IP intercoms are ideal for different types of housing, for example individual houses, small apartments, and large apartment complexes, all of which can use IP intercoms to do much more than merely buzzing someone in.
Intercoms have gone through an evolution over the past decades, with analog, audio-based intercoms slowly transitioning into systems that enable transmission of digitized audio, video, and data signals. More and more, end users are turning to IP-based intercoms, which enable high-definition video, integration with various home automation devices, and remote monitoring through the mobile device.
In fact, IP intercoms are ideal for different types of housing, for example individual houses, small apartments, and large apartment complexes, all of which can use IP intercoms to do much more than merely buzzing someone in.
Houses
For houses, the main demand is to see who is on the outside through the internal unit on the inside. But more and more, people want to do this in style. “Our villa system is based on IP technology with HD resolutions,” said Yang Liu, Product Manager at Dahua Technology. “The camera can monitor up to 100 degree angle.”
Other than the basic functions, homeowners want something more advanced and sophisticated, and IP intercoms can suit their needs. “These days, people want to remotely check visitor outside of houses, and this is related with smartphone demands. People like to check and see many things from their smartphone and sometimes they want to control home appliances such as lighting, Air conditioner, and AV system,” said Jason Yeo, Territory manager for Middle East and India at Commax.
Small apartments
Here, the focus is more on the resident’s interaction with each other as well as different parts of the building for security and data-sharing purposes, and IP-based intercoms can also play a role.
“People are keener about security such as video surveillance and sensor integration,” Yeo said. “People prefer to talk with the guard station and lobby as well, and they expect that the guard can check the status of their houses for security purposes.”
“When we scale up from an individual house to small apartments, we should be focused on the interaction between residents and the living environment,” said Chih-Heng Wang, Project Manager at Amroad Technology. “The residents can grasp information on their surroundings by the use of intercoms. They can also interact with each other and share information via the operation of intercoms.”
Large apartment complexes
For large apartment complexes, hundreds if not thousands of devices are involved at the site. IP is ideal in this regard as it is scalable and future-proof. “IP technology allows no limits in the number of internal or external units,” said Flavio Miozzo, CEO of Infiniteplay.
“Here IP technology is a must,” said Pierluigi Monticelli, Regional Manager for Middle East and Americas at Comelit. “We were the first mover, installing first systems back in 2009, and still lead the sector of IP intercoms.”
To manage these intercom units, a strong central management system is needed. Such system enables the building manager to send messages to residents, and vice versa, and complete upgrades to all intercom units in the building all at once.
“In terms of large scale apartment complexes, it is not enough to simply discuss the capability of intercoms. Our Community Control Center controls and maintains the status of each device,” Wang said. “Amroad can manage the communication between devices, control community security, and easily handshake with other management systems, for example fire extinguisher systems, parking systems, and supervisory control systems.”
Price also matters
While IP intercoms offer many advantages, its initial cost is holding some developers back. “Still very few construction companies are trying to install IP system. The main concern is price difference between analog systems and IP systems,” Yeo said.
But in the end, IP intercoms are open and scalable, allowing integration with best-of-breed devices in future construction projects, and that contributes to reduced total cost of ownership down the road. That, plus the additional features such as remote monitoring and integration with home automation systems, makes IP-based intercoms a trend both now and in the future.