Technology for the home is the hot topic for February’s free webinar series.
By Dianne M. Pogoda
Remember the TV show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” The sequel might be “Are You Smarter Than Your House” – and K&B professionals could tip the scales in favor of the house by incorporating tips from NKBA’s February webinars, all focused on smart-home technology.
February’s series is generously sponsored by Control4, a leading provider of automation and networking systems for homes and businesses, offering a personalized and unified smart home system to automate and control connected devices including lighting, audio, video, climate control, intercom and security.
Each month, NKBA offers free 60-minute webinars, each featuring a presentation by a specific subject matter expert, delivered via a virtual platform. The sessions offer certified participants 0.1 CEU per event — it’s an easy way for designers to collect the CEUs needed to maintain NKBA certification. Participants must engage in 80 percent of the live sessions to receive CEU credit; registration closes two hours prior to start times. All webinars begin at 12 noon, Eastern Time. Visit www.nkba.org to register.
To avoid conflicts with KBIS Virtual, which ran between Feb. 9 and 12, NKBA scheduled this month’s webinars in the last two weeks of the month.
Starting things off on Feb. 16, Kristy Bell, manager of the Bronte collection for Oakville Stamping & Bending, will talk “All About Steam Showers and How to Create Your Personal Spa.” She’ll offer a quick introduction to steam, its benefits and how it has been used through history as well as details about installation, and culminating with new technologies and accessories that transform a bathroom from basic to a spa-like escape and private retreat. She’ll also focus on the tremendous opportunities for designers to create blissful havens for their clients.
To register for this session, click here.
Smart-home tech is evolving so quickly, it can be confusing to design, understand and put together the various systems for clients. Next up, on Feb. 18, Jeff Thomas, VP of product management at Control4, will present “What is That Keypad on the Wall? Benefits of Lighting Control.” He will discuss how a lighting control system works and what it takes to create a great lighting experience. This will help designers collaborate better with electricians and integrators, and provide an increased understanding of the technology and dependencies of all of the elements required for a successful lighting installation. Attendees will learn to identify how to clearly communicate the benefits of a lighting control system, describe its key elements and talk about the advantages of integrating the lighting system with other parts of the home.
To register for this session, click here.
Next, on Feb. 23, Jonathan Bradley, product manager of smart home kitchen and bath at Kohler Co., explains “What Does Smart Home Mean for the Kitchen and Bath Consumer.”
Bradley, who has been at the forefront of smart K&B development with Kohler’s Smart Home team for the last four years, will translate the noise of the industry to what really matters to consumers. He’ll focus on macro industry trends and then narrow to what they mean for kitchen or bathroom design and product selection. Attendees will discover what Smart Home products are and their capabilities, what they mean to the consumer and consumer expectations, and integrating these products into kitchen or bathroom designs.
To register for this session, click here.
Finally, on Feb. 25, Keith Harrison, founder and CEO of Total Home Technologies, talks about “Light Sabers and LEDs in Your Kitchen.” Harrison has spent nearly three decades in the lighting industry and during that time, he has seen some trends and unfortunately, a lot of misunderstandings, about home technology. He’ll address and debunk some of these issues, including what used to work that should still work today; why problems might come up with new technologies; how to apply smart-home tech to outdoor living spaces, and incorporating lighting trends into a home’s design or to upgrade a space.
To register for this session, click here.
