Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 41Apr 27, 2017 7:07 am Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 50Apr 29, 2017 7:29 am Because I'm an electrical engineer in building services, everyone expects my house to be high-tech, automated, etc etc. On the contrary the only thing automated is my garden lighting and underfloor heating. No security system, no cameras, no WiFi lighting... I spend my working life solving high-tech problems, when I get home that's the last thing I want to do 😂 and let's be real, the vast majority of home automation type stuff is really just a toy or something to show off. Not much of it really adds that much value to one's life. I personally would prefer to spend my money getting out of the house! But each to their own and if you want the smart gadgets, go for gold! I'm happy to lend a hand. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 51Apr 29, 2017 7:42 am 1960sModernistHome I personally would prefer to spend my money getting out of the house! Interesting perspective. In that case I expect you'd just rent a small two bedroom apartment, plus one more room for each kid. No need for it to be anything but functional since you don't want to be there much. To my me and my wife, home is haven - a place to be sheltered away from the world. That is why we prefer to spend money staying in the house and in our garden. Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 52Apr 29, 2017 8:00 am 1960sModernistHome let's be real, the vast majority of home automation type stuff is really just a toy or something to show off. Not much of it really adds that much value to one's life. * Robot Vacuum helps keep the house clean. * Security cameras may help identify perpetrators of theft or damage. * Automated blinds negate ladder use for high windows and stops children getting hanged by cords. * Multi-room audio systems can fill a house with soothing sounds. * Smart locks make it convenient to enter when hands are full. * Connected smoke detectors warn the entire house and additionally can flash smart lights to help those hard of hearing. * Watering controllers help keep a garden healthy. I could go on, but there's a few example of how automation can enhance one's life. Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 53Apr 29, 2017 10:07 am They're all things that are nice to have (and we have a robot vac so definitely agree with that one) but really it's not hard to get off the couch to flick a light switch, or roll the blinds down, etc etc. If you're loaded and money isn't an issue, go for it (I probably would if I were loaded). If you really love gadgets, go for it. But personally I'm fine as is... I find beauty in simplicity. All of those systems require maintenance and will eventually need repairing and replacement too. Another consideration is environmental - all of those electronics use up energy and resources and will end up in landfill eventually... I've also learnt from my mistakes. Earlier in my career when I was into all of the gadgets and automation, I designed a few buildings (not houses) with automation systems, and after the buildings were operational the clients actually didn't like it. Too complicated to use, unreliable, needed expensive specialist technicians to do any changes... so these days I use automation systems in very measured doses and try and keep them as simple as I can. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 56Apr 29, 2017 4:17 pm Here is my Smart Home Shopping list: Smart Door Lock: Samsung SHS-DP920 (~$450 shipped + Installation) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I have had my eyes on this one for a while now. I'll have to buy on eBay/Amazon as the local versions available at Bunnings are about 2-3 generations old. I have a few months before construction finishes, and hoping that a model launches with support for Australian Z-wave support.. it also has Bluetooth, RF, Fingerprint and Keycodes. Smart Door Bell: Doorbird (from $620 AUD) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Choosing this over the Ring as it can (almost) run locally without paying for subscriptions. I have a PoE point wired next to he front door. Also have a Chime wired in and you can link it to the Doorbird. Planning to run a conduit from the doorbell to the garage door opener. Doorbird can support remote opening of the garage door via its App. Useful for parcel deliveries. Doorbird is now available in Australia via https://doorbirdintercom.com.au Security System: Seeking recommendations here...Initially was thinking of wireless/Z-wave security system, but now planning to get a wired Bosch 6000/DSC 1864 based Alarm system as they tend to be more reliable. I'm looking for something which has the feature set of a Chuango System with 3G/Mobile notification capability. I have researched the Homeseer + DSC 1864 combo, which can do this, but comes at a cost...This area is evolving for the good. It looks like Alarm.com have recently launched in Australia and a few retailers are offering services based on their platform. Alarm.com works well with Apple Devices, but not sure the subscription costs will be palatable every month.... Home Automation: Aspire to automate over time, which will include: - Hub: HomeSeer Based...thinking of running it on a NUC/old laptop with UPS Battery backup - Lights & Fans Automation in Living Areas - Security Notifications from security system - Garden Lighting & Irrigation Automation - A few Aeon Multi-Sensors house - Garage Door Automation (top of my list...) Aeon offers a Z-wave solution here - Blinds automation in living room(have pre-wired GPO points) - HomeKit & Alexa Support Cameras: Have the house pre-wired for up to 12 security cameras. May settle for close to 8 when we settle in. At the moment, have my eyes on a Hikvision based NVR & camera system. I may upgrade one of the front security cameras to a Dahua SD6C230U-HNI PTZ Camera with intelligence (I.e it tracks movement based on a marked zone)... planning a UPS backup for the NVR and cameras as well... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Home theatre & audio: I have a dedicated theatre room, and have it wired up for 7.2.4 & a projector on the ceiling. Still tossing b/w Sonos or regular AVR powered speakers for the living room & Alfresco. The latter looks a lot more polished if you don't want speakers hanging off your ceilings. I may end up with a Sonos Bar for the living and regular speakers for the Alfresco & upstairs rumpus... Climate Control: I added in Brivis Touch controller downstairs, which cost me around $300 from memory, and a Brivis NC-6 upstairs. Not sure if it worth upgrading to a Honeywell Lyric, or the Ecobee 4 which is coming out soon. Misc: I have decided to use the area underneath the stairs for storing all AV & Network equipment, so everything has been routed here. May need to buy a used Server rack from eBay for storing everything.... I also have Cat 6a wiring throughout, so AV distribution can be managed by a HDBaseT matrix. They are not cheap though...can cost anywhere from $2000-$4000 depending on the brand... Keen to hear your thoughts/comments... Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 57Apr 29, 2017 4:20 pm arcadelt sinbox Speaking of robot vacuums... Any suggestions for a robo mop? I was looking at the Scooba, but it has been discontinued and the Braava is no good... Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 58Apr 29, 2017 5:36 pm Not too keen on Hikvision, major cyber security risks. Dahua is a better choice at the low price end of the CCTV market. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 59Apr 29, 2017 6:11 pm 1960sModernistHome Not too keen on Hikvision, major cyber security risks. Dahua is a better choice at the low price end of the CCTV market. Even Dahua cameras were hacked along with Hikvision : https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/03/dah ... der-siege/ Any internet exposed device is at risk of being hacked at some point of time. My strategy will be to have them on a seperate network, or disable access via Internet and only access via a VPN... Re: Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you ne 60Apr 29, 2017 6:16 pm Hey 1960sModernistHome, I have been following your lighting recommendations thread...fabulous job... What's you view on low voltage circuits for all lighting? Can it be done without much added costs? What are the main advantages /disadvantages of going down this path? I have heard it is easier to automate using DIN Rails? How would I even go getting a bulk builder 's electrician to do this? Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39686 Hi All, I just wanted to close this topic out with an update. So we ended up agreeing to a number with the insurance company, and after an extensive amount of hand… 8 23394 You have mandatory building inspections and privately engaged building inspections. The difference between the two comes down to inspecting the building so it's safe and… 3 18063 |