New Installation Question

[EOTB]

Hi,

I am new to the forum and also the Comfort products. Please let me \'briefly\' explain what I am up to :

I live in a 3 storey town house which was built in 1979 and currently renovating the property for a long-term stay. We have recently installed a new boiler system and are currently undertaking the electrics (bringing them up to 16ed standard, adding more sockets to the rooms etc). We will also be installing AV, networking distribution etc before starting on the decoration of the house from top to bottom hock:

It was always my intension to add some kind of home automation into the home, and on a small investigation about a year ago I thought X10 was the way to go! Since then and on further investigation I now would like to integrate the Intruder, Fire and basic home automation into one product. On looking around for products I came across Comfort and with the X10 ability and thought this was perfect.

I have since discovered what seems to be a big disadvantage with X10, which is the noise produced by various devices in the home which can stop it from working. Although you can purchase filters etc, as far as I am concerned in the future, it will always be an issue! :X

So, this is where I am now. I will be undertaking the installation of the lighting circuits soon, and as this will be a big part of the home automation, I need to start purchasing the equipment! :?

I want to be a DIY installer of Comfort to keep the costs as low as possible. Would it be possible to speak with you guys regarding, or in fact confirming what I need to purchase and how it all works? I now have the manuals downloaded from the Cytech site, but it’s always good to actually ASK the questions?

Thanks

Adam.

[slychiu]

Yes, X10 is suitable for simple appliancfes and lights which are not critical to your needs. A few X10 modules in the house can be handy
Other alternatives for lighting are C-Bus, EIB/KNX, Dynalite, Rako and Zwave, as we now have the UCM/ZWave
You can talk to Chiu on Skype id  slychiu, but call in the morning please

[EOTB]

Hi,

CBUS is now what I am looking to use. Due to the costs associated with the digital light switch controls and also the extra CBUS modules I would have to get, I am thinking of using the CBUS just for the relays and using zones on Comfort for the switches. This way I am hoping to achieve the 2+ switched traditional wiring also. If this is possible, I assume in the software you will have to configure each switch to then switch the specific relay on and off.

On each floor I am looking to have about 9 switches with the CBUS modules housed in Consumer units on the floor it is controling. As I understand it, you connect the CBUS modules to Comfort with CAT5e.

Thanks for your help

Adam.

[EOTB]

Also,

I have just completed the circuit diagram of what I am proposing to install. Is there anything I have forgotten. Any way of making it simplier?

http://www.eyeofthebeholder.co.uk/stuff/...mfort1.jpg

There is a few things I have left off:

• Cables connecting the CPU to the Slave units
  
• Infrared connections for AV units

Totting up the components of the system with the CBUS, this comes to about £4500. Is this about right for a system like this?

Thanks

Adam.

[cgiltrow]

Hi,

I have installed home automation over the past two years based on Comfort.

A lesson that I learned in the process is that when you have the opportunity (new build or major rennovation) you should wire all your lights, switches, etc. back to a central point (say the distribution board) (even if you just wire the switches directly to the lights initially).  That way it is easy to hook up any automation platform whether it is CBus, stright relays, or others at any (or a later) stage.  This also allows for easy reconfiguration later.

Cheers.

[EOTB]

[user=29]cgiltrow[/user] wrote:

Hi,

I have installed home automation over the past two years based on Comfort.

A lesson that I learned in the process is that when you have the opportunity (new build or major rennovation) you should wire all your lights, switches, etc. back to a central point (say the distribution board) (even if you just wire the switches directly to the lights initially).  That way it is easy to hook up any automation platform whether it is CBus, stright relays, or others at any (or a later) stage.  This also allows for easy reconfiguration later.

Cheers.

Yeah, this is what I am basing the system design on. As you say, even if I don\'t go for the full system now, I will be able to add to it later. I will also be making sure I have 2x CAT5e cables going to each of the remote centralised boxes.

A question you may be able to answer. Is there any issues with the lighting and electrical regulations when using processor based systems to control the lighting. Do you need to provide any traditional wired lights just incase any of the controllers go pop?

Thanks for the info

Adam.

[cgiltrow]

Hi,

The electrical regulations depend a lot on where you.  The regulations for high voltage and low voltage will be different though.  Typically low voltages circuits have far less regulation.  Good basic principal to follow regardless though is keep the high voltage and low voltage circuits quite separate.  These two come together where the actual switching happens - e.g. CBus modules, relays, etc - be sure to use good equipment here and make sure that the high voltage and low voltage are isolated from each other.  I have put this switching equipment in its own distribution box next to the main distribution box and my Comfort system is further away (you can get interference from the high voltage circuits).

Your second question is a bit more of a debate.  Some people say that you must provide traditional wiring to lights so that when the system fails you can still operate them and some say that the systems are stable and robust enough to not require traditional wiring at all.  There is no doubt that this is instance specific.  In some instances system only controlled lights work better than in others.  There is only one way to find out.  There is no doubt that wiring lights to be both traditionally switched and controlled by a system at the same time is more effort not as \"neat and tidy\" just tradtionally controlled or just system controlled.

Cheers.

[EOTB]

Due to the cost of the system above, I have decided not to use CBUS for the moment. Instead I am going to reduce the amount of CPU controlled lights to 2 on each floor and then use Comforts lighting relay unit instead.

I haven\'t done the figures yet, but it should reduce it to about £3k from £4.5k, which is more within my price range!

Adam.

[slychiu]

If you are planning to use TWS to control the lighting, make sure that these do not fall foul of the local regulations. I understand that the new \"Part P\" electrical regulations limit wiring of electrical devices by an unlicenced person

[EOTB]

[user=1]slychiu[/user] wrote:

If you are planning to use TWS to control the lighting, make sure that these do not fall foul of the local regulations. I understand that the new \"Part P\" electrical regulations limit wiring of electrical devices by an unlicenced person

This is a message for all DIYers who want to do any electrical work in the UK:

The Part P regs only apply to qualified electricians. Part P entitles them to self certify their work. If they do not have Part P,  they can either:

1. Get a electrican in who is willing to certify the work they have done (which is not very likely).

2. Get your LABC (Local Authority Building Control) to certify the work.

The two points above also cover the DIYer who wants to do notifable work on their home. If you are not sure what is notifiable or not, ask your LABC!

I am completely rewiring my home and I do not have any electical qualifications. All I did was pay my LABC about £300 and they will come out to check at 1st fix and then to test all the circuits etc at the end. Well worth the money for this. If you are just doing a simple change, say to the kitchen or bathroom it could be a lot of money to spend though!

Having said this, you are a bit stupid if you undertake any electrical work without knowing what you are doing!