WANT a house where the doors, lights, air conditioning, security system, reticulation controller and whatever else you want can be controlled by a single panel?Such houses are already here.
WANT a house where the doors, lights, air conditioning, security system, reticulation controller and whatever else you want can be controlled by a single panel?
Such houses are already here.
Home automation systems are growing in popularity as the technology to run them becomes more affordable.
Builders already are including the necessary cabling to support such systems into wall cavities as new homes and apartment buildings are constructed. Optic fibre is becoming the cabling of choice these days.
Admittedly these systems are still relatively expensive. Prices range from the thousands to
the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Despite the high cost, these systems can save users money. Because everything is controlled from a central point, appliances such as sound, security and reticulation controllers are made redundant.
Architect Richard Sklarz said while there was a lot of talk about home automation syst-
ems, there had been limited application.
“They are still quite cost prohibitive, it’s a situation of looking at what your needs are,” he said.
“But we will put these systems into homes when we see a need for them.”
Perth builder Webb and Brown-Neaves has been fitting the cabling needed to run these systems to homes for the past two years.
WB-N sales and marketing manager Simon Cain said its Future Link product was standard in its homes.
“Our idea is to future proof our homes,” Mr Cain said.
Perth company Electronic Interiors carries out the structure cabling for builders including Webb and Brown-Neaves.
It designs and manufactures its own products and recently opened an office in Sydney.
Electronic Interiors partner Craig Bertignon said home automation was the integration of basic services such as lighting, security systems and air conditioning.
“It gives people options on what they can do with their house. It comes down to what product you’re going to use to communicate through.”
Some products include Jeeves, Minder and Thinkbox.
WA venue management syst-
ems provider PIVoD has applied the technology it uses to control hundreds of museum exhibits to home automation.
A prototype of its inLiving system is running in PIVoD managing director Philip Jenkins’ house. It is putting a version of inLiving into a $5.5 million Melbourne penthouse.
Lights, front and back doors, ceiling fans, the security system and televisions throughout the home can be controlled from wall panels, personal computers, web pads or even personal data assistants.
While the system uses a similar panel concept to other systems, it includes a high level of Internet connectivity. Cust-omers can configure the services they require online as their house is being built.
Mr Jenkins said his company was even trying to set up a media centre so customers could gain access to music and movies of their choice online.
“Customers can check the security status of their home from their office if they want,” he said.
Such houses are already here.
Home automation systems are growing in popularity as the technology to run them becomes more affordable.
Builders already are including the necessary cabling to support such systems into wall cavities as new homes and apartment buildings are constructed. Optic fibre is becoming the cabling of choice these days.
Admittedly these systems are still relatively expensive. Prices range from the thousands to
the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Despite the high cost, these systems can save users money. Because everything is controlled from a central point, appliances such as sound, security and reticulation controllers are made redundant.
Architect Richard Sklarz said while there was a lot of talk about home automation syst-
ems, there had been limited application.
“They are still quite cost prohibitive, it’s a situation of looking at what your needs are,” he said.
“But we will put these systems into homes when we see a need for them.”
Perth builder Webb and Brown-Neaves has been fitting the cabling needed to run these systems to homes for the past two years.
WB-N sales and marketing manager Simon Cain said its Future Link product was standard in its homes.
“Our idea is to future proof our homes,” Mr Cain said.
Perth company Electronic Interiors carries out the structure cabling for builders including Webb and Brown-Neaves.
It designs and manufactures its own products and recently opened an office in Sydney.
Electronic Interiors partner Craig Bertignon said home automation was the integration of basic services such as lighting, security systems and air conditioning.
“It gives people options on what they can do with their house. It comes down to what product you’re going to use to communicate through.”
Some products include Jeeves, Minder and Thinkbox.
WA venue management syst-
ems provider PIVoD has applied the technology it uses to control hundreds of museum exhibits to home automation.
A prototype of its inLiving system is running in PIVoD managing director Philip Jenkins’ house. It is putting a version of inLiving into a $5.5 million Melbourne penthouse.
Lights, front and back doors, ceiling fans, the security system and televisions throughout the home can be controlled from wall panels, personal computers, web pads or even personal data assistants.
While the system uses a similar panel concept to other systems, it includes a high level of Internet connectivity. Cust-omers can configure the services they require online as their house is being built.
Mr Jenkins said his company was even trying to set up a media centre so customers could gain access to music and movies of their choice online.
“Customers can check the security status of their home from their office if they want,” he said.
