Hi all,
Just decided to start using this forum as I have plans for some home automation. I'm still at the planning stage and am going through the "what else could I do?" phase.
My situation is that I am having a small extension built. Because the ceilings are rubbish I had them pulled down on the ground floor, so I have plenty of access for fixed wiring. This good because I am anti-wireless (for reasons of unreliability). Part of the building work also allows the creation of a new downstairs toilet, which frees up the current understairs toilet to use as a cupboard/equipment room. I also have an open loft so plenty of access there. I can get cabling from the equipment room to the loft via either the airing cupboard or the back of a bedroom cupboard.
My plans are as follows:
1) New lighting system. I have selected the JCL FlexiDim system. It has an ethernet port and I intend to put it on an internal network just to make programming easier using a PC in the study instead of a laptop. I think it can be linked into other systems but I haven't thought much about that. The system will also control bathroom ventilation fans and curtain/blind controllers.
2) Cat5e cabling. Other than the stuff I need for the lighting, I intend to put in enough runs to hopefully future-proof me. I imagine a home network, plus AV.
3) New security system. I don't need to go overboard here so I intend to put in a fairly regular system. However I'd like to have one that I can put on the home network so that I can program/interrogate it from a PC. I haven't researched this yet. I'm not bothered about CCTV.
4) Door entry system. The way my house is, the study is a bit of a way from the front door. I'd like to have some sort of video-phone system, mainly so I can tell a caller that I'm on my way. Can I get a system that will use the home network?
5) TV coax. I'd really prefer not to have to do this (see below) but I guess I'll need to run some extra. I don't have SKY but maybe I need to add extra runs just in case.
I'm not bothered about automation of the central heating and don't plan on any air conditioning. Also I have dismissed multi-room audio. We already have automated garage doors.
Any comments on my plans? Any other good ideas for me to consider?
My main concern at the moment is AV. I don't want anything sophisticated, but what I want does not appear to exist. At the moment we just have coax down to a freeview box in each room.
What I would like to do is have all my AV distributed by Cat5e. This should include TV. I'm not in a cabled area so the TV has to be Freeview or SKY. I'm aware that there are various systems about that allow distribution of AV streams, and a familiar with Windows Media Center (and that XBOX supports it). But I don't believe that SKY can be integrated with such a system.
I'd really love to just put Cat5e cable to every TV location and then run coax from the loft to the equipment room for aerial and dish connection. Is this sensible or am I dreaming?
Just decided to start using this forum as I have plans for some home automation. I'm still at the planning stage and am going through the "what else could I do?" phase.
My situation is that I am having a small extension built. Because the ceilings are rubbish I had them pulled down on the ground floor, so I have plenty of access for fixed wiring. This good because I am anti-wireless (for reasons of unreliability). Part of the building work also allows the creation of a new downstairs toilet, which frees up the current understairs toilet to use as a cupboard/equipment room. I also have an open loft so plenty of access there. I can get cabling from the equipment room to the loft via either the airing cupboard or the back of a bedroom cupboard.
My plans are as follows:
1) New lighting system. I have selected the JCL FlexiDim system. It has an ethernet port and I intend to put it on an internal network just to make programming easier using a PC in the study instead of a laptop. I think it can be linked into other systems but I haven't thought much about that. The system will also control bathroom ventilation fans and curtain/blind controllers.
2) Cat5e cabling. Other than the stuff I need for the lighting, I intend to put in enough runs to hopefully future-proof me. I imagine a home network, plus AV.
3) New security system. I don't need to go overboard here so I intend to put in a fairly regular system. However I'd like to have one that I can put on the home network so that I can program/interrogate it from a PC. I haven't researched this yet. I'm not bothered about CCTV.
4) Door entry system. The way my house is, the study is a bit of a way from the front door. I'd like to have some sort of video-phone system, mainly so I can tell a caller that I'm on my way. Can I get a system that will use the home network?
5) TV coax. I'd really prefer not to have to do this (see below) but I guess I'll need to run some extra. I don't have SKY but maybe I need to add extra runs just in case.
I'm not bothered about automation of the central heating and don't plan on any air conditioning. Also I have dismissed multi-room audio. We already have automated garage doors.
Any comments on my plans? Any other good ideas for me to consider?
My main concern at the moment is AV. I don't want anything sophisticated, but what I want does not appear to exist. At the moment we just have coax down to a freeview box in each room.
What I would like to do is have all my AV distributed by Cat5e. This should include TV. I'm not in a cabled area so the TV has to be Freeview or SKY. I'm aware that there are various systems about that allow distribution of AV streams, and a familiar with Windows Media Center (and that XBOX supports it). But I don't believe that SKY can be integrated with such a system.
I'd really love to just put Cat5e cable to every TV location and then run coax from the loft to the equipment room for aerial and dish connection. Is this sensible or am I dreaming?
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