Ever since fully investing themselves in the CEDIA channel, Lighthouse Design Studio has had a series of lightbulb moments – pun absolutely intended – in how they can help with integrators become more effective and efficient in their outdoor lighting efforts. Tim Ryan, Executive Director and Principal Designer at Lighthouse, joins the podcast to talk about the many similarities between outdoor lighting design and the work of a CI, and how he hopes to elevate the professionals in both industries through education.

Had you told Scott Stephenson at the start of his career that he’d someday know the know and understand the lighting qualities of different shade fabrics, he’d have told you to go pound sand. Today, as Senior Director of Product for Hunter Douglas, it’s his job to help custom integrators – and the team at Hunter Douglas – make sense of how the worlds of home automation and custom window treatments not only need to coexist, but work together to improve the lives of homeowners.

Today's consumer cares more deeply than ever about their environmental impact – or, at the very least, the ways in which their energy consumption directly impacts the environment as well as their wallet. That's why we're hearing more about technologies like what Airzone brings to the table, allowing integrators to help their clients take control of their environmental impact through one of the most impactful areas in the home: their HVAC system. Victoria Garcia Massimo joins the podcast, right around Earth Day no less, to talk about how Airzone is helping our channel become more educated around the HVAC category and why it's something we need to start paying more attention to.

It took a few years, but the work is finally paying off for HTSA and Tom Doherty, director of technology initiatives for the group, when it comes to the major emphasis on the lighting category. During their recent Spring Conference, we sat down with Tom to talk about the results the group's dealers are seeing across the board because of their commitment to – and investment in – lighting.

In his early days as an integrator and self-proclaimed networking nerd, Avi Rosenthal saw the potential in a fully connected and automated home. He took that passion and hobby and turned it into a career that now includes serving as the Chairman of the Board for the Z-Wave Alliance – among many other roles at highly impactful and important organizations. We tap into Avi’s networking knowledge to get a better lay of home automation landscape, see where the challenges exist, and spot potential gaps that integrators can help fill.

Just a few short weeks ago, Residential Tech Today welcomed CI and communications industry veteran Rob Stott into the fold as our new Executive Editor. Before he steps behind the mic to take over the podcast, we’re putting Rob in a spot he’s slightly less familiar with – being the interviewee. In this episode, Charles Warner, CEO and Editor in Chief of IPW, the parent company of RTT, sits down with Rob to talk about his career, what brings him back to the editorial side of things, and where he sees RTT going in the months and years ahead.

On this week’s podcast, Larry Dashiell joins us from Santa Rosa, CA, where he is owner and CEO of Summit Technology Group, a team of more than 60 professionals who provide smart home technology, electrical, and renewable energy solutions across California’s North Bay and the North Idaho area.

Back in 1986, our guest today was thrust into a leadership role in his father’s electrical company at the young age of 22. Since then, he has built a stellar reputation for bringing together a “total solution” of electrical contracting, lighting design, and integration of sophisticated audio, video, and renewable energy system management under the same roof.

In this episode, we discuss Larry’s unique perspective as a 38-year industry veteran of both the electrical and low-voltage electronics trades, in particular his insights into lighting and renewable energy management business opportunities for the custom integration channel.

On this week’s podcast, John Palser joins us from Omaha, NE, where he is president of Denizen, a custom integration company with locations in Omaha, Kansas City, Dallas, and Austin. From a complete home that you can walk through in their HQ Experience Center in Omaha to regional domination across 14 states from north to south in the middle of the country, Denizen is re-defining what transformative technology can do in a home.

During the recent HTSA Fall Conference outside of Denver, John got stuck talking to Jeremy at the closing night dinner. John was very patient with Jeremy’s 50 questions about this business and career history, which proved to be an excellent pre-interview for this podcast, minus maybe a few celebrity athlete client anecdotes which we won’t be able to share here unfortunately.