Home Automation Information

As you open your front door, the house wakes up to welcome you!

The lights in the hallway turn on, your favourite music starts playing, and the heat pump starts to raise the temperature in the living areas to a comfortable level.

Is it magic? No – simply your home automation system doing as it should – taking care of your home and your family’s needs.

Once the domain of the very wealthy, or the techno-savvy hobbyist, home automation is becoming an accepted and expected feature in many of today’s homes.

Home Automation - Everything Talking to Everything Else

Home automation technology connects all the devices in your home so that they can talk to each other – and communicate with you!

Virtually anything in the home that uses electricity can be connected via your home network and be at your command. Your command may be your voice, the touch of a button, an app on your smart phone, or on the PC – whichever way, the house responds!

The majority of applications integrated to become the home automation system involve lighting, security, home theatre/entertainment, and thermostat control. 

It can also incorporate aspects such as blinds, pool covers & pumps, garden irrigation, gates, water features, cameras, and many more to create a system as simple or complex as you might wish.

Home Automation Without A Huge Spend

It is said Bill Gates spent more that US$100m building his smart home, but it is now possible to achieve a home that is automated to look after your family’s needs for a small fraction of what you will be spending on your new home or renovation project.

Of utmost importance however, is the consideration given to home automation at the outset of the project.

By taking into account what is to be included in the home automation system, and ensuring
therefore that all elements can communicate easily with each other, you can create for a modest outlay, a house that the Jetsons would be proud to call home!

For more information or a free consultation please click below.

When I pull into my driveway at night, do my driveway and entry lights come on?

Do my outside security lights, automatically adjust the times they come on, according to local
sunrise and sunset times?

If I hear a strange noise during the night, can I turn on the outside lights from my bedroom to
identify the source of the disturbance, or scare a prowler away?

If my children visit the bathroom at night, does low level lighting automatically come on to provide
safe access without waking the household?

When I go to bed at night, do I need to check all the doors, and ensure all the lights are turned off,
or can the touch of the “goodnight” button make sure my house is secure, and gradually dim all the
lights in the house to off?

Home Automation - Minimise Wastage

Does heating, air-conditioning or lighting get left on in an empty room, wasting money and making
me feel guilty? Or does everything turn off automatically when a room or area is vacated?

Do all the timers in my home automatically update to take into account the clocks going forward or
back for daylight saving?

If I am still at work when visitors arrive at home, can I open the door remotely to let them in, and
also turn on heating, cooling, music etc to make their wait for me a pleasant one?

Does my garden irrigation system adjust the amount of water the sprinklers deliver, according to the
weather conditions?

Are my family protected, with cameras and/or intercom systems allowing us to see who is at the
door or gate before they are given access?

Home Automation for Security and Convenience

If I am unexpectedly delayed at work, can I turn on the heating so that I return to a warm welcome?

If there is a security issue at home, does my home automation system immediately contact me via
my smart phone?

Do I save energy and prolong lamp life by having lights dim automatically according to varying needs
at different times of the day?

Can I control my home automation system via my iPhone, iPad or other android smart device?

Does my home theatre controller allow me to operate blinds and lights as well as the TV and Audio
devices?

If fire or intruder alarms are activated, does the lighting flash on, and the movie pause to alert us, if
we are in the home theatre?

If we are on vacation does our home still appear ‘lived in’ to the casual observer? Do the blinds
close at night and open in the morning? Do certain lights come on during the evening, and then
turn off around bedtime? Can I check on the home and make changes to the set up from my mobile
phone or via the internet?

For more information or to request a free consultation please click below.

In New Zealand today, family living and entertainment incorporates the outside area of the home, as much as the inside, which is why it's smart to consider a home automation system.

With decks, patios, verandahs, loggias expanding the space the family has available for everyday living, and to entertain guests, it's a great addition to your home's exterior.

Your home automation system will no doubt control not just outside lights, but canopies, louvres, heating, fountains and other water features, pool pumps and covers, music and other multimedia required outdoors.

THE Many Choices for Home Automation

Landscape lighting is a whole new area of lighting design and used effectively, with the home automation system linking various circuits to create different scenes, it is the exterior lights that really bring the home to life after dark.

Driveway, pathway and landscape lighting plays an important role in providing comfort & convenience for your family, and also delivering higher levels of security. Lighting scenes can be automated to provide that 'wow' factor when entertaining; they can provide safe passage for when the family returns home at dusk, and can alert the occupiers of a potential security issued.

Security lighting can be programmed to trigger when movement is detected. The home automation system allows programming to ensure the lighting comes on outside of daylight hours, and can minimise nuisance triggering.

Research has indicated that this simple method of crime deterrent is highly effective. Whereas visitors will be only too glad to have the driveway lighting turn on as soon as they enter your property, a would be burglar may find the lights announcing their entry a real disincentive to proceeding further.

Home Automation With the click of a button

You may also choose to have a 'prowler' set up for outside lighting, controlled from beside your bed. An unusual noise in the night may prompt you to push the button to activate the 'prowler' scene. Certain outside lights immediately turn on - enabling you to see what may have caused the noise, and quite possibly being sufficient to scare off a prowler - or the squabbling neighbourhood cats!

While mentioning cats - you may want your home automation system to control automated pet feeders - if you're delayed at work, your moggie or pooch doesn't have to wait for his dinner!

Why not have your automation system look after all the regular scheduled tasks for the home? It's already looking after internal schedules such as heating and air conditioning - let's look at some outside tasks it can also take care of:

Swimming pool and spa pool pumps can be scheduled to run at regular intervals according to manufacturer's recommendations, along with manual overrides when necessary. Pool covers can also be operated manually from your home automation system, or perhaps set up to automatically close after a certain time frame.

Canopies, shutters or blinds can be scheduled or programmed to close when direct sunlight hits certains area of the home. Or rain may trigger louvres or canopies to close automatically.

Keeping Lawns Healthy with Home Automation

Irrigation can be set up on a schedule so that sprinklers come on and off at certain times of day, or even certain days of the week. It is even possible to include rain sensors into the system which will prevent the sprinklers from operating when there has been sufficient rain.

Your gates can also be controlled by your home automation system. An intercom and/or CCTV system can prove useful to inform you when someone is at the gate, and wishes to gain access. Once you've spoken to them, or seen who they are, you can open the gates and allow entry.

If you don't have gates to your property, driveway sensors can give you advance warning that someone is en route to the door. The CCTV or security cameras can also be set up to pause the TV for instance, and bring up a picture of who is at the gate or door.

Family members can control the gates from their car or key ring, allowing them to automatically open the gates, and also the garage doors. After dusk, the programming can also ensure pathway lighting is activated to light the route from garage to house.

When entertaining, outside areas can be included in scenes that incorporating lighting, water features, multi zone audio, shades & awnings, etc. All contributing to that memorable experience for your family and guests.

The vacation scene that you set up when leaving for a holiday can also incorporate outside operations. You will no doubt include some external lighting along with selected inside lights to be scheduled to turn on and off at set times to make the house look 'lived in'.

You can also turn off water, heated towel rails, heating, etc that won't be needed while the family is absent, but can ensure relevant schedules for irrigation, pool pumps and other services are maintained, and maximum security levels are operational.

There are so many options for your automation system; contact us today for a further discussion!

If your home automation system is controlling your internal lighting, it makes sense that it should control your outside lighting also.

Utilising driveway, landscape and pathway lighting to its full effect and incorporating different areas into various scenes can really bring your house to life once dusk begins to fall.

Outside lighting is important for both comfort & convenience, and security. Your lighting can be automated to wow your guests, to provide safe passageways as the family return home after dark, and to alert you to a possible security issue.

Home Automation is a Good Idea

If you ask anyone involved in law enforcement they will tell you one of the most effective crime deterrents is motion activated lighting. IP sensors can detect movement and turn on outside lighting.

When connected to your home automation system you can also program the lighting to ignore nuisance triggering, and to come on after dark only. A visiting friend will be glad of the driveway lighting that comes on as soon as they enter the property – to someone with criminal intentions, the lights announcing their entry are far from welcome, and are often enough to discourage the casual prowler.

Outside lighting can also be controlled from within the house for security purposes. If a strange noise is heard during the night, a switch by the masterbed when activated, may turn on all the outside lights for example. Sufficient to scare off a would be burglar, or for you to throw something at the squabbling cats!

Home Automation For Everything

In New Zealand our entertainment areas spill out on to decks, patios and gardens. Your home automation system will control not only the lighting in these areas but things such as louvres, canopies, outside gas heating, multi zone audio, water features or fountains, pool covers and pumps – almost anything required to enhance the way your family live and entertain outdoors.

Irrigation is another area that can be controlled effectively by your home automation system. There are various ways of programming that can schedule the sprinklers to come on (and off) at certain times, on certain days of the week, whether or not the family is at home.

You can also include a rain sensor which will suspend the system from operating when there has been rain, and only allow the schedule to commence again when the sensor has dried out. Different sensors can be used in different areas.

The commands from these sensors can be adjusted to re-act to different levels of rain. For instance, your vegetable garden may well need more watering than the cactus garden!

Gates can be controlled via your home automation system also. An intercom may alert you as to who is wishing to gain access to your property.

You can then open the gates and allow them to enter. Alternatively you may wish to have driveway sensors that give you advance warning that someone is on their way to your door.

CCTV and security cameras are also connected up to the home automation sensor. TV viewing can be paused for instance, to bring up the camera view and see who is at the door.

The drivers of the family may have a control from their car or key ring that when activated automatically opens the gates, and then the garage doors, and if after dark, also lights the path from garage to house.

Automated pet feeders can take over the regular routines where feeding animals is concerned. Making it much easier for the family to escape for a day or two, without engaging a neighbour to feed the cat!

Setting the vacation scene when the family leaves can activate schedules for certain lights inside and outside the house to ensure the home continues to appear ‘lived in’, it can turn off things such as heating, hot water etc that won’t be needed, and ensure the house is fully secure.

For more information on adding an automation system to your home, contact us at Intelligent Environments today!

One can imagine when the first houses were wired for electric lighting – no doubt friends and neighbours were invited to witness the moment when the rocker switch was moved downwards and the electric light bulb turned on! The ability to turn on the light via a switch, across the room from the actual lamp, would have seemed nothing less than a miracle to many.

As technology moved on, the ability to control things from across the room, or even from another room, became more common. We are all accustomed to controlling the television from our armchair, via remote control. Jumping up to change channels or adjust the volume is certainly a thing of the past – with even the most basic and inexpensive models coming with a remote as standard.

Home Automation Remotes

The convenience offered by the ‘remote control’ became ever more popular. Many houses had (or still have) a drawer full of remotes: one for the TV, another for the stereo, the heat pump/air-conditioner, the blinds, the lighting, the garage door even – all can be operated from your armchair – as long as you’ve a lap full of the appropriate remote controls.

When home automation became more common, one of the benefits it offered was the ability to link together the systems within a home, and therefore make it possible to operate numerous systems and appliances with a single control. This meant most of the remote controls that came packaged with various systems could be relegated to the back of that drawer for ever! A single remote (or one for each room) could be programmed to include all operations that the home owner could ever desire.

With the emergence of iPads and android alternatives, smart phones etc, many home owners are now operating the various aspects of their home automation system with this new technology. Wireless technology has become an important adjunct to wired systems. IP technology takes things further again.

Home Automation from a Remote location

Today, when talking about ‘remote control’ many are meaning ‘control of the home from a remote location’. This has quickly become an inexpensive, and easily available addition to a home automation system.

It is now a popular requirement with any new system that it has the ability to allow connection into your home automation system to view the status, or to issue commands, from outside the home. You may choose to log in from your PC at work, checking your CCTV to see if the landscape gardener has finished, and closed the gates behind him. If he has left, but the gates are open, you can close them via a command from your PC. Basically you can control virtually all the aspects of your house,when away, that you can when at home.

Equally control can be effected via a smartphone, so you can turn the heating on before you get home, or turn off the hot water tank after you’ve left your holiday home!

Existing home automation systems can often be upgraded to allow control from outside the home. It is dependent on the type of system installed and the upgrade path available.

One of the greatest challenges today is how best we can meet our yearnings for a better life for ourselves and our families, while at the same time protect the future of our world and its eco-systems for the generations to come.

It is our society’s inability to find that balance between sustainability and development that has placed our planet under enormous stress: climate change, severe floods and droughts, soil erosion, rising sea levels, scarcity or contamination of water supplies, de-forestation and land degradation – the list seems endless and the problems insurmountable.

Individuals and families can be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed with the enormity of the challenges we face as a species, as we look for innovative solutions to save what we have for our children, and our children’s children.

It is easy to think that anything we might do personally to ‘do our bit’ will be such a small drop in the ocean, that it can have no impact on the world’s predicament. However the experts agree that meeting the sustainability challenge requires strong leadership – not just from governments and global organisations, but from business leaders, and others with influence. When it comes to our families, strong leadership is needed here too.

We need to take a hard look at what our family can do that would make a difference. Yet, at the same time, we can still achieve our aims for a better, more comfortable, and secure lifestyle.

When it comes to our houses how ‘green’ can we be? It is important to take a ‘whole house’ approach when it comes to creating a comfortable, healthy and energy efficient home.

Environmentally Friendly with Home Automation

By making our homes as environmentally effective as possibly by ensuring they are properly insulated, heated efficiently, have energy efficient hot water systems, lighting, and appliances, we are contributing positively to the sustainability challenge. Awareness of consumption is a powerful tool when it comes to reducing energy use. New technology such as ‘smart meters’ allow the opportunity to monitor energy usage, and there is a whole new generation of equally smart appliances available that can be programmed to choose the most cost effective times to run high energy processes such as clothes washing.

Simply replacing your old incandescent light bulbs with energy saving ones can reduce the power used in lighting by up to 80% - in addition the bulbs are likely to last up to eight times longer!

Home automation is one way of meeting our needs for increased comfort and security in our home, and also provide a means of reducing our family’s environmental footprint.

A home automation system can provide a consistency in results, that is hard to duplicate when relying on human behaviour. The home automation system can assume responsibility for ensuring lights, heating etc are turned off when a room is vacated or when natural light or temperature levels are sufficient; the system can ensure heated towel rails, under tile heating in bathrooms etc., is only activated at appropriate times; lights can be dimmed at a lower level, indiscernible to the human eye, but significant in terms of energy savings.

Appliances can be programmed to activate at the most cost effective times of energy usage. Sensors can ensure that irrigation sprinklers only activate when it hasn’t rained.

Installing a home automation system won’t save the planet single handed! However it can certainly assist in leading your family on the first stage of the sustainability journey, and demonstrate your commitment in working towards a better tomorrow, while ensuring the lifestyle your family deserve today!

Home Automation - Control From A Remote Location

The number of appliances in every home continues to rise, and as it does so the ability of these devices to link with a control system becomes an important feature. Home automation is about creating a simplified method of controlling all appliances and services in the house, to a level required by the homeowner.

In a fairly standard home automation installation, the requirement may be simply to turn on the lights when a person enters the room. Where more advanced features are required, the room or area can be programmed not only to sense the presence but to recognise who that person is and then set appropriate lighting, temperature and background music dependent on individual taste.

This can also be done taking into account which day of the week it is, what time of day, and a multitude of other factors. Another popular requirement is for heating or air conditioning to be set to an energy saving setting when the house is unoccupied, and for the home automation system to then restore normal settings when the family is about to return.

Single Point Home Automation

Incorporating more sophisticated lighting control into the home automation system can allow lighting throughout the house to be extinguished from one simple command. Options include perhaps slowly dimming down as the family retires for the night, or switching straight off, as the family leaves in the morning.

Additionally lights can be programmed to take availability of natural light into account, dimming up or down according to ambient light levels.

Blind and drape control can also be incorporated to reduce glare or UV damage to furnishings when high levels of sunlight are present. Interesting visual effects or scenes can be created by dimming various groups of lights to pre-set levels, or changing the colour of LEDs, to provide the desired effect. Absence detectors can ensure that lighting is switched off when an area is vacated, saving energy and money!

The switching and distribution of audio and video can also be linked into your home automation system allowing multiple audio or video sources to be selected and distributed to one or more areas of the home.

Communications & Home Automation

In larger homes intercom systems are popular to allow communication between multiple rooms. Integrated with the home automation the intercom can be linked to the telephone, or the door entry camera can be linked to the television, allowing the family to see who’s at the door.

Integrated sensors are also an important part of the security system. Through the home automation system the family can be notified of any unauthorised entry, of glass breaking, a door being opened, etc.

Virtually any appliance can be linked to your home automation system, dependent on the needs of the family: irrigation, spa and pool pumps, pool covers, automatic gates, coffee machine, pet feeding – the list is as long as the number of gadgets/appliances available – and grows longer with every new ‘must have’ that hits the market.

The key is to ensure that you have full control of all electrical circuits in your home. In that way virtually any appliance that links to a circuit can be controlled and integrated into your home automation system, along with a whole heap of appliances that can now be linked wirelessly to the same system.

For that reason, if you are looking to build, extend, or renovate your home, and are considering a home automation system, it is important that this be taken into account when the electrical design is being put together. Getting advice at that stage from a qualified home automation specialist, will save you money and time in the long run, and also ensure you end up with a home automation system that does what you want – when you want it!

Home Automation - A Holistic Approach To Energy Saving

A lot of hype is bouncing around about the ability to have a home automation system that’s run off your smart phone or tablet.

There is a lot of mis-information around on this subject that seems to suggest that a suitable phone or other electronic device can now magically ‘automate’ your home.

This is of course absolute nonsense! What is in fact possible, with today’s technology, is the ability to have your everyday electronic devices such as your phone, notebook, or iPad – communicate with the home automation system that is installed in your house.

Most of the major players in the home automation market have now released applications that allow a home owner to communicate with their automation system via a smart phone or tablet. Some of these applications carry a cost around acquiring or downloading them, but many are actually free – you do however need the home automation system that the application is designed to talk too!

The ability to use many ‘i’ products such as iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (and the ever growing number of android equivalents) to control your home automation is advantageous on a number of fronts.

Technology Development & Home Automation

For many years, user interfaces have been pretty complicated pieces of kit. The touch screens available from most suppliers have always been hugely expensive, and most entail a lot of time-consuming programming to create a user friendly means of control. The release of the relatively inexpensive iPad and equivalents has given the manufacturers of these horrendously expensive touchscreens a kick in the pants!

Although it is unlikely that any ‘multi-purpose’ device such as the iPad can offer quite the range and subtlety of control as a dedicated, customised touchscreen – there is no doubt that many consumers will sacrifice that higher level of control for the savings through using this new smart technology.

Another advantage is the fact that the homeowner is likely already familiar with the operation of their ‘i’ devices or equivalents. They are not faced with having to learn new ways of operating other screens or control mechanisms.

How many times does the ‘remote control’ get mislaid? Many people are rarely separated from their smart phone. Not just receiving and making calls, but catching up on emails, facebook, twitter – via the phone, constantly on hand. When your smartphone provides control of your environment: your music, lighting, security, whatever – the control of your home automation is also, constantly on hand.

Home Automation – Control via Electrical Circuits

Until quite recently, a full home automation system could only be installed with either a new build, or an extensive renovation project that included completely re-wiring the home.

With today’s technological advances in the home automation arena, it is now possible to provide ‘retrofit’ solutions to existing homes so that they too can enjoy the benefits that home automation has to offer.

This means it is no longer necessary to tear down wall linings, and completely re-model simply to install a home automation system.

The solutions that are now available make it possible to supply all the benefits of a reliable, easy to use automation system, at a price that suits your budget.

Simple, Scalable Home Automation

It is even possible to design a scalable home automation system – start with the basic home automation features that you view as priorities, and then expand and upgrade the system at a later date when budget allows.

The complexities of the early home automation systems are also a thing of the past. Modern solutions can be installed and programmed in a matter of hours, instead of weeks or months! Saving considerably on time and money.

Today’s systems are so much easier to use – the whole aim is to link together all the areas of technology in your home, and then simplify it. Lighting, Security, Entertainment – all can work together and be managed as one easy to use system, without the need for multiple types of switches and remotes, and a whole heap of complicated manuals!

Whether your home is one year old, a hundred years old – or still to be built, there is a home automation solution that will work for you. Give us a call, and we’ll be happy to advise you on the options available.

Home Automation – Control via Smartphone or Tablet

Homeowners consider installing a home automation system for many different reasons.

For many the idea is initiated by the excitement of planning an entertainment area or perhaps a home theatre or movie room. They can easily see the advantage of a home automation system in terms of being able to select one button on a switch or remote that will then ‘set the scene’ i.e. draw the blinds, raise the screen, dim the lights and start the projector.

So it is therefore that many home automation systems are designed more as an afterthought, to create that ‘wow’ factor to entertain the guests!

There is nothing wrong with this, but a more robust and cost effective system, can usually be provided by giving consideration to the home automation at the design stage of the project.

Pre-set Lighting Environments with Home Automation

It is customary for a lighting plan to be given early consideration with any new build or major renovation. Good residential lighting design combines ambience, accent and task lighting to attract and guide our attention as we navigate through the home. It tells a story about the house and those that live there. Incorporating a lighting control system brings a creative lighting design to life – enabling easy and automated transition of visual scenes through pre-set dimming.

Linking the lighting control with other aspects of the home can provide the highest level of convenience, comfort and security by creating a home automation system that automatically controls such things as the gates, security lighting and alarm, landscaping features (such as fountain, irrigation, external lighting), heating, air conditioning – as well as the home entertainment system!

As well as your ‘movie’ scene, you can create any number of other automated scenes to enhance your living environment, and to make mundane tasks much simpler.

Managing Power With Home Automation

Imagine the normal scenario as you prepare to leave home in the morning: For many, the usual rush round, checking every room to make sure lights are off. Switching off heaters and so on . . . then turning on the alarm as you leave . . . and then the nagging doubt during the day “Did the electric blanket in my teenagers room get switched off?”

An ‘away’ scene, at the touch of single button, – can be programmed to switch off all the lights (including those your teenagers left burning!), to turn off all non-essential appliances, to turn off the heating or air conditioning and to activate the alarm system.

Lighting control, and its integration to become part of a wider home automation system, can also have significant benefits in reducing the amount of power that is wasted in lighting or heating unoccupied rooms of your home. Sensors can detect when an area is vacated, and automatically turn of the lights, etc. Savings in energy benefit not only your bank balance, but also the planet!

Home Automation – As Part of a Renovation Project