What to know about AV control systems in Phoenix
Control circuits are usually exempt from electrical permits
Phoenix exempts Class 2 and Class 3 control and signal circuits from electrical permits unless they are essential for life safety. Whether a given circuit qualifies depends on its class and on whether life safety depends on it, so we go circuit by circuit.
Anything that locks a door is a separate matter
Adding locking or security hardware to an egress door, or changing the type of lock, needs a building permit. The Phoenix Fire Code also requires a fire construction plan review and permit for card-access strikes and magnetic locks. A panel button that releases a door belongs in the access plan, not the control add-ons.
Source: Phoenix Building Construction Code (IBC Ch. 1); Phoenix Fire Code
Wiring inside the building is still covered by code
The Phoenix building code applies to communications wiring run inside a building. Only utility-controlled communications equipment in dedicated spaces is excluded. Network cable to the panel and the rack is part of the plan.
New plans follow the 2024 Phoenix code
The 2024 Phoenix Building Construction Code took effect August 1, 2025, and every plan submitted after December 31, 2025 must meet it. Phoenix's electrical code is the 2023 National Electrical Code with local amendments.
One panel instead of five remotes
Without control, a restaurant has a remote for each TV, a phone app for the music and a switch for the lights. With control, staff touch a button labeled Open and the TVs, music and lights go to the daytime scene. A button labeled Close turns it all off.
The same panel can hold a game-night scene, a private party scene and a cleaning scene, each with its own levels. Each scene sets the TVs, music levels and lights together, so staff don't adjust them one by one.
Panels, tablets and phones
A wall panel in a back office or behind the bar is always there and can't be lost. A tablet is easier to carry across a room, and a phone app reaches managers away from the building. Many sites get two of these, with limits on what each person can touch.
- Staff level: scene buttons, volume within set limits, TV source selection.
- Manager level: schedules, zone settings and event scenes.
- Locked level: maximum volumes, input names and network settings.
Schedules and limits
A control system can run the day on its own: TVs on before open and off after close, a patio zone dropping to background level at a set hour, a closing scene at the end. Phoenix sets cutoff hours for outdoor music in some districts and for sign lighting, and a schedule that handles the cutoff takes that job off your staff.
Devices it can control
The processor talks to amplifiers, TV and video distribution, lighting controllers, projectors, screens and many third-party devices over serial, IP or infrared. If a device can't be controlled, we say so before we quote and offer a replacement that can.
Planning, programming, training
- List every device and how it connects.
- Draft the control plan: buttons, scenes, user levels and schedules, then quote it.
- Install the processor, wiring, panels and tablets.
- Program the system and test every button on every device.
- Train your staff. Service runs Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.
Often paired with
Control ties together commercial audio, TV and video distribution and conference room AV. You can see the rest of our Phoenix services on the Enzo in Phoenix page.
