Guidance for homeauto newbie

[ryendall]

Hi folks, I would welcome anyone's thoughts on what kind of system/standard I should go for home automation-wise. I'm having a new home built in the UK; quite large (3 floors, 5 bedrooms) and it will have Cat5 cabling to every room. We have pretty good broadband access (8MB), being right next to the telephone exchange! I have some thoughts on specific requirements (see below) but no doubt these will change over time so I need something flexible and future-proof. I have an IT/web background so I like the idea of being able to customise the interface myself. I don't really have much in the way of electrical skills though the electrician on the project is my next door neighbour and I'm sure he'll be able to provide ongoing help. My instinct is that I don't want to be tied in to a particular company for the hardware, but neither do I want to go out on a limb with a solution that doesn't have a decent customer base

Stuff I reckon I would like includes:
LIGHTING CONTROL
- Timed events, dimming, pre-defined moods, some LEDs
- remote control via phone or internet
SECURITY
- several cameras and microphones (including outside, maybe even infra-red).
- motion sensors (inside and out)
- alerts to mobile phone or internet for triggered events
- remote control via phone or internet
HEATING CONTROL
- Nothing fancy, but would be nice to have remote access e.g. turn it up when I'm on the way home!
AUDIO-VISUAL
- Will have speakers and screens in several rooms for music,TV,internet and gaming
ELECTRICITY
- would be nice to do some energy monitoring, maybe power used by room or even socket?

I don't necessarily need a single system to control all of the above, though I guess that's the ideal

I don't need the perfect system from day one but I just want to get the initial decisions right in terms of:
- Which standard and main controlling hardware to go for?
- What to ask the builders/electrician to take into account during the build?

All replies gratefully received

 

[Rupp]

You may want to post this question on the HomeSeer message board in the European forum as we have many users from the UK using HomeSeer as a solution.
http://board.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=634

 

[sic0048]

Welcome!

While that is a pretty lengthy list, it is all very doable. First, I'd recommend that you focus on the backbone of any system: WIRING. Since you are building the home, you'll never have a better opporunity to run wire than before the sheetrock goes up on the walls. The wiring plan will be tough enough to get through Once you get wiring down, then you can move on to actual hardware and control. The wiring plan should be robust enough to work with just about any system you'll end up choosing. That flexability is needed to ensure your house can grow in capabilities as time goes on.

So, I would highly recommend that you start with a couple of reading assignments. 1) The very good 3 part "How To Wire Your New Home" written by our own Electron on this site. I tried linking to the articles, but the system would not allow me to. Just do a search for those terms in the wiki and you'll find it. There is also PDF downloads you can get of the articles as well. 2) There is also a new e-book written by David Fellers of BOCS. It is brand new and also an excellent read.

Once you get that reading done, then sit down with a pen and paper and list your "dream" system. What would it include. Don't leave out anything because wire is cheaply installed during construction. So it is much better to run too much wire than to realize you didn't run enough wire down the road.

I'll be happy to share some specifics as far as hardware to accomplish what you have already listed, but hardware is always subject to change which is why the wiring backbone is so much more important than the actual hardware in many respects.

Lighting: two major types of systems - wired and wireless. Wired is generally more expensive and more reliable. Many systems require the high voltage lines to be run in a special way (generally all home run to a central switch cabinet). So this is one thing you do need to decide before building - are you going to wire like normal and use wireless or a wired system like ALC, or are you going to bite the bullet and hardwire from the beginning and use a system with homerun electrical runs.

Security: again, the most important thing to decide on now is sensor placement. Run wire to every door and window, spots for glass breaks, PIRs, and smoke/carbon monoxide detectors. The actual security hardware is almost secondary, but there are lots of options. Some of the more popular are the GE Caddx for basic alarm only, and the ELK M1 Gold and the HAI Omni Pro for alarm/automation systems.

Heating Control: are you going to run a zoned HVAC system or not? That is the first question to decide. There are many controllable therostats. RCS makes some good ones (TR-16 nd TR-60), HAI makes the Omnistat series, AprilAire and others too.

Audio-visual: lots of different options here. Most go with some sort of whole house music system like a Russound CAV or Nuvo Grand Concerto. You can also use HD Matrix switchers to distribute HD quality video.

Electricity: There are to popluar systems that people use on this forum. The Brultech ECM-1240 and the Energy Inc brand TED models.

Control: In the end, I think you'll want some sort of control or automation system running to pull all these different hardware systems together. They will not talk to each other without some sort of automation system tieing them all together. Homeseer has already been suggested. There are lots of others too. I personally use CQC - Charmed Quark Systems in my house. Again, this isn't really a decision that need to be made right now. You have to build a good foundation before you can start building on it.

So hopefully that is a lot to get you started. Search the forums here and read up on lighting, security, A/V and other systems too.