Great questions. I’m glad you asked! There’s a lot to it, so I’ll just touch on the basics this time and get into more detail later.

If you’re currently building a new home, you’ve very likely heard of the phrases Home Automation, Home Technology or the Internet of Things (IoT) and wondered…

“What is Home Automation and IoT?”,

“Why do I need it?”,

“Will I make a mistake by NOT doing anything about it?”,

“Will I make a mistake by choosing the wrong product?”

The graphic below explains the ideology of a Home Automation system in 2017. All home automation systems, regardless of their brand or model, are based around this same principle.

Home Automation in 2017. Click image to enlarge.

I’ll explain the three main layers of an automation system – the user interface, the control system and the home products and appliances.

The User Interface:

From the user/homeowner’s perspective, they interact with the home using

• Programmable keypads that can control more than lights. They can also be programmed to control anything e.g. heating, a music zone, a local TV, motorised windows and treatments etc…
• Touchscreen interfaces – including wall mounted touchscreens and apps on tablets, smartphones and smart watches.
• Programmable remotes like the keypads, can be programmed to control anything, not just the TV display and entertainment sources.
• Voice control via smart speakers connected to AI (Artificial Intelligence) that “listens” for commands to action e.g. Apple Siri, Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.
• Sensors that signal the automation system should they detect motion, heat or light and need to be responded to.
• Timers to trigger sequences at certain times e.g. irrigation systems, lights, alarms etc…

Crestron App on an Apple Smart Watch

The Control System:

No matter what brand or style of home automation system you are looking at, the central hub of the system does three things – it integrates, controls and automates. The control system –

• integrates multiple solutions into one system e.g. integrating a security system with a lighting controller, thereby creating a system that turns lights on at night if intrusion is detected within a home.
• looks for commands from the user or homeowner via various inputs (user interfaces) and actions a sequence of controls over other devices as required.
• automates a string of processes under certain pre-programmed conditions, e.g. a “Movie” button could:

1. turn off all living room lights
2. close the blinds
3. set the room temperature
4. turn on the TV, the surround sound amplifier and the Blu-Ray Player
5. select the correct HDMI input on the TV and AVR (Audio Visual Receiver)
6. adjust the volume on the amplifier of the AVR to a preset “safe” sound level
7. start play on the Blu-Ray menu

Home Theatre (image source: ethomecinema.co.uk)

While many brands of home automation solutions are available, there are three home automation styles to be aware of –

• A high end centralised home automation system, available via a professional installer e.g. Control4, Crestron Pyng or Vantage, to name but a few.
• An Internet of Things (IoT) based home automation system which is available from retail or online stores. These are individual bought products designed to talk to each other across a home network, and can be installed and set up by technically savvy home owners.  e.g.  Samsung SmartThings, Apple HomeKit, Amazon Smart Home or Google Home.
• A mixture of the two. Some IoT based products are now integrating with high end automation systems, e.g. Amazon Echo and Crestron Pyng, and we will see more of this occur as systems become more inter-connected.

Home Products and Appliances:

Of course, we use many of the products and appliances shown here already, and they all work perfectly fine as stand-alone solutions. Home Automation though is the ongoing development to having your home control multiple products and appliances automatically based on your needs and requirements. And there are many scenarios and applications where this can bring benefits.

These scenarios can explain the Why of Home Automation! One mentioned above is a good one – the integration of security and lights.

Problem: Unfortunately some people, knowing their neighbours are away, choose to ignore their neighbours’ alarm if the security system detects an intrusion during the night.

Solution 1: But what if we added lighting control to the mix? This could be a sequence of lights from the master bedroom to the living areas, to look like the homeowners are making their way through the home thereby hastening the departure of intruders. Or it could be the entire house lights (internally and externally) flashing on and off, to draw neighbourhood curiosity and attention!

Solution 2: We then add motorised blinds and curtain controls to the mix and have the home open all window treatments when an intrusion is detected, ensuring that the intruders are exposed and visible to all.

Solution 3: We can then have surveillance cameras start recording in the home and around the grounds capturing greater than HD quality of the intruders themselves – all taken while the lights are on, ensuring captured images are nice and clear.

Solution 4: Automated calls are made to the homeowners, a monitoring service or nearby friends and family, alerting them to intrusion.

Look around online – you’ll see other benefits that home automation systems can provide which may answer a problem that’s relevant to you!

Where to begin

To accommodate any home automation system/hub, the home definitely requires a good smart wiring system. There are many who believe this isn’t necessary because many products now run over Wi-Fi, but believe me – this is incorrect. I’ll save this discussion for another article where I’ll drill into some detail, but if you’re planning on building then I recommend talking to a company that specialises in Home Automation. Even if you can’t afford it now, at least speak with them and allow them to plan a smart wiring infrastructure for your home that will cover you for future use.

There are many types of signals that are being sent throughout homes these days including – VOIP, audio, 4K/UHD Video, HDBaseT, Data, Wi-Fi, relay triggers, Infra-Red control and RS-232 communications. Plus there are variances in cable type depending upon the sort of signal to be sent. So speak to the experts, they install and integrate various systems together so know what they’re doing, and can offer much better advice than what you’ll receive from a retail department store.

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Synergy Environments is the blog of Dean Murrell. He is a Christchurch, NZ based designer of audio visual and automated technology for organisational workspaces and residential homes. Feel free to contact him via the contacts page should you need further help and advice.