get smart Wiring devices
Is it fi nally time that smart homes and intelligent buildings become a mainstream installation activity for electrical contractors? Andrew Brister looks at whether smart wiring devices will soon be coming to a home near you
I
t’s all a bit footballers’ wives isn’t it? You can imagine the WAGs using the iPhone to switch on the underfl oor heating in their mock Tudor palaces as they drive home from having a spray tan to wait for hubby to get back
from the training ground. Well, it seems that the smart home is more affordable than ever, and the technology is moving from specialist custom installation fi rms, aimed at the wealthy, to electrical contractors working with budgets more accessible for mere mortals.
Schneider Electric’s Sphere wireless lighting control system
About the author
Andrew Brister Andrew Brister is a freelance journalist and editor. He has been involved in the building services sector for more than 20 years.
According to the Building Services Research and
Information Association (BSRIA), in 2010 the market reached £26m, 12 per cent higher than in 2009. If you take the broader building controls sector, including the lighting control market, estimates can reach as high as £100m. It is expected that the smart home systems market will increase by 30 per cent between 2010 and 2013. While the majority of work is still focused on the luxury sector, this will move into the mid-range over coming years.
Smart and affordable ‘There is a perception that smart systems are very expensive, but that doesn’t have to be the case at all,’ says Richard Hayward, marketing manager for Legrand Electric’s wiring devices business. Hayward claims that Legrand’s new Arteor range is appealing to a new breed of smart electrical contractor, keen to capitalise on the growing appeal of devices that can do more than just switch on the lights.
26 ECA Today November 2011
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