Q: What are some ways a homeowner can easily and affordably fine-tune his or her home control system after it's been installed ?

Negotiate with your home systems installer to have a certain period during which he'll provide modifications and changes to your installed system free of charge. Ninety or 120 days post installation is a good timeframe to shoot for. In addition to modifications, at some point you will likely want to replace pieces of your system's original equipment with new equipment. This will usually require additional programming, which can be expensive. For example, programming a new $100 DVD player into an existing control system can easily cost $1,500. Fortunately, some home control systems feature technology that enables upgrades with no additional programming. Be sure to ask your home systems installer for this capability before he specs in products for your home.

—Charlie Cash, manager, Residential Business Unit, AMX