Tips - Smart homes - Q&A

April 3, 2007 by kotoman

Is the process disruptive?
Installing cables is messy, so the best time to create a smart home is when you are building a new house from scratch or undertaking a significant renovation project, where you plan to rip your house apart and plaster — or replaster — all your walls anyway.

I don’t want any mess —what can I do?
If you are not keen to install cables in walls and ceilings that you will then have to replaster, wireless technology is perfect. You can even take the equipment with you if you move house, and it’s easy to start small, and then build up your technology in time.

That sounds good; where do I start?
Best wireless buys include the self-installation BT home monitoring system, which costs about £180, from www.bt.com/shop
Sonos multi-room music system can wirelessly play different pieces of music stored on your computer — including online music services, internet radio and iPods —simultaneously in up to 32 rooms. All you need is broadband internet access to make it work. Prices start at about £375, from Sonos, 08000 195 595, www.sonos-uk.co.uk.

I’m paranoid. Is there a cheap security system?
The Bio-Lock 1000 is a fingerprint-sensitive stand-alone lock that can be fitted on top of any existing lock. The device runs on AA batteries and requires no hard wiring. It costs from about £180, from Bio-Lock, 0845 221 1363, www.biolock-uk.com/.

What if my smart home breaks down?
The answer is it doesn’t — at least not to spectacular effect. Even though everything can be controlled from one keypad, and all goes back to your distribution point — usually a cupboard, or a small room if you have lots of equipment — if one system shuts down, it won’t take the entire network system with it.
Lighting, for example, is set up on many circuits so that it would take a power cut to take out every last
one. If a power cut occurs, the system comes back on the way you’d expect it to when the power does. But if a circuit fails, the lighting is designed so that it stays on and you operate it manually.
Installation companies also have technicians on call to come out to attend to problems, at an hourly rate, in much the same way as a plumber would charge.

source: Times-homes