Smart Home meetup attracts Tesla, other firms
Some big names are gathering tonight in Winter Park to talk about smart home technology, including Tesla’s local dealership, Phil Kean Design Group and a speaker from tech company Insteon.
“Smart home technology is extremely important in our business today,” said David Stone, director of design for the Phil Kean firm, which designs and builds highend custom homes. “The way we control and own our homes has changed. All of our clients want it.”
The meetup will be at Phil Kean’s offices, 912 W. Fairbanks Ave. in Winter Park. According to the meetup website, 75 people said they would attend. As of Monday evening, the admission price was listed as $15.
It’s billed as a chance to learn about smart home tech, trends, audio innovations and modern home design. Tesla will have model S and X on hand.
Tours of the Phil Kean Design Center begin at 6 p.m. with snacks and drinks, and talks with a Q&A session will be next door at 6:45 p.m.
Stone said he and the Phil Kean firm got involved in the meetup because they hope to inform people about making homes more efficient and high-tech.
Besides Stone, comments will be made by Kyla Mather of Tesla Energy (SolarCity) in Central Florida, and Steve Lee, vice president of integrator sales for Insteon. The meetup is organized by Jason Wade, a realtor with Coldwell Banker who owns the website OrlandoSmartHomes.com.
Phil Kean Design Group has a real connection to Tesla these days. Kean just finished building a new model home for the International Builders Show, called the New American Home, which uses three large, new Tesla batteries to store energy from solar panels on the roof.
The home, set in the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club neighborhood, is 8,245 square feet and designed on one floor in an “international style” with abundant glass, open floor plans and indoor-outdoor lifestyle living to take advantage of the lake and golf views.
The home was designated the “Greenest Home in the State of Florida, 2012” by the Florida Green Building Coalition.