Information
CentralCasa began as an embryonic project of the company PontoPR, which operates in the field of new technologies in the development of Internet solutions for e-commerce, e-business, and Web services management. Ever since its implementation in 1999, PontoPR has taken on the convergence of three major areas: the Internet, e-marketing, and home automation.
CentralCasa, still under PontoPR, was a project that combined the benefits of the Internet, particularly the speed and convenience of communication it offers, with the advantages of home automation, such as safety and comfort. PontoPR's first investment in CentralCasa was its presence on the Internet, launching the first home automation portal in Portugal with an e-commerce platform in September 2002.
The company was legally registered in August 2003 and aimed at providing the best service specializing in the field of Home Automation, also offering know-how, innovation, and training.
In constant evolution, a national network of installers has been trained, thus providing rapid response in the installations and specialized maintenance for all its customers. Always committed to providing more and better products in the market, CentralCasa created an R & D department supported by ADI - Agência de Inovação Portuguesa (Portuguese Innovation Agency). CentralCasa is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company.
CentralCasa operates in four areas: projects for building complexes and houses, training, product distribution, and research and development.
Home automation, by means of automation and the integration of different home systems, plays a very important role in the management of homes and businesses: the rational use of energy (operating according to schedules, presence, outside brightness, or temperature); the increase of comfort at the location; the security system; the offer of communication services that contribute to the increase in quality of life.
These solutions allow for increased autonomy and mobility of people with special needs, such as the elderly or disabled. The user can perform his or her duties without any effort by using an interface based on their personal needs and capabilities. The automation of the home increases autonomy, independence, and self-confidence.
One of CentralCasa's leading departments, it is responsible for project planning, system programming, and monitoring / supervision of the installation.
In 2004, and aware that the future lay in the standardization of technologies, CentralCasa invested in the then recently approved European standard for household appliances communication - EIB / KNX (a protocol supported by more than 320 large global manufacturers such as Hager, Siemens, Abb, Merten, Jung, and in 34 countries.) and its quality as "EIB / KNX Partner" was recognized.
More recently, and always trying to be at the forefront of the best solutions, CentralCasa has developed know-how in innovative protocols such as Z-Wave. Z-Wave is a low-cost, fully wireless, home automation protocol which is implementable in any structure, new or old, without demands on the previous infrastructure. CentralCasa was the first company to integrate a complete professional offer of Z-Wave home automation with several residential and commercial projects, and even in public facilities.
CentralCasa was the first company to integrate a complete professional offer of Z-Wave home automation with several residential and commercial projects, and even in public facilities.
This business area is divided among corporate customers (real estate promoters and developers) and end customers (from simple apartments to large family houses - already built or under construction, or even service buildings, such as hotels, hospitals, conferences centres, etc.).
Partnerships were established with electricians, as well as with architecture and engineering firms, so as to understand and respond to the market better, thus offering turnkey customer service.
CentralCasa is part of all the stages of the project, from the scaling, definition of electrical / home automation project, follow-up work, to the final configuration.
A success case in this area came about from the partnership between CentralCasa, the real estate agency Edigaia, and PT Comunicações, resulting in the largest home automation installation in the Iberian Peninsula using KNX-RF technology (the Siemens Gamma-Wave system).
Distribution of home automation products
In just one year, the company obtained the majority of the share (85%) of the home automation market. The main factors for this increase were the establishment of a network of retailers and installers, and the exclusive supply contract of X10 material for PT Comunicações, which was responsible for the installation of basic and advanced X10 packages in about 16,000 homes.
In April 2007, CentralCasa implemented the DigitalHome platform in Novis Telecom, a Sonaecom group company, providing digital surveillance, security, and home automation services.
In 2009, CentralCasa launched the EuroX10 portal. An online store for selling products / solutions for automation, surveillance, security, etc. in Europe. Soon after, about a year and a half, the EuroX10 became a point of reference in these markets.
In order to solidify strategies for safe internationalization, partnerships were established with the main European distributor of X10 products, and also, more recently, with the European Z-Wave distributor so as to define a distribution network for the support of the EuroX10.com portal.
CentralCasa's R & D department develops solutions and services for local or remote home automation control via the Internet and mobile phones using new technologies such as GPRS and UMTS (3G). Research in this area resulted in the implementation of the VisãoWeb app.
VisãoWeb is an innovative system for monitoring and remote control. This service allows for the sending of images from surveillance cameras to any computer or smartphone connected to the Internet.
Apart from surveillance and security, there is also the possibility of the remote control of lighting, blinds, heating, or any electrical device in the home or office.
Having been installed in more than 1,500 homes, and using more than 2,000 home automation and monitoring devices, VisãoWeb was awarded the prize for "Young entrepreneur 2003-2004" promoted by ANJE, the Portuguese Association of Young Entrepreneurs, and came in 4th place in the Ericsson Mobile Application Awards.
In 2005, a partnership was established with Siemens, SA, for the development of a prototype of a surveillance and remote monitoring platform to operate on the X10 and EIB / KNX systems. This application, the Surpass Smart Home, was presented at the CeBit'05 international trade fair in Hanover. There have been several demonstrations and pilot tests since then with the world's leading telecommunications operators.
In order to provide the best support for surveillance cameras, CentralCasa became an "Axis Developer Partner" (AXIS, the leading manufacturer of network cameras).
Always aiming at staying one step ahead, it is also a UPnP forum member, actively shaping the future universal interfaces in the fields of security and home automation.
In order to support the setting up and operation of the research and development centre, CentralCasa has established a contract with ADI - - Agência de Inovação Portuguesa (Portuguese Innovation Agency), thus ensuring funding worth € 250,000.
CentralCasa has also created CSide - Intelligent Solutions SA in January 2008. This company, which belongs to the CentralCasa group, will be responsible for the entire area of software research and development. CSide SA aims to offer a dedicated response which is optimized for the telecom operators market and other large entities. CSide SA competes in the international market with energy management solutions and consumption monitoring (energy, water, and gas) in the Scandinavian and Iberian market, as well as several pilots all over the world.