smart homes/home automation

dufferman

hey guys, im a sparks and i have been workin on my own for the last 4 yrs, mostly doing domestic/commercial, i was thinkin startin a business specializing in home automation(lighting control,multiroom audio,cctv,electric gates,home cinema etc) aswell as the standard stuff iv been doing for ages. there seems to be a million and one "electrical contractors" out there at moment so i was thinkin if i advertised with something different it might do well. by startin a business i mean getting my van graphics done and business cards. so i was just wondering if there was anyone else here involved in home automation and had they any advice? oh ya i know now is not a good time for us tradesmen with the recession and all but i was thinkin more about 2/3 years down the line.

DublinDilbert

dufferman wrote: »

hey guys, im a sparks and i have been workin on my own for the last 4 yrs, mostly doing domestic/commercial, i was thinkin startin a business specializing in home automation(lighting control,multiroom audio,cctv,electric gates,home cinema etc) aswell as the standard stuff iv been doing for ages. there seems to be a million and one "electrical contractors" out there at moment so i was thinkin if i advertised with something different it might do well. by startin a business i mean getting my van graphics done and business cards. so i was just wondering if there was anyone else here involved in home automation and had they any advice? oh ya i know now is not a good time for us tradesmen with the recession and all but i was thinkin more about 2/3 years down the line.

Hi Dufferman,

Firstly welcome to electrical forum.... there's usually good exchange of ideas and information...

I was wondering what sort of protocols are they using for control of domestic lighting these days? and what's on the horizon?

dufferman

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Hi Dufferman,

Firstly welcome to electrical forum.... there's usually good exchange of ideas and information...

I was wondering what sort of protocols are they using for control of domestic lighting these days? and what's on the horizon?

well with lighting control you can set different moods with each switch, lets say u want to watch a movie you can press a button on ur remote and the lights will dim to a preset level and ur blinds would close.
another example would be if you were headin out at night, you could have a switch at your front door that u press and it would turn off all the lights in the house.
the options with lighting control are endless and id be here all night explaining them all.
its very big in the US and in france, ireland is way behind at the moment with home automation. price is a huge factor here but it is getting cheaper. a few years back u would be talkin over 20k just for lighting control because there was very few companies doing it but now ud be talkin maybe 6-7k(depending on the size of house) and it will get cheaper too.

Eric Cartman

read up on X10 controlls (the most popular home automation systems) , lots of manufacturers make them, also read up on AMX controlls (they make large automation remote controls), if you need any advice PM me, i do this on the side (mostly just automating outside lighting and cctv work) its a great idea as theres few people in it who are trained electricians, and its a good market in it,

as a matter of interest, how good are you with computers ? and ever done any data wiring (Cat.5) ?

KoolKid

There are a lot doing various aspects of this , but bot that many doing it all.
http://www.smarthomes.ie/ do this & I have done some work with them in the past.
They mainly seem to work with builders of high spec properties & interior designers.
Starting from scratch would take a lot of promotion at the moment. Also there is not a lot of builders there to be chasing up.
If you plan on doing all the work yourselves you will also need to be getting licenced for the security end from the PSA & the NSAI.
But once you get into this the ammount of different features you can sell is endless.
Different lighting when different people enter the house
Different music to suit who is home at any given time
Central stations to answer your intercom when you are not home
View the status of any device connected to the system in your house.
I have even seen curtains set to open & close depending on the lux.

knx

If your lookin to get into home automation and make good money out of it the only way to go is with EIB/KNX systems. Research it a little and you'll see. It's not big in Ireland yet but widely used on the continent for the last 10 years or so. It's one system that will do it all and energy efficiency is a big selling point. Check out knx.org for training courses. Also a website is very important. The type of customer your after is probably already going to be tech savy and will have researched on the internet. I am also a sparks and set my home automation company up last year. If you can offer electrical as well as automation and audio video systems you alreday have the upper hand on companies who only know about running hundreds of cat5s and co-axs. These are not smarthomes. KNX puts actual intelligence into a building.

dufferman

Eric Cartman wrote: »

read up on X10 controlls (the most popular home automation systems) , lots of manufacturers make them, also read up on AMX controlls (they make large automation remote controls), if you need any advice PM me, i do this on the side (mostly just automating outside lighting and cctv work) its a great idea as theres few people in it who are trained electricians, and its a good market in it,

as a matter of interest, how good are you with computers ? and ever done any data wiring (Cat.5) ?

not bad with computers and i have just done the basics with cat5(terminated cat5 points, not actually connected to any patch panals)
im goin to check out those websites now.thanks
do you need a licence for cctv now? i didnt think that was in untill end of 2009

10-10-20

Wired Home do this stuff too.
http://www.wiredhome.ie/

NTES is another crowd...

http://www.ntes.ie/hometech/index.html

patd

guys,
what kind of money are we talking about here? i am looking for an multi room audio system for a new build but am getting quoted what seems to me like crazy money! is it worthwhile puting in a simple system or should we try and stretch the budget and get a proper job done?

knx

patd wrote: »

guys,
what kind of money are we talking about here? i am looking for an multi room audio system for a new build but am getting quoted what seems to me like crazy money! is it worthwhile puting in a simple system or should we try and stretch the budget and get a proper job done?

How much and what for..

dufferman

patd wrote: »

guys,
what kind of money are we talking about here? i am looking for an multi room audio system for a new build but am getting quoted what seems to me like crazy money! is it worthwhile puting in a simple system or should we try and stretch the budget and get a proper job done?

if ur going to do it get a decent system with digital keypads so u can read the song thats playing and searh thru u songs, some cheaper systems only have volume control on each keypad.
i priced a system the other day with 6 zones, it was coming to 3500 for materials, its a good sytem with digital key pads, i cant remember the name tho.

RandomAccess

Don't mean to rain on anyones parade, but..

These systems may have helped sell McMansions and high end apartments up until recently but I don't see them being installed as frequently in the next few years as they will not be considered such a selling point as they once were.

If I were you I would get into the market of installing smart meters and wind turbine systems in homes, this market is going to grow very quickly whereas high end home automation could be stagnant for a fair time..

Maybe I just don't get it though..
Is there a forum where people show the systems they have and talk about the benefits, most of it seems like a fad to me.

knx

RandomAccess wrote: »

Don't mean to rain on anyones parade, but..

These systems may have helped sell McMansions and high end apartments up until recently but I don't see them being installed as frequently in the next few years as they will not be considered such a selling point as they once were.

If I were you I would get into the market of installing smart meters and wind turbine systems in homes, this market is going to grow very quickly whereas high end home automation could be stagnant for a fair time..

Maybe I just don't get it though..
Is there a forum where people show the systems they have and talk about the benefits, most of it seems like a fad to me.

Trying to sell to builders as a way of making their developments easier to sell is the wrong approach to be taking now though. Self builders are the market now and there is still plenty of that going on. Building is getting cheaper and as a result I've found that people are putting money into technology. If you can come along with a system that will not only control lighting and curtains etc but can control zoned heating systems as well as well as audio and video you'll sell it. Everything on one control panel or touchscreen as opposed to 3 or 4 different controls. When you add up the cost of the individual systems it doesn't seem that expensive and your futureproofed. It can also be done quite cheaply at first and added to over the years. Anyway my point being to the original poster Dufferman if you want to sell a system thats worth it's salt go for EIB/KNX.

Mr Magnolia

KNX, lay off the advertising please. If you wish to advertise you can contact an admin at: admin@boards.ie

Keep it up and your posting privileges for the site will be removed.

knx

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

KNX, lay off the advertising please. If you wish to advertise you can contact an admin at: admin@boards.ie

Keep it up and your posting privileges for the site will be removed.

I apologise if you got the wrong idea. I'm not advertising at all. I'm merely tryin to create awareness. The guy asked if anyone else was involved in the business and if they had any advice. I am involved in the business and that is my advice. There has been no mention of my company name or contact details. I was in the same position as him at one stage and I welcomed any advice.

Davy

knx wrote: »

. There has been no mention of my company name or contact details.

Your user name

knx

Listen my user name is just that, a user name. I'm not mr knx of knx ltd.

dufferman

RandomAccess wrote: »

Don't mean to rain on anyones parade, but..

These systems may have helped sell McMansions and high end apartments up until recently but I don't see them being installed as frequently in the next few years as they will not be considered such a selling point as they once were.

If I were you I would get into the market of installing smart meters and wind turbine systems in homes, this market is going to grow very quickly whereas high end home automation could be stagnant for a fair time..

Maybe I just don't get it though..
Is there a forum where people show the systems they have and talk about the benefits, most of it seems like a fad to me.

these systems are getting cheaper, they are still a little pricey but are on the way down. remember when the plasma tvs came out years ago they were very expensive(i think about 20k) but now nearly every house has one. so i think home automation will get bigger in this country in the near future.

Mr Magnolia

knx wrote: »

Listen my user name is just that, a user name. I'm not mr knx of knx ltd.

No probs, we'll move on. Welcome to boards, happy posting

Stoner

knx wrote: »

I'm not mr knx of knx ltd.

And I've never taken drugs, people read a lot into a name, it's terrible really, the fact that I give advice on value for money crack might reinforce their opinions though.

Oh and welcome to the forum too

aido 1976

Dufferman, check out http://hager.ie/index.php?scr=800&id=506
They havea system called TEBIS TX/TR is is quite a good system, easy to program etc; I have worked with it myself and had no problems.:)

risers

Hi,

WOuld be grateful if anyone out there had info / experience of purchasing equipment for gate automation from this or a similar website.
www.easygates.co.uk

Trying to save money and wondering if equipment is good quality.

Gates to be automated are 2 X 6ft long.

Any info would be appreciated.

Autoentry

Have used www.ditecautomation.co.uk before. They gave good support.

risers

thanks for that,
Did you install yourself or get a sparks to do it?

Autoentry

You are better getting a local sparks to do it. They will answer any questions that they may have. They were good like that.

americanpie

Has anyone done any of the courses in home automation like the KNK course?

Im thinking of doing it as Im sick of sitting around on the dole, which would be the best one to do, or is there multiple courses I could do to improve my skills

Energysavers.ie

I just rewired my house and used a range out there from a spanish company EISSOUND see www.eissound.com
They do a very competitive range from single audio kits for your bathroom & kitchen to a large multiroom system which can encorporate TV/DVD/FM/ I pod/Computer/Baby monitor/PA system.

Dont forget the outdoor speakers in the garden a real show stopper at parties:cool: