1.
Money Matters
How much would a home
automation system cost?
What are the hidden costs involved in an
estimate?
2. Wiring
What are the hidden
costs involved in an estimate?
If my house is fully renovated, do I need
to hack to lay cables?
What kind of cables does the systems require?
Would I have a lot of cables and therefore
very messy?
3. Equipment
What equipment can
I control?
What are the kinds of equipment that I
cannot control?
Can I control different equipment together?
How many equipment can I control?
4. Systems Design
I am interested in
home automation, where do I begin?
What are user interfaces?
What is a master controller/processor?
1.
Money Matters
How
much would a home automation system cost?
Depending on the range of systems, it could range from
a few hundred dollars for a dimming unit to highly customized
intricate systems that cost ten of thousands. The cost
of the system would actually depend on your needs. Through
our needs analysis with you and careful design planning,
we are able to ensure that there would be no white elephant
in your home. Bearing in mind that these solutions comprise
of the “Rolls Royces” of the industry, they
will ensure the reliability and quality of your system,
thereby reducing the maintenance cost.
What
are the hidden costs involved in an estimate?
Typically, an off-the-cuff estimate would not include
the cables and the labour of laying cables.These costs
will come to light after an on-site appreciation to
ascertain how much cable is needed and the man-hours
involved.
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2.
Wiring
Do I need
to cater for certain cable structure?
Yes. Structured cabling has to be catered for
in order for the systems to function.
If
my house is fully renovated, do I need to hack to lay
cables?
From our experience, laying new wiring casing is not
well received. Most fully renovated houses have
clean wall with cables nicely hidden away from sight.
An
on-site appreciation would enable us to evaluate and
understand the structured cabling – thereby possibly
minimising the hacking and at the same time propose
a systems design that has more wireless user interfaces.
What
kind of cables does the systems require?
Primarily
data/communication cables are used.
Would
I have a lot of cables and therefore very messy?
Having
a lot of cables would not necessarily be messy if they
are well organised and properly structured. At
the same time, the proposed systems design must be intuitive
and optimally maximised to use minimal cables.
3. Equipment
What
equipment can I control?
In absolute terms, 95% to 99% of all the electrical
and electronic appliances can be controlled. However,
it may be wise to weigh the cost. For example,
if you really want to, we can control a coffee machine
to brew your favourite blend every morning.
What
are the kinds of equipment that I cannot control?
Virtually none, as long as they are electrical or electronic.
Can
I control different equipment together?
Yes! This is the very essence of an intelligent
environment. When different or independent equipment
can operate together in the most synergistic ways a.k.a.
macroscenes.
How
many equipment can I control?
It
is hard to pin-point exactly how many equipment we can
control because the systems support expansion with interface
cards or boxes. The primary concept revolves around
the hardware being almost obsolescence-free.
4.Systems
Design
I
am interested in home automation, where do I begin?
First you have to know what you have in the house that
you want to control, an idea as to how you would like
to control and from where you would want to control
them. Secondly floor plans, lighting layout, any
other electrical plans and information are very helpful
in coming up with the design. Discuss your needs
and wants with us. Once, we understand your needs and
your budget, we would propose a design to suit your
lifestyle.
What
are user interfaces?
User interfaces are defined as the hardware that users
physically interact with. Their primary role is
for the users to send commands to the master controller
or processor. Therefore it would be nice if they
are ergonomically designed and user friendly.
Examples
would include wall switches, remote controllers, touchscreens,
telephones, PCs etc.
What
is a master controller/processor?
Within a system, there is only one master controller/processor,
while there are usually numerous user interfaces.
The master controller/processor receives commands from
the user interfaces, processes these commands, does
the number crunching and controls the equipment (“muscles”/appliances)
within the system to perform specific tasks as to when
and how accordingly.
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