My second Idratek install with the luxury of extensive planning

[Andrew Millne]

I'm just about to embark on my second Idratek install but want to make sure it gets planned out as much as possible in advance. I'll also be looking for a competent electrician to help me realise the plans so if anybody knows of anybody in the North East I'd be grateful for any recommendations. My past experience of electricians is that anything out of the ordinary is met with lots of teeth sucking and inflated quotes.

I thought I'd give a general overview of the project then start the planning a room at a time.

Overview
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2/3 bedroom upstairs flat.



The image above shows the general layout of the flat, at least as well as I could manage using cortex and paint

On it you can see the location of the incoming electricity supply to to the left of the front door. The gas meter is located in the cupboard under the stairs which wrap around the corner of the bathroom.

Location of Node 1
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I'm torn between two locations. The cupboard under the stairs would be easy access for fiddling and its close to node 0. The other option would be in the loft. Any thoughts?

Internal Wiring?
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I'm inclined to keep the existing lighting circuit and switch using drb modules from existing light switch locations for simplicity and cheapness.

The kitchen will be rewired with a new circuit.

I'd like to add a 12/24v ring for automated curtains and radiator valves, does anybody have any suggestions for this? it's the first time I've done the heating/curtains with Idratek.

The usual miles of cat 5/6. What's the current best practice on this cat 5e or cat6? worth the added expense to go the cat 6 route.

Idratek wiring. Shielded cat 5 but not sure on routes until I've decided on all the appliances/sockets etc.

[Andrew Millne]

Kitchen
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Here's my ikea kitchen planner mock ups with some additional annotations.



You can see from the image above I'd like the washer/dryer to have two automated sockets situated below the worktop. With 4 additional sockets above the worktops (possibly two of these switched via Idratek)

In the corner of the kitchen I'd like an additional 4/6 sockets 2 of which switched with Idratek. In this view there'll also be some under cabinet worktop lighting and some automated blinds again switched with Idratek.

I'm not sure how the hob will be wired but it would be nice if this was wired with the hob and switches automatically.



This next view shows the opposite corner of the kitchen with a TV and squeezebox. I think I'll be using Media Centre Extenders around the house for TV/Movies etc and I've got a couple of Logitech Harmony remotes. I think I'll bring the cat5/6 down to bench level in the corner and have the squeezebox and extender on the worktop.

To the left of this image you can see the location of an existing gas fire and back boiler. I'd be grateful for some advice here as If I can replace this fire/boiler combo with a more modern equivalent capable of being controlled via Idratek it would save a lot of relocation hassle. It's not important that it has a fire but I don't really want an unsightly boiler hanging the wall here. Could somebody please give some suggestions?

So that's where I'm at for the moment I'd really appreciate people thoughts and advice on the entire build. Next up I'll plan the bathroom. In the form of gadgets i'll probably have a heated mirror. Solenoid bath taps and some form of undecided A/V in here too.

[toscal]

One quick question what about window sensors.

[Andrew Millne]

I haven't really made any decisions on the windows yet. They are sash windows in a conservation area. The windows are quite small and the building itself isn't historically significant but the fact that it's in a conservation area makes things a little awkward. They've been nailed shut and I suspect if I unscrew them and free the paint they're going to be very rattly. I'm not sure if the budget will stretch to replacement windows/refurbishment. Ideally I would refurbish them then add secondary glazing. I'll take some photos this afternoon so you get an idea of what they're like.

[ludditeal]

On the electrical side you can do it yourself if you feel confident about doing the work. You will need to notify your local BCO who will come out and inspect it as you go. This is what I am doing and he has been very flexible so far even suggesting cable runs that he would be happy with for some tricky locations. He has also told me as a re-furb re-wire in an old cottage he won't be expecting tight compliance with the socket/switch heights although having moved from a modern house to an older house I do miss the higher up sockets so will raise them from their current heights for the few that there are (2 doubles in the whole lounge!).

On the window side my thoughts would be what are your fire escape provisions if the windows are all nailed shut?

Cheers
Allan

[Viv]

Consider having a hot water loop system to the taps in bathrooms etc. Fit a pump in the loop. When someone enters the room with hot water taps (bathroom) the pump starts. Hot water is then available at the tap straight away. Also you can feed the hot water through a stainless steel towel rail. Use a Cortex HVAC to control the pump. If room is very warm then towel rail does not come on.

Viv

[alldone]

I haven't really made any decisions on the windows yet. They are sash windows in a conservation area. The windows are quite small and the building itself isn't historically significant but the fact that it's in a conservation area makes things a little awkward. They've been nailed shut and I suspect if I unscrew them and free the paint they're going to be very rattly. I'm not sure if the budget will stretch to replacement windows/refurbishment. Ideally I would refurbish them then add secondary glazing. I'll take some photos this afternoon so you get an idea of what they're like.

Living on the top of a hill in Glasgow (windy and cold) we had our windows draft-proofed. They use nylon bushes, replacing the (cant remember the name) little vertical pieces of wood around the windows. They also routed a groove and fed the brush into the gap where the sashes meet and into the bottom of the bottom sash. The cost of this was about £170 per double hung sash (including freeing up and replacing sash cords). We paid more per window as we had 2/3rd of the sills replaced and got them all painted at the same time. Ventrolla quoted about 50% more than the sole trader we used. It is supposed to give about 70% of the benefit of double glazing (according to the national trust). Certainly made a difference.

[Andrew Millne]

Forgot to grab a photo of the windows but had another look at them today and I think I can live with them for the time being. I unscrewed them, they just need a good clean up and a bit of glazing here and there. Has anybody fitted reed switches to sliding sash windows? What's the best method?

Consider having a hot water loop system to the taps in bathrooms etc. Fit a pump in the loop. When someone enters the room with hot water taps (bathroom) the pump starts. Hot water is then available at the tap straight away. Also you can feed the hot water through a stainless steel towel rail. Use a Cortex HVAC to control the pump. If room is very warm then towel rail does not come on.

Viv

Great ideas. The plumber is coming out tomorrow morning so I'll talk through some plans with him. I'll also get him to advise me which type of RVAs I'll need for the radiators.

Does anybody have any suggestions as to which boiler? anything I should be aware of? The storage cylinder in the bathroom cupboard is quite old so I may consider a built in storage cylinder with the boiler. Would this adversely affect how I would control it via Cortex?

[Andrew Millne]

Still waiting on a plumber but the kitchen layout is now pretty much final I think so I've moved on to planning my node 0/1.

I think I'm going to have this in the cupboard under the stairs and so far have this list grouped into seperate areas on the wall for clarity. Anything I'm missing?

Area 1
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1. Isolator Switch

Area 2
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1. 1 lighting circuit 6A
2. 1 socket ring main 32A
3. Cooker circuit
4. 2x 4 way Idratek dimmers (or 4 way 4A relay modules if not dimming - haven't decided yet)
5. 2x 4 way Idratek Din rail relays for RVAs
6. 1 x 4 way Idratek din rail for boiler/misc
7. Curtain PSU
8. 5A MCB for Idratek IPS-002 Circuit

Area 3
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1. 6U Shallow Rack Cabinet with mini-ITX PC and 24 way cat5 switch
2. IPS-002

What size consumer unit should I specify?

I'm also still trying to decide which, how many and what method to use for switching the sockets. I think star wiring the sockets is probably overkill but having a FCU, DRH and 2 single sockets on the wall for every two sockets being automated is a bit much too.

[Andrew Millne]

Forgot about the PSU002 for the rva's (8 in total so this should be ideal I think)

[Andrew Millne]

Was going to star wire a cat5 to each radiator but thinking about it I could probably just two cables daisy chained between the two sets of four radiators back to 2 din rail relay modules so have added 2 of these to the consumer unit list.

[toscal]

Remember the " its better to have more than you need". I would wire cat5 to each rad.

[Gumby]

Agree with Toscal. You can use the Cat-5 for the 24V, but also have the flexibility to put in an Idratek module at a later date should something interesting for radiator control turn up.