Smart Homes
It´s time for some
thinking smart
Smart homes are full of gadgets, and the world seems to be the oyster of the installer that can make it all happen. So why are we still up in lofts installing twin and earth most days? By Steve Payne of Theben.
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he short answer is you are there to earn a living, and it continues to be the bread and butter business of most domestic electrical
contractors. But things are changing. What you see now in the ‘flagship’ buildings and footballers´ homes will be commonplace in home in a few years time. Broadband throughout the home, surround sound and cable TV in several rooms with flat screens of sizes that have sparked a whole new industry in specialist wall fastenings. The concept of central control and devices communicating with each other is familiar to most home owners, but often means no more in practice than running a cable between the Sky box and the bedroom. Meanwhile the heating,
ventilation and lighting is left to chug on in its old fashioned way. The only real winners here seem to be Sky and the utility companies.
Technology now
The technology is already available to bring all the energy-guzzling equipment under control, so that it works in harmony to deliver the most comfortable and efficient environment. We all know about timers for lighting and heating, but now they can
be over-ridden when PIR detectors
tell the system that there is no-one in the room. Lighting lux levels can be programmed to adapt to ambient conditions and/or the use to which a room is to be put – a home office or kitchen needs brighter lighting than a dining room, for instance, and both need
less artificial light on a bright, sunny day. Or maybe you want blinds and awnings
to react to changes in the weather and cloud cover?
Central heating can be zoned, so that
bedrooms are cooler than living rooms or to enable each family member to have their own ideal combination of heat and light environment in their own room. And yes, all the home entertainment can be brought under the same central control if you wish.
Energy costs will only be going one way – up. So will householders be willing to invest in energy efficiency as well as their expectations of an increasing degree of home automation. Can you meet these growing
expectations? Are you up to date with the technology and the skills needed to install it? Because, if you aren’t, then someone else surely will be. So the big question now is “Who is
CABLEtalk • June 2010
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