Project: Integrating lighting and security systems for a waterfront property

When a team from New Zealand-based custom installation company Automation Associates (AA) was working on an architecturally designed home in a prime waterfront location, they had to maintain the minimalistic look but fully integrate the lighting, entertainment and security systems. This wasn’t their only challenge. While AA was working on the project, the development company responsible for building the house slipped into receivership. The bank and the receivers brought in new builders and instructed them to make the house watertight but they didn’t allow any sub trades to enter the site. When the trades were allowed to return, AA had to fix the prewiring and retrofit the conduit into the block walls.

During the disruptions, the electricians changed their staff and subsequently lost the technical information and load schedules AA had given them. To make things easier for the client, AA contracted its own electrician to repair and finish the 230 VAC automation connections that the incumbent electricians were not capable of doing to a satisfactory level.

As the house was split over three levels, a high level of control was required for the lights, security, audio visual, access control and heating systems without the need to walk around the house and manually control each device.

Due to the shape of the house and the nature of the view, there were minimal areas to install cabling. All the services (plumbing, air conditioning, gas, electrical, etc) had to run through the same narrow gap from the living areas back to the plant room. To minimise cable runs in this area, AA divided the house into two halves, however, this required an increased quantity of cable.

As the homeowner planned to spend more time overseas, the house had to be capable of being controlled at the touch of a button, allowing them to lock up and leave with ease. The vacation mode allows residents to turn off the towel rails, fans, heated mirrors, underfloor heating and AV systems. However, that activates preset lighting circuits to make the home look lived in.

The Vantage iPhone application allows the owners to control the entire house from any location with either Wi-Fi or 3G coverage. This allows them to view cameras, grant remote entry to contractors and activate the heating prior to returning home from holiday.

Separately, a Vantage Energy Management solution was installed to provide global monitoring of the power consumption, allowing the owners to implement energy-saving strategies by dimming lights, reducing floor temperature and isolate unused rooms with one-touch control.

Commenting on the role of electrical contractors in energy savings, Brendon Reid, Director of Automation Associates, said, “I estimate contractors can save 40% of a home’s load by educating clients on key areas such as LED vs halogen, occupancy-based control, dimming, sweep offs, etc. Energy dashboards finish the job that a clever design and programming starts.”

Vantage thermostats in the house provide full control of the underfloor heating from any touch panel and lights are activated and deactivated based on the time of day, sunset and sunrise. When arriving home after sunset the garden lights activate as the gate opens, the garage lights turn on as the door opens and a path is lit to the kitchen when the alarm is disarmed. The ‘away’ buttons in the garage and front door shut down the lights and AV systems. Separate ‘off’ buttons for each level ensure the residents can isolate the levels individually to reduce power consumption.

A Vantage 10.4” colour touch panel provides control of all the lights, audio visual systems, heating, security, scenes and cameras from one location. A wireless 7″ Vantage tablet allows the owners to entertain next to the pool and adjust their systems without having to walk inside the house. The touch panels are configured with a simple yet elegant interface that allows anyone to use controls without any prior training.

The touch panels provide full control of the security system including zone status feedback. The gate, front door, path and pool cameras can be viewed from any touch panel or TV in the house and are recorded onto a networked DVR.

All the outdoor lights can be activated through a single button in the master bedroom, if the alarm activates after sunset all the outdoor lights flash until the alarm is silenced, alerting neighbours of a break-in and attracting attention.