Re: Money to Burn...Your Dream HA System?

["Mark Harrison" <Mark_Harrison_UK@xxxxxxx>]

Ruairi

Recepci=F3n a la lista. Por supuesto seremos apacibles; -)=20

I've tried to give some basic advice. If you haven't already done so,=20
then please look at the excellent http:\\www.automatedhome.co.uk for=20
much more detail, and product reviews.

Unfortunately, email has corrupted part of your post, so I don't know=20
whether the 8,000 refers to UKP or USD (or any other currency.)

I assume the budget refers to the marginal cost of adding HA control=20
as well/instead of standard controls, and does not have to include=20
the HVAC!

Assuming, say, UKP, If I had that money to spend, and the opportunity=20
to put it in at time of construction, then I'd go for:

- Comfort... home security system
- HomeVision... home automation controller
- Lighting controlled by X.10 DIN rail modules
- Zoned, underfloor heating
- Central a/c'd air system
- Dedicated central control "room" (2m by 2m would be great)
- CAT5 wiring to _every_ room from the central control
- UPS system for any controller in the central "room"

In terms of what to tell the builder:

- Make sure that the CAT5 wiring is done properly. Full CAT5 will run=20
at quite high speeds (!) and has very strict specification for things=20
like cable bend radius. Poorly installed CAT5 wiring will work fine=20
with 10Mbit/sec, but will fail in a year's time when you come home=20
with your new fast-networked PC and discover that the cabling won't=20
support it.

- Put in much more CAT5 than you think you'll need!

- The wiring of all the lights back to the central DIN rail X-10 is=20
most definitely NOT the normal way of wiring things. You should make=20
sure that the builder gets detailed instructions and follows them=20
rather than doing "the normal thing".

- If possible, put some sockets with the "three small round
pins"=20
rather than the standard Spanish 2 square pins + earth. These sockets=20
should be wired back to central X-10 DIN rail units. This will allow=20
you to have X-10 controlling sockets without having physical X-10=20
modules visible, and the use of a different type of socket will make=20
it very obvious which are X-10 controlled. You may need to think=20
carefully about whether these DIN modules should be Appliance (on-off=20
only) or Lighting (variable dim.)

Espero que esto haya sido provechoso.

Mark


--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Ruairi" <ruairi@r...> wrote:
> Hi all,
>=20
> This is my first post, so please be gentle ;-)
>=20
> My wife and I are building our home in Spain and I want to put get=20
as techie
> as possible with HA fun.  The build will not be ready for 18 months=20
but I
> need to plan it out within 3 mths to keep the architect happy.
>=20
> I have a HA budget of about ?8,000, is this too much/too little?
>=20
> I need to know what are the main things to go for.
>=20
> We already have a Home Cinema system (where I got the HA bug).  So=20
my
> initial thoughts are
> Security
> Distributed AV
> Fast EtherNet
> Active Lights
> Heating/AirCon automated
>=20
> But my question is what's good/bad in these HA areas.  What=20
products to go
> for/avoid.
>=20
> Also one of my desires is for voice control of everything, is this=20
feasible?
> If not How about IR remotes?
>=20
> Also what are the things I need to tell the architect/builder to=20
get it
> right and leave scope for expansion.
>=20
> Regards,
> -Ruairi
>=20
> ____________________________________________________________
> Ruairi O'Donnell
> Rutland Systems                             www.rutlands.com
> Alcalde Lorenzo 16 2A                     Tel +34 981 884108
> 15220 Bertamirans, Ames                   Fax +34 981 884108
> Spain                                  Mobile +44 7801141801
> ____________________________________________________________
>=20
> The contents of this message should be read in conjunction
> with the document found at:
> http://www.rutlands.com/signature.htm