Dublin Crestron Upgrade

Most older Crestron homes can be upgraded to Crestron Home, usually without rewiring. We replace the old processor with a Crestron Home processor such as the CP4-R, keep the lighting, audio and keypads that Crestron still supports, and set the house up again room by room so it runs from the Crestron Home app, touch screens and keypads.

If your Crestron system was installed ten or fifteen years ago, you may be living with touch panels that are slow or failing, an original installer who is no longer around, and a programme file nobody can find. Crestron Home is Crestron's operating system for houses, and moving to it is the most practical way to bring an older Crestron system up to date without starting again. The photos on this page are from a Crestron upgrade we carried out in Dalkey, Co. Dublin.

What is Crestron Home, and how is it different from an older Crestron system?

An older Crestron system (2-Series, 3-Series or Prodigy) runs a custom programme that the original installer wrote for that one house. It can work well for years, but every change needs a Crestron programmer and the original programme file, and the touch panels and processors it runs on are no longer made.

Crestron Home works differently. It runs on a dedicated Crestron Home processor (the CP4-R, MC4-R, DIN-AP4-R or PC4-R) and is configured rather than programmed: we add rooms, lights, blinds, heating, audio and video in the Crestron Home Setup app, and you control the house from the Crestron Home app on iPhone, iPad and Android, and from Crestron touch screens and keypads.

These are from the Dalkey house: older Crestron Prodigy touch panels, an older colour touch panel, and the Crestron automation enclosure. Neither type of panel is on Crestron's list of devices that work with Crestron Home, so panels like these are replaced as part of an upgrade.

The benefits of upgrading to Crestron Home

• No custom programme to maintain. Renaming a room, changing what a keypad button does or adding a new device is a change in the setup app, not a rewrite of code. If the original installer has gone, or the programme file is lost, it no longer matters.
• A modern app, at home or away. The Crestron Home app controls lighting, heating, audio, video, blinds and security, and it works whether you are in the house or away from it.
• Scenes you can change yourself. You can create scenes in the app that set several things at once, for example lights, blinds and music for a dinner party, without calling us.
• Voice control. Crestron Home works with Amazon Alexa, and with Apple Shortcuts for quick actions.
• It keeps improving. Crestron adds features through software updates. Recent releases have added Spotify Connect, DoorBird door stations, temporary access codes for supported smart locks and circadian lighting for tunable fittings.
• Much of your equipment can stay. Crestron's list of products that work with Crestron Home includes a lot of older Crestron equipment, so keeping it saves money and keeps the walls untouched.
• Easier support. With your permission we can check and adjust a Crestron Home system remotely, and its device health dashboard shows anything that has gone offline, so many problems are fixed without a visit.
• A current processor with modern security. The CP4-R uses Crestron's 4-Series processor with enterprise-class network security, in place of hardware that is often more than a decade old.
• Room to grow. By Crestron's guidance, one CP4-R handles up to 100 rooms, 120 keypads, 24 touch screens and 500 lighting loads, so adding a garden room, cinema or extension later is simple.

What stays and what changes?

Every house is different, so we check each device against Crestron's current Works with Crestron Home list at the survey. This is what we usually find.

In the Dalkey house the lighting runs on Crestron Green Light panels and the music on two Crestron six room audio systems, labelled AMP-01 and AMP-02 in the rack, and both are on Crestron's list. The speaker cables were fitted with numbered speakON connectors so each room can be traced straight back to its amplifier output.

How we upgrade a house to Crestron Home

1. Survey and system review. An engineer visits, lists every processor, touch panel, keypad, lighting module, amplifier and gateway, tests what works, and checks the network. The visit is €440 plus VAT for up to 4 hours, and you can book it online.
2. Design and a fixed price. We check each device against Crestron's list, choose the processor and decide what replaces anything unsupported. You then get a written proposal with a fixed price. See how our survey and design stage works.
3. Preparation. We build the new configuration before we arrive: rooms, lighting loads, scenes, audio sources and keypad buttons, based on how you use the house now and what you would like to change.
4. Installation. On site we fit the new processor, tidy or rebuild the rack, label every cable to match the documentation, upgrade the network where needed, and fit new touch screens or keypads in place of unsupported panels.
5. Testing and handover. We test every light, blind, heating zone and audio room, set up the Crestron Home app on your family's phones and tablets, and show you how to change scenes yourself.
6. Aftercare. After handover we can support the system remotely, and our 1Install Care plans add priority booking and discounted labour.

Rebuilding the rack is where most of the time on site goes. In Dalkey every network lead, control cable and speaker cable was labelled to match the documentation, the leads were dressed and tied at the back of the rack, and the network was re-patched through the PoE switch at the top of the rack. Anyone who works on the system in future can trace any cable in seconds.

Why we usually recommend the CP4-R

For a mid-sized or large home, the processor we usually fit is the Crestron CP4-R. It has Crestron Home built in, a 4-Series multicore processor with 4 GB of memory, and a full set of control ports: eight IR/serial outputs, three COM ports, eight relays, eight Versiport inputs and outputs, a Cresnet port and gigabit Ethernet. It also talks BACnet natively, which is useful if your heating or ventilation plant uses it, and it fits in a single space in a 19-inch rack. Smaller homes can use the MC4-R or DIN-AP4-R instead.

You can see the CP4-R's full specifications in our Crestron shop, and we can supply it on its own or install and set it up. As a Crestron Elite Partner, with a founder, Kieran McGuire, who holds every Crestron certification, we look after Crestron homes from our Dublin and Cork offices. You can also read about another Crestron upgrade we completed, where outdated touch panels and remotes were replaced with Crestron Home interfaces.

Also from Dalkey: a second, wall mounted rack elsewhere in the house, one of the bedrooms, and the house seen from the garden.

Questions we are often asked

Can I keep my existing Crestron lighting?

Usually, yes. Crestron Green Light panels and GLX modules, DIN rail dimmers and many in-wall dimmers are on Crestron's Works with Crestron Home list. We test every lighting module at the survey, and only replace one if it has failed or is not supported.

Do I need new touch screens?

Only if your current ones are not supported. Crestron Prodigy panels and older touch panels, including the TSW-752 and TSW-1052, do not work with Crestron Home, while the TSW-560, TSW-760 and TSW-1060 and the newer 70 series do. You can also use the Crestron Home app on phones and tablets instead of, or as well as, touch screens.

Which processor will my house need?

For a mid-sized to large home it is usually the CP4-R, which by Crestron's guidance handles up to 100 rooms, 120 keypads, 24 touch screens and 500 lighting loads. Smaller homes can use the MC4-R or the DIN-AP4-R. We confirm the right one at the survey.

Do you need the original programme file?

No. Crestron Home replaces the old custom programme with a new configuration, so we do not need the original file or the original installer. Any drawings, passwords or notes you have will still save time at the survey.

How much does an upgrade cost?

It depends on how much of your equipment can stay and how many panels need replacing. The survey visit is €440 plus VAT for up to 4 hours, and you then get a fixed price proposal. Our smart home cost guide explains how we price projects.

Will the house be without control during the upgrade?

We keep it as short as possible. Because the configuration is prepared before we arrive, most of the time on site goes on fitting, testing and tidying, and we plan the switch-over with you.

If your Crestron system is showing its age, a survey is the best first step: you will know exactly what can stay, what needs replacing and what it will cost.

Book a consultation or call Dublin on 01 906 9326 or Cork on 021 202 8107.