressive PCOM Green House was launched last year to showcase the company’s smart-home solutions, including the HOMEX and HOMEX PRO, and the myriad possibilities of these smart technologies. We will continue to transform the nation’s infrastructures with these solutions to enable a truly modern lifestyle,” says Goh.
“HOMEX Smart Home is exclusively designed for the modern and exclusive lifestyle you deserve, while HOMEX PRO is a revolutionary solution for highrise apartments that integrates the entire property into a single, highly-stable platform, resulting in enhanced security and seamless internal communication and connectivity,” he adds.
In fact, HOMEX gives you a hawk eye’s view of — and complete control over — your home, inside and out, so you will know exactly what is going on at all times, especially when security is breached. The minute you get intruders, your home is brightly lighted up, audio warning is blasted and you can hear dogs ‘barking’ and the surveillance monitors switch on to alert you.
HOMEX promises keyless digital access, surveillance, alarm system and Internet firewall.
“A genuine smart home is akin to a virtual butler who can anticipate your needs and serves your desires, but most importantly, a secure home will give you peace of mind. And that is priceless!” smiles Goh.
