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Penkhull Electrical Embraces the Smart-Technology Opportunity with Snap One
With the smart-home market worth an estimated £1.2 billion according to the latest Integrated Home Market Analysis1 from industry association CEDIA, and with further growth across the smart-tech sector expected in the next 12 months, the business opportunity is clear. What may be less clear is the fact that electrical contractors are perfectly placed to benefit from this opportunity–and a number of forward-thinking businesses are already making the transition.
One example is Penkhull Electrical, a Staffordshire-based electrical contractor that has recently made the move from offering traditional services around designing, installing and maintaining electric systems to becoming a Control4 certified-systems integrator that is delivering intelligent, smart-technology spaces in commercial and residential projects.
Greg Smith, director at Penkhull, explains how the idea came about: “We incorporated in 2019,howeverPenkhull Electrical has been around since the 70s headed up by my late father. It was lockdown that made us stop and think , ‘what do we do and how do we set ourselves apart from other companies?’. This then prompted us to do something different that nobody else does in Stoke. And that's where the idea to get behind smart technology stemmed from.
”The company was also encouraged by an existing client who introduced Penkhull to the smart-automation platform,Control4, a Snap One brand. Gregadds: “A customer we did electrical work for told us they were interested in Control4 and asked if we could do it. We thought, ‘why not?’. There was something about the product, what you can do with it, what can be achieved, the scalability of it that opened up huge possibilities for us. It made us realise that this was the direction we wanted to take our business.
”After completing Control4’sProfessional Certified Network Administrator training programme, which ensures integrators have the tools, knowledge and hands-on skills needed to design, implement and manage the network needs of smart spaces, Penkhull Electrical has discovered a booming industry with opportunities not just in smart homes but also in light commercial, or resimercial, spaces.
One recent project of note is Abbey Dental in Stoke, that has transformed its practice with a whole host of equipment provided by Snap One brands, integrated onto the Control4 platform for ease of operation and control. This not only ensures patient comfort and safety but also makes the workplace better and more efficient for employees and offers additional opportunities for the practice.
Greg explains: “We met with the owner of the practice, and I asked him what he wanted to improve. He said ‘I don’t like that I've got to go round and switch all the TVs and all the lights on in the morning; I don’t like how every time there's a knock at the door, the receptionist has to get up and answer it; I don’t like how I can't easily control the lighting in the practice; I don’t like how I've got to go outside and switch the compressors off at night, that I can't do it from inside the building’. He was also keen to create a training facility that people can rent out, but at the moment he knew that somebody would always have to be on hand to set users up. So, I showed him Control4, how it could eliminate all these pain points for the practice, and we built a system design from there.”
Penkhull created an integrated solution based around Snap One solutions, encompassing network infrastructure, security, lighting, audio visual and temperature control. The Snap One brands featuring in the installation include architectural in-ceiling loudspeakers from Triad, network switches from Araknis, media-distribution technology from Binary, and CCTV devices from Luma, all integrated with devices from other brands using Control4. The company also manages the network using the OvrC remote-management and monitoring software built-in to the Control4 platform “so we know exactly what port does what and if I’m away I can just boost it, reset it, do whatever is required,” Greg adds.
Abbey Dental also has a space set up for streaming. “The practice has rooms that are enabled for streaming so we can stream from downstairs to the conference room upstairs. They can actually see and hear what's going on in that room, and they can hear it perfectly,” he continues.
While Penkhull is undoubtedly growing its business with its newfound knowledge of smart technology, Greg accepts that this takes work: “Granted it has been a little bit of a slow burner for us, but we’re learning, we’ve built our portfolio organically, and it's going from strength to strength.”
Further details on Penkhull Electrical can be found at www.penkhullelectrical.com/. More information can be found at www.snapone.com. To apply to be a partner, visit New Partner Application (site.com).
