Owning an "intelligent" home is a lot closer than people in the West Country realise, with local electrician Steve Zatchij turning his family home into a technology showcase for his business. Steve is targeting the higher end housing market, where he believes such intelligent control will add to the value.
Walking into Steve Zatchij's house, there is no feeling of invasive "big brother" or Star Trek technology, merely a well set out family home. This is quite deliberate. After all, as Steve passionately argues, first and foremost his family have to live in the property so the technology must fit their lifestyle.
Yet behind the apparently normal walls, light switches, thermostats and PIR sensors, lies a sophisticated control system that makes their lives more comfortable, saves money and is green.
The backbone control for Steve's house is Hager's Tebis TS bus system. Not only does this allow sophisticated control of lighting and heating, but via an input relay can integrate other manufacturer's control systems – such as burglar, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
It means that Steve can pick and mix the most appropriate technology for the home and programme it to suit his lifestyle. More importantly, the system is easily reprogrammed as and when these needs change, perhaps for a new owner or as his young family grows up.
The benefits of integrating several systems into one soon become apparent. As Steve says: "If the smoke alarm goes off, for example, then all the lights in the house automatically come on to aid escape, and the same is true for the carbon monoxide alarm. On the other hand if the burglar alarm is activated, I can programme just a few lights to come on to simulate someone waking up".
Indeed, anyone approaching the house will activate external PIR sensors causing the outside lighting and some internal lighting to dim up. Similar sensors in the back garden have the same effect. This will prove either a welcome or a deterrence, depending on who you are and why you are here! Equally, if the family are on holiday, lights can be programmed to come on and off randomly, and, if fitted, special motors can draw and undraw curtains.
Best of all, however, for those who remember Thunderbirds, Steve has fitted a transponder to the underside of his vehicle, which will activate the automatic garage doors on approach. And if Steve or his wife go out and think they will be home early, they can telephone the house to turn on the heating in advance.
Interior lighting is controlled using normal light switches - but even these have intelligence built in. Different switches can switch any number of light combinations or, if held down, can dim the lighting up or down to your own preference.
All this is great fun, but Steve believes that heating control through effective zonal heating will give the greatest benefits. Integrating a sophisticated Schauer programme into the bus gives up to x heating control options. With a busy family, there are clearly different heating needs for weekdays and weekends. Also different rooms need heating at different times of the day. So for example, while the heating in one of the children's rooms may need to come on at 7.00 pm, there is little point in having the other bedrooms heated at that time. All this automatic timed control is easily overridden in each room via intelligent thermostat switches from Hager.
Future building work and extensions will also be linked to the bus. A planned conservatory in the south-facing garden may be too hot if it weren't for climate control via motorised vents, air conditioning and heating; all to be controlled via the bus and switched via a contactor. The vents will open when hot and close when it is cold or if a sensor detects rain.
The planned extension above the garage will also feature heating, lighting and air conditioning control via the bus.
Anybody wishing to visit Steve's house to discover just how intelligent their own home could be, should telephone us during normal office hours on: 01225 782373 for an appointment.
For your own safety and peace of mind, the NICEIC (National Council for Electrical Installation Contracting) strongly recommends that you choose an Approved Contractor to carry out your electrical work. We are an NICEIC and Part P Approved Contractor. As a further guarantee of good work, all NICEIC Approved Contractors must issue certificates for all work carried out in accordance with the National Standard BS7671.
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