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What is Home
Automation?
A fully realized home automation
system integrates all the technologies of the home into one over-arching
system allowing you to control lighting, security, audio/video, HVAC, etc.
from a single interface device.
Technically speaking any mechanism
that remotely sends commands to lights, appliances or other equipment can
be called a home automation system. Today there are four main
"delivery" systems in varying degrees of common usage: powerline
carrier, wireless, hardwired and IP protocol.
What kinds of
systems does Absolute Audio recommend?
In general, we like the proven
reliability of a hard wired system, but we also like to take advantage of
the pluses each of the other options has to offer. That is why we
have chosen the HAI (Home Automation Incorporated) system as the base for
most of our automation projects. After looking closely at all the
major products on the market, we have found the HAI approach to be the most
flexible and accommodating to incorporating X-10, wireless and internet
based features into a core hard-wired system that is appropriate to both
new home construction and retrofit installations.
I've heard a
lot about structured wiring and "future-proofing". What
does it all mean?
"Structured wiring" is
really just a fancy term for network wiring in the home environment.
A structured wiring system utilizes a "hub" (service panel or
panels) connected to high-performance cables in a "star"
(home-run) configuration so that the various sub-systems of the home
(audio, video, CCTV, security, lighting control and energy management) can
be delivered to the various areas of the home and "plugged into"
special modules that allow control from strategically placed interface
(remote control, keypad or touch panel) devices.
A structured wiring system
"bundles" the various types of cables to the different areas of
the home so that all sub-systems are available. In this way the home
is said to be "future-proof". Which is to say that if
properly wired with the right cabling, the homeowner should be able to add
just about any capability to any room now or in the future, even
technologies that are not available today. The trick, of course, is
in the anticipation, and that is where working with a real professional
will have it's biggest payoff.
What about
wireless?
Wireless technologies hold alot of
interest with our customers and certainly wireless applications will
continue to flourish. Unfortunately, the main problem with most
wireless applications is dependabity and that is why you won't find many
professionals in our industry heavily promoting them - simple as
that. So far the "killer ap" in the wirelss area seems to
be the in-home wirelss LAN. These systems have been developed quite
extensively and if what you really want to do is to use your laptop in bed
without needing to plug into anything (as one of our customers specifically
requested) then we can make that happen.
What effect
will home automation have on the look of my home's interior?
Designers take note: the correct
answer is almost none. With a properly designed interface scheme,
there is very little to see in the finished home. In fact a well
designed interface actually reduces the number of switches and other
devices that can so quickly accumulate in larger homes. Instead of a
bank of six or eight switches and two or three separate keypads, a properly
integrated system can reduce all this to one aesthetically pleasing device.
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