General HA questions

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  • devplan
    Automated Home Lurker
    • Sep 2009
    • 1

    General HA questions

    I would like to jump into an activity to help guys turning their HA plans into reality and try to figure what are the most encountered common and biggest obstacles.

    rgds, devplan
    7
    Choosing the "right system" for my home.
    0%
    2
    Finding someone who sets it up.
    0%
    0
    Finding some easy DIY guides.
    0%
    1
    Adopting certain hardware to my system.
    0%
    1
    Troubleshoot software.
    0%
    1
    Control more aspects than just turning things on and off.
    0%
    2
  • toscal
    Moderator
    • Oct 2005
    • 2061

    #2
    Here are some of my experiences.
    Think about what you want now and what you could want in a few years time. This is hard to sometimes get right but an example of this is laying extra conduit to the gate. We did this in my house I have 3 conduit pipes going to the front gate these go back to a junction back and then a larger conduit (its actually a 2.5" soil pipe) from there goes to the patch panel. This allow for me to put in a video entry system and wire it up to the patch panel and have a motor on the gate and still have room for something else.
    You can never lay enough cable for your structured wiring system or power sockets. I have 6 RJ45 points in my lounge, and all are used. I did do it in such a way that I can add at least another 4 RJ45 sockets if I want
    One of the biggest problems I have come across, this is looking at it with my installers hat on, is builders, electricians, construction companies or project managers who don't have a clue as to what you will be doing or even why you are even there.
    Normally we walk them through the install process, with what goes where What it will look like when its finished and what it can do. Then I take a can of either black or fluorescent pink spray paint and mark where things have to go. And normally 90% of the time its OK. Also good communication between builder, and installer (or yourself if its the DIY route) is a must. Without it things can start to fall apart. On projects that will take weeks to months a weekly update meeting is a good idea, and also find out if other trades will be in at the same time, this can make things jobs easier to plan. On one job we had a Monday morning meeting to let people know what was going to happen and a Friday afternoon meeting to explain what had actually happened and if a job was behind schedule why it was.
    Hope this helps
    IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
    Renovation Spain Blog

    Comment

    • katman
      Moderator
      • Jan 2004
      • 247

      #3
      Couldnt vote.... the option I needed is missing.

      Finding the money to pay for it! LOL
      KAT5.tv - affordable high quality AV Distribution
      http://www.kat5.tv

      Comment

      • TimH
        Automated Home Legend
        • Feb 2004
        • 509

        #4
        New option -> Understanding requirements and implementing something the user actually wants

        HA is such a varied field now; what does/should it cover? HVAC, home cinema / distributed audio, environment monitoring (temperature, humidity), security, CCTV etc.

        It can be easy to get carried away with the technology part of it - the "because you can" view, and lose sight of whether it provides any real benefit.

        I think that makes me sound like a luddite! But anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the mainstream population hasn't grasped the automation bug i.e. there's no material difference in the selling prices of houses with automation vs. those without. Maybe at the top end of the market it can be an issue, but not for "most" houses. Often the key factor is not to put buyers off when they see the "complicated computer system". Clear benefits need to be demonstrated for the majority of the population to want to join our fun.

        Sweeping generalisations I know, but just my 2p

        Cheers,

        Tim.
        (a home automator )
        My Flickr Photos

        Comment

        • chris_j_hunter
          Automated Home Legend
          • Dec 2007
          • 1713

          #5
          like Keith - couldn't vote for lack of options ! In our case, not only money to pay for it, but also scope - ie: many are limited in scope, some are broad but too dumb, some are v.smart but quite narrow ...

          though, of course, things are developing fast, not least thanks to the iPhone etc ...

          2p

          Chris
          Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 30 September 2009, 11:05 PM. Reason: fo pas
          Our self-build - going further with HA...

          Comment

          • toscal
            Moderator
            • Oct 2005
            • 2061

            #6
            Rather than the term HA I prefer the term Home Technology I guess it would make it HT then. As this covers home automation, whole house multimedia, structured wiring etc.
            Also when I'm asked the question "does it add value to a house?" I normally say not really. But it may sell the house for the asking price or quicker. Its a bit like the extras for a car, doesn't really effect its second hand value but may make it sell quicker or for the asking price.
            IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
            Renovation Spain Blog

            Comment

            • katman
              Moderator
              • Jan 2004
              • 247

              #7
              Originally posted by chris_j_hunter View Post
              like Kevin - couldn't vote for lack of options ! In our case, not only money to pay for it, but also scope -
              Chris
              Who is Kevin ???? LOL

              Keith
              KAT5.tv - affordable high quality AV Distribution
              http://www.kat5.tv

              Comment

              • chris_j_hunter
                Automated Home Legend
                • Dec 2007
                • 1713

                #8
                Keith -

                oops - apologies ...

                edit, enactioned !

                Chris
                Our self-build - going further with HA...

                Comment

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