Denny Hamlin's Smart Home

       Charlotte, North Carolina-based technology integration firm Interactive Interiors was hired to design and install an all-encompassing smart home system in NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin’s new custom-built 30,000-square foot residence. Lead integrator Brian Berg decided to anchor the entire system’s infrastructure on ELAN, with two ELAN gSC10 controllers, four ELAN g1 controllers, two ELAN S1616A Multi-Zone Audio Controllers, and one ELAN gMV1616 UltraMatrix Switcher, accessible via 12 ELAN 7” touch panels and 16 ELAN remotes. Now, from anywhere throughout the home or beyond, Hamlin can control his home’s lighting, 32 zones of audio and video, and extensive security system.

       Denny Hamlin is an American stock car racing driver with a need for speed. When he’s not competing in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, he’s enjoying his new Lake Norman, North Carolina 30,000-square foot residence that features an indoor basketball court, bowling alley, race and golf simulator, home theater, helicopter pad, and more.

During the home’s building process in late 2016, Hamlin wanted to incorporate one central interface to control all his home’s sub-systems and sophisticated entertainment technology. After a recommendation from Thompson Custom Building Group, he called on local technology integration firm Interactive Interiors to design a fast and reliable automation system to meet his many objectives. Denny Hamlin was familiar with control because he had used a different system in a past home, but wasn’t happy with the complexity of the interface and the issues that kept arising. He requested a far more intuitive system than he had used previously.

Additionally, Hamlin also wanted a reliable and extensive security system to protect his family and his property while on the road. He wanted the overall design aesthetic to be clean, simple and contemporary.

       With ELAN at the helm, the Interactive Interiors team designed an extensive entertainment system on a whole-home Ubiquiti wireless network for Hamlin to enjoy during his time off the racetrack. Throughout the spacious residence, they installed 24 Samsung 60” televisions, both indoors and outdoors, as well as a Samsung 88” curved screen TV in the home’s central media room.

They also built and designed a central home theater, complete with a 110” matte white projection screen with a black velvet frame, and an accompanying Sony SXRD Projector equipped with 4K Ultra HD resolution at a 16:9 ratio. Interactive Interiors worked closely with the custom cabinet builder to create 55” panels surrounding the theater screen so that Hamlin can watch five independent channels at the same time, which is ideal for enjoying different races or games simultaneously. They also designed a custom wood frame around the screen with embedded Lutron lighting, all of which is automated through the ELAN system.

Incorporating custom design elements with the home’s technology was common throughout the installation process. Interactive Interiors worked closely with interior designer Scott Carpenter to integrate unique accents to shield or show technology on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to the unique architectural and design elements they incorporated, they also played with technology to achieve their design goals. They installed custom-built LED lighting strips across many of the home’s moldings, especially for the home’s art gallery wall.

For security, Interactive Interiors integrated a Holovision doorbell, intercom and camera at the front door into the ELAN system, enabling Hamlin to check in on the front door from anywhere in the home, or the world. A whole-home indoor and outdoor GE security system was integrated into the system for maximum protection.