Your Connected Home. What have you done / what do you need?

Yeah there are only certain scenarios where batteries make economic sense at the moment, no doubt that will improve with time, and hopefully policy developments by government. Currently the payback period is around 7-10 years on a domestic hybrid battery system, which obviously doesn't make a lot of sense given the rated service life of the batteries is only 8-10 years.

With your system, I'd suggest 13kW would be much bigger than you'd need, and would not have a good economic return. Basically you want to design the system so that you maximise self-consumption and minimise export (there is almost no benefit anymore in exporting as the rate is so low). Depending on where you are you may not get 13kw approved. At least in Qld for a domestic install I believe you can only get 5kVA for single phase and 15kVA for 3 phase.

Hi 1960sModernistHome,

With my household of 6, and average daily consumption of 38kwh, plus the GFIT ending on Dec 1,2016; my existing 3kw system is no longer keeping my bills at bay.

I'm planning a KDR and intend to add another 10kw micro inverter system (as long as the roof can fit it on the North West facing roof: afternoon sun) to compliment the 3kw (North East facing roof :morning sun)

This combination should allow us to capitalise and accommodate my households generation and consumption usage.

As the kids grow up and move out , power banks and electric cars can sap up the surplus usage.

That's the plan anyways.

BTW nice tip RE 3 phase . I put in 3phase power at this location when we bought back in 2001.

Today's Gizmodo article on the (sorry) state of affairs for Smart Homes in Australia...most of the products are unavailable via official channels in Australia

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/04/the- ... s-in-2017/

Some of the stuff at least looks pretty useful and affordable like the WeMo switches and the Netgear Arlo. Once our house is built I'd definitely look at getting those or something similar in place, unless there are better alternatives.

So far I'm thinking Netgear Arlo for home security/cameras, WeMo for at least some smart switches, and Sonos for a home theatre system as well as various other speakers for streaming music around the house.

What are other people planning?

I really like Netgear products and have used their networking gear for years, and will continue to in our new home. However, I am not planning to used Arlo security cameras because they are battery powered. That said, they review well.



As an 11 year user, can highly recommend Sonos, but to get the best out of the system my recommendation is to go all-in and not mix the system with others speakers. I've used WeMo too and while they are pretty good, frankly there are better solutions if you are starting at the house build stage.



Just a suggestion, but you might want to be planning for these kinds of appliances now rather than waiting until your house is built. It is true that many (if not most) of these products are designed to be installed as a retrofit, but you will get benefit and a neater look if you can think of them as a new install. Case in point: all Sonos speakers need power, so you can optimise the location of power points - later you have to deal with what you have.

I wasn't keen on the cameras being battery powered either but apparently they last for 6 months so that's pretty good, although obviously I'd take it with a slight pinch of salt!

With the sound system what I meant with other speakers was other Sonos speakers. So the theatre room would be playbar, subwoofer and two Play One's, and then the other rooms would have Play:3 or Play:1 speakers. So no mixing and matching speakers, just thinking of the home theatre and other rooms as being separate if that makes sense? I did plan for the Sonos speakers in the home theatre room with power points in each corner as well as one normal height and one TV mount height etc, plenty of other power points throughout the house as well.

What other suggestions would you make in terms of getting the house setup. We've actually done contract already but won't be building for a while so there is still the potential to make some changes.

While I am a big fan of wireless, there are just some things that work better with wires: for example, anything where you are pushing video around, so you should just think through what you want and consider wiring if needs be. Also, many wireless Internet of Things (IOT) devices such as smart lights and blinds/curtain controllers will have a hub that needs to connect to your router or switch, so you should consider where you will hide all that stuff away. It may all be in the entertainment unit in your theatre or somewhere else. In our case, we designed in a small media cupboard that takes all the little boxes, including our printer, NAS, swItches, router, NBN stuff, etc, etc

We've got tv/data/pay access points in all the places where the TVs will be so hopefully we are all good on the wiring front for that. We haven't got a designated spot for all the hardware apart from the box in the garage which connects the NBN to the router, but we should be able to put something in an entertainment unit or something similar.

Thanks for all your advice, it's been very helpful!

You're welcome.

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.

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.

* 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.

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.

Speaking of robot vacuums...



Single best investment I have made to save my relationship! I have the Neato BotVac XV connected, which is a bloody good upgrade over the previous gen XV-11....Still loving the coverage maps it send me when I'm travelling.

Our latest generation Samsung POWERBot, which just arrived yesterday, says hello:

Here is my Smart Home Shopping list:

Smart Door Lock:
Samsung SHS-DP920 (~$450 shipped + Installation)



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)



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...




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...

Any suggestions for a robo mop? I was looking at the Scooba, but it has been discontinued and the Braava is no good...

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...

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?