Wired vs Wireless home

The modern home requires a technology infrastructure that uses a combination of wired and wireless networks.

Wireless technologies and products are very convenient. Being wireless allow us to be mobile, without being tethered to a wired data socket.

As convenient as being wireless is, it is not without problems, that a wired network does not have. Wireless systems can frustratingly have connectivity issues, be susceptible to interference, and can be quite slow at times.

A wired infrastructure is not only preferred, it’s a prerequisite. Each home system (power, lighting, lighting control, security, entertainment etc.) should be installed on it’s own wired network, and be integrated with each other systems as part of a wider, wired network.

The potential ramifications of not implementing a quality wired infrastructure are wide, and can greatly affect other technology systems throughout a modern home. A well designed wired network infrastructure will very rarely be a cause of potential problems.

A wireless network compliments the wired network, and should only be used for system control, by mobile devices, remote controls etc., and for wireless internet browsing.

Also consider, a quality wireless system requires a decent wired infrastructure to ensure adequate performance and coverage of the necessary wireless access points.

Wireless products themselves are typically not truely wireless. They still require a connection to a power outlet, unless the device is mobile, and powered by a battery.

Never underestimate the importance of a wired infrastructure. With reliability and performance being primary objectives for a modern home, you should always look to minimise risk – a wired infrastructure almost always ensures this.

There is no excuse or reason for a wired network infrastructure to be installed in new builds.

For consumers looking to cut costs, consider, that given the relatively inexpensive cost of cabling, the wired infrastructure will be the least expensive technology system in a home.

As a general rule, it a device is fixed, and can be wired; wire it into a wired network.

 

A smarter bathroom

In this series of articles, I discuss and review how rooms and areas of a home can benefit from currently available technologies that are key elements of a smart home.

 

Your sanctuary

It is well known that bathrooms and ensuites are one of the most renovated rooms of a home. These spaces are the heart of the home and greatly enhance lifestyles. Realtors will often advise that a quality bathroom will provide one of the best returns on investment when selling.

With busy lives, homeowners and residents value opportunities for relaxation and recreation. Time spent in the bathroom should be pleasurable rather than stressful. It’s great to start day with positive experiences.

Of all the rooms and spaces within a home, the bathroom is possibly one of the most functionally demanding, and is mostly underrated and overlooked for technology.

Smart lighting

Lighting and lighting control systems can be very functional allowing us to have the best light, whenever, wherever, and however we want. With bathroom applications being so personal, so too can the lighting.

The right type of light needs to illuminate the space for the required application. For detailed tasks of applying make-up, hair, and shaving in front of a mirror, light needs to be even and indirect, without glare or casting shadows. Similarly, for the application of dressing, lighting can be adjusted to provide the most flattering light for the right time of the day or night.

With the lighting application in mind, careful consideration needs to be provided to ensure the appropriate light fixture, with the best type of lumenaire, producing the best quality of light is specified and installed in the right location.

Human centric lighting systems use special light fittings that can change colour – from warm to cool white, optimising light to maximise the intended task for specific times of the day and night. Based on personal preferences and requirements, makeup can be applied to suit a specific environment. Lighting can be automatically or manually changed to suit the intended application.

For general use, ambient lighting should be mostly automatic by using motion and light level sensors to automatically switch lights on and off, and dim when required – automated lighting in a bathroom is extremely useful when implemented correctly. Personalised task lighting will manually override automated functionality when and how it is required.

Functionality can be provided for specific applications – a midnight bathroom visit can be more effectively illuminated, providing just the right type and amount of light without disturbing your night vision, and partner.

 


Photos sourced from the internet

 

Smart fittings

A benefit of a smart home is the ability to automate regular routines. Water taps can be electronically controlled to personalise water temperature and water pressure with a press of a button to provide the perfect shower every time.

Exhaust and extraction fans can be integrated with the toilet, to extract odours directly from the toilet bowl rather than filling the room. Similar extraction fans can automatically remove steam when bath and shower hot water taps are run.

Motorised shades and blinds can raise and lower for privacy at the press of a button, or be automated to counter exterior glare from direct sunlight. Electronic switchable glass can magically change from clear to opaque to provide the ultimate level of privacy for shower screens, partition walls and windows.

Heating, including floor heating, can be automated to warm up the bathroom to a cozy temperature during the winter before you step foot into the room, and switch off when you exit the room. Heated towel rails and towel warming drawers can be automated to provide the perfect towel.

Smart power

Devices such as hair curlers and hair straighteners that plug into power outlets can be automatically switched off after being used, to provide peace of mind that they are actually turned off when you leave home.

Info-tainment

Splashproof televisions provide functional entertainment. There are even special television displays that are mirrors – when switched off are indistinguishable from a normal mirror, but when switched on, an image magically appears from behind the mirror. Displays can also provide notification and alerts of news, weather, stocks etc.

Music and radio keeps you up-to-date with the latest news and tunes, switching to your favourite program when you enter the room to shower, and fades out when you leave.

A smarter bathroom

The bathroom should not only look beautiful but also needs to be functional for each person that uses it. Bathroom technologies don’t need to be extravagant, and should meet the needs and requirements of the user. Technology can help to seamlessly transform your sanctuary to provide a lifestyle changing user experience.

For the ultimate bathroom experience, let me show you how.

Other articles in this series: 
Smarter front door

Human centric lighting – A better light

Natural light changes colour throughout the day – from a morning sunrise glow, to a bright midday sun, to a rich warm sunset. We have the technology to change the colour of artificial light in our homes – Human centric lighting*.

Clockwise

The human biological clock is closely tied to the day/night cycle of the Earth – circadian rhythm, and is pivotable for our body’s release of various hormones including melatonin that regulates sleep, and cortisol for healing. We know that light has a significant influence on the human biological clock and our health.

As much as technology can benefit us, it can disrupt our natural biological clock. We have too little of the right type of light during the day, and too much of the wrong type of light at night. Exposure to televisions, LED lights, computer screens, and mobile devices that emit blue (cool) light at night can disrupt our biological clock, delaying the natural sleep pattern.

Colour changers

Currently, lights are specified to be a particular colour temperature – typically warm white, or cool white. As a general rule, warm light is more suitable for a home because it is best for the worst case scenario. Up until now we have had limited control of light – we switch on/off, and dim.

LED lights are now available that can reproduce a range of colour temperatures (tuneable white light), and even the whole colour spectrum. Together with a compatible lighting control system we can automatically regulate light to achieve specific objectives.

With a human centric lighting system, artificial light can automatically mimic natural light. As natural light changes throughout the day and night, so too can the colour and intensity of artificial light – re-aligning our circadian rhythm to our biological clock.

A human centric lighting system can also manipulate artificial light. When we require higher levels of concentration and alertness, we can adjust the colour temperature to provide a cool light. When we want to relax or provide a more calm environment, we can adjust the colour temperature to provide a more warm light.

A better light

Lighting and control technologies have evolved to provide better user experiences. With careful consideration and expert consultation, light can be more organic and integrate better in our smart homes to provide greater levels of comfort.

For the ultimate lighting experience, let me show you how.

*Human centric lighting is also known by other names such as circadian lighting, bio-rhythmic lighting, tuneable lighting etc.

A smarter front door

In this series of articles, I will discuss and review how rooms and areas of a home can benefit from currently available technologies that are key elements of a smart home.

Making an entrance

The front door is the main point of entry into a home. It can be greatly improved with technology to provide better convenience, and improve the overall usability of a home.

For decades, we have become familiar with the concept of central locking in cars, that is now considered a standard feature, even for entry level vehicles.

A smart front door of today can integrate a number of currently available products, systems and technologies:

Smart lighting

Light is one of the most effective deterrents to keep unwanted criminals from your home, or to at least interrupt them.

A smart lighting system utilises motion and light level sensors to automatically switch on and off lights, and other devices (e.g. motorised shades, heating and cooling).

Sensors can also trigger predefined scenes (e.g. Welcome, Goodbye, Gone away, etc.) based on personal preferences and predetermined house rules, to automate regular tasks and routines.

Smart lock

Technology is effectively replacing analog interfaces such as the traditional lock and key to provide a higher level of convenience, and improve the overall usability of the home.

The user interface of a smart door is typically keyless, and may include a numeric code keypad, RFID reader (e.g. smart phone, touch card or fob) or biometric reader (e.g. finger print or retina scanner). Keyless access systems eliminate the fumbling for a manual key, that can be retained as a backup.

Think of smart locks and the encompassing home access control system in a similar way that a central locking system operates for a car. This functionality can be applied to all entry doors in a similar way, but with more intelligence.

Smart door bell

A smart doorbell integrates a video camera, audio microphone and speaker to provide an improved way of answering the door, monitoring the door and interacting with guests.

Video, audio and notifications can be viewed and received on your smart phone upon the door bell sensing motion or answering a guest’s bell press – you don’t even need to be at home.

Smart video cameras

Video cameras are an excellent deterrent to criminals with the latest cameras being able record very high resolution for easy identification.

Smart video cameras record video to a local storage device or to a subscribed cloud-based service when motion or sound is detected.

Similar to a smart door bell, video, audio and notifications can be viewed and received on your smart phone, allowing you to easily monitor your home.

A smarter door

Many smart home owners provide feedback of the smart front door being one of the most convenient and most valued features of a smart home. As with all smart home systems, smart doors need to be integrated into the design of the home to avoid fragmentation of form and function, and to provide the best user experience.

For the ultimate front door and entry experience, let me show you how.

A problem with smart homes

A problem with most smart homes or intelligent homes is that they are mostly neither smart or intelligent.

A searched and returned definition of smart or intelligent, in regards to a home or building goes something like this:

“Able to vary its state or action in response to varying situations and past experience.” – Oxford Dictionary

Most so called ‘smart’ homes rarely vary their state in response to varying situations, if at all.

As it is, most ‘smart’ homes are really connected homes with electronic products and systems perhaps connected to the internet, and possibly connected to each other to provide a level of home automation.

Although convenient, connected homes with their automation systems can be overburdened with superfluous user interfaces – wall switches, touch screens, mobile apps, and even voice control devices that electronically turn on lights or raise and lower blinds etc.

The functionality provided by these devices should not be confused as being smart or intelligent, neither should the scripted functionally of a ‘welcome’ or ‘goodbye’ (or similar) scene that turns multiple lights and devices on or off.

Many connected home user interfaces have little consideration for the user experience, and are electronic versions of an analogue interface – digital analogues.

In a true smart home, technology systems are fully integrated with the form and function of the home. The total user experience is considered during the architectural design process, not after it.

Traditional manual controls, and even so called ‘smart’ controls are minimised, if not removed, to be automated based on needs, presence, state of the home, and conditions of the outside world.

Don’t let your new home be just another connected home when it should be a smart home.

 

Disrupting the disrupters

 

IKEA Trådfri

IKEA is getting into the smart home automation market with a range of smart lighting products called Trådfri, meaning “wireless” in Swedish. Importantly, for the greater smart home and home automation market, the IKEA Trådfri range is built around the ZigBee Light Link standard for connected lights, also used by the popular Philips Hue system and others.

Disrupting the disrupters

Home automation has traditionally been controlled but relatively closed protocol systems, but is recently being challenged by progressive electronics and networking manufacturers with various internet-of-things (IoT) products and systems.

With IKEA’s move into the smart home automation market, disruption is now coming from outside of the electronics and networking industries. Many traditional smart home integration manufacturers and integrators are already being threatened by disruptive IoT products and systems, because they provide a more consumable solution that doesn’t necessarily require expert design, installation and programming.

There are and will be critics, particularly from industry traditionalists, who are protective of their eco-systems. Critics are already trying to discredit IKEA and the Trådfri range with shortsighted comments like: “…just another short lived product”, “…a useless product”, “…will never take off”, “…are not smart”, “dumb lights” etc. (I’ve just copied and pasted select comments from commenters on various technology news sites).

IKEA Trådfri isn’t just good for the smart home automation industry, it’s great for the industry – because there’s a bigger picture.

The bigger picture

Power and lighting control are the foundation for any smart home – without control of power and lighting, you cannot have a smart home. Therefore, power and lighting control are the catalyst for entry into a smart home. Luminaires themselves are becoming more controllable, and more intelligent, rather than traditional control hubs and electronic components located in electrical switchboards.

The future of power and lighting control is very close to becoming mainstream reality. We are not very far from intelligent lighting systems that will incorporate a combination of wireless and networked connected systems, most likely power-over-ethernet (PoE).

For now, for the majority of consumers (i.e. those not building high-end luxury homes), it’s wireless control that gets you into smart home automation. ZigBee Light Link gives the lighting industry a global standard for interoperable and very easy-to-use consumer lighting and control products. Manufacturers and products such as Philips Hue and Osram Lightify use the Zigbee Light Link standard.

Wire-less

With IKEA Trådfri, I’m most interested in their range of lights being compliant with the ZigBee Light Link standard, theoretically allowing them to connect to other existing systems, such as Philips Hue etc., and perhaps offering a range of compatible accessories such as sensors and switches.

Although the Trådfri range may not provide colour changing, tunable white or advanced intelligence yet, they can and will become part of expanded wireless systems, that can integrate with other systems. It’s only a matter of time before Trådfri can be integrated with cloud based IFTTT and Stringify type applications.

I look forward to IKEA expanding the Trådfri range, and including future furniture ranges, and perhaps a range of compatible accessories such as sensors and switches. The IKEA price point and consumer exposure will open up the market, competing with other IoT lighting products and systems.

IKEA will at least, make consumers more aware of smart home technologies, and get people thinking about the bigger picture.

Ditch the switch

“While every person is unique, human behaviour is predictable” ~ Anon

Our daily lives are mostly predictable, or at least very regular; from the moment we wake, to when we sleep.

A well designed smart home can take advantage of regularity, to automate everyday tasks and routines, and mostly eliminate the need for manual control, and ditching the switch.

Connected power and lighting

“Power and lighting control are the foundation of any smart home or smart building” Simon Lakey

A smart home must have a connected power and lighting system, that will include at least: intelligent sensors, a scheduler, and a task engine.

Intelligent sensors detect motion and light levels in a room or area, to automatically control power and lighting. Sensors allow lights to operate only when required, monitoring  motion, presence and absence, and the level of natural light.

A scheduler assists in the automation of regular routines and tasks. Systems know the geographic location of the house; knowing time, day, month and year, sunrise and sunset, seasons, daylight savings, and holidays. In-built timers automatically control power and lighting at predetermined times, and lengths of time.

Powerful microprocessor task engines are distributed within the system to bring everything together, to work automatically. Using conditional logic, information from sensors and other inputs are compared and evaluated with the scheduler to make the magic of the smart home happen.

Old habits, new ways

For almost 140 years, since the invention of the electric light, we have been conditioned to manually switch power and lights, to initiate a cause and effect.

A new building utilises more lighting options than ever before, to provide architectural, feature and task lighting. Lights should be grouped into logical channels, areas and presets, to create usable scenes.

A well designed smart home needs to consider the use of each room or area, and provide adequate presets and scenes to enable required functionality.

Presets and scenes can be triggered by a combination of sensor activity, schedules and conditional logic.

Ditch the switch?

For a smart home to be truly ‘smart’, there needs to be a focus on intuitiveness, simplicity and usability.

The modern smart home already uses less switches than a traditional home, as there is less need to use switches as we traditionally have. We no longer need switches in every room, when sensors can detect presence and absense, and task engines can automate regular routines and tasks.

With careful consideration of the home owner and resident’s lifestyle, we may not need an abundance of manual switches. If there is a specific need, there are intuitive control panels, mobile applications and other solutions, such as voice control, that can compliment an intelligent connected power and lighting system.

If you’re still unsure about cutting ties to switches, you can easily allow for networked switches by pre-wiring an appropriate data cable, that can be readily accessed if required.

The time has come to ditch the switch.

Simple Can Be Harder Than Complex

The evolution of LED lighting together with modern lighting design philosophies, and local design and building regulations, sees more complex lighting designs today than those of the past.

With more lights and different types of lights in a building, effective control cannot be achieved with traditional switching and dimming inputs. Multiple switching and dimming interfaces becomes overly complex, and counter-intuitive.

Compounded complexity

Even with the progression electronic lighting control systems, most systems merely replicate traditional switching and dimming control, albeit electronically. The pitch and promise of simplicity and intelligent control is rarely delivered to the project and end-user.

Ironically, by way of the ‘technology functionality paradox’, typical electronic lighting control systems can become even more complex, more counter-intuitive, and more confusing for the end-user.

I see many projects, and hear our many more, where the lighting control system has been ‘designed’ to control lights in a space with the user experience only considered as a means to switch or dim, resulting in an inadequate system that has little value.

A simple solution may not be the easiest

A paradigm shift is needed to think about how a building, room or space is actually going to be used – smart building systems should be designed for the user.

A smart building needs to be controlled by a quality networked lighting control and automation system that considers what the application is, who the user is, and how the spaces are to be used.

For close to thirty years the Australian designed and manufactured Dynalite lighting control system by Philips has been built on concepts of areas and presets, in a similar way that professional lighting engineers have efficiently controlled complex lighting consoles for decades.

A single button preset adjusts all lights to predetermined levels. The complexity of the lighting control system is expertly handled in the background, while the end-user enjoys a simple user interface.

The lighting control system becomes even more simple for the user by introducing intelligent sensors, timers and scheduling, and integration of other electronic systems.

Why are systems not simple?

So, why are many (perhaps most) electronic lighting control systems not simple and intuitive? Well, it’s because making things simple can be actually harder than just leaving then as being complex. The project needs to invest professional and expert time and thought to make a system simple, however, the return on investment may not be immediate.

Unfortunately some project stakeholders and other project influencers who don’t understand the vision of smart buildings, may have a greater focus on reducing costs and/or increasing profit margins. The ‘simpleness’ of a system becomes ‘valued engineered’ out of the project, perhaps for a lesser system.

The client is often left (sometimes unknowingly) with an inept and underwhelming control system for the next thirty to forty years that will never achieve the functionality requirements of a smart building of the future.

As a consequence, many electronic lighting control systems receive a bad rap for being overpriced, cumbersome and dysfunctional, and are never considered for the next project.

Enlightened Control

Antumbra

 

“Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it work.” – Steve Jobs

Most home owners give considerable thought to what their new home will look like – the floor plan, bench top materials, shower head type, curtain fabrics etc., but perhaps don’t give as much thought into how things will really work.

As a key foundation for a smart home, an electronic lighting system is one of the first electronic systems that should be considered for any building. Electronic lighting systems have been around for the best part of a quarter of a century, but in many homes, systems have been poorly designed, incorrectly installed, inadequately delivered, and under-utilised.

Without proper design consideration, a lighting control system can be nothing more than an over complicated, expensive electronic dimming system, that promises the world. There are many installed lighting control systems where electronic light switches merely replicate traditional light switches, and underwhelms the purchaser.

From experience, confusing and over complex lighting control systems never provide ideal room control, and therefore never presents the intended lighting to its best potential. The supposedly simple act of switching and adjusting lights becomes a counter-intuitive, cumbersome task – hardly the feature of a smart home.

A well designed lighting control system will consider how a room or area will be used. Lights are logically grouped together, and presets are created using these groupings, to customise the room to your requirements. The lighting control panel elegantly consolidates multiple buttons to control your lights and other systems. Buttons can be custom labeled with multi-language text or icons to suit the application.

In an example of a residential kitchen, a button labeled Cookingcould switch on the kitchen downlights, pendant lights, overhead cupboard lights, pantry lights, the kitchen exhaust fan, and perhaps play your favourite music album – everything you may need to prepare the family dinner. Individual light levels are automatically set to your exact requirements. The user can quickly and easily control all required lights at the touch of a single button, rather than having to manually adjust each and every light.

Today, progressive lighting control manufacturers provide beautiful, elegant switch panels that can be custom labeled for the application and project, allowing the user to quickly and easily identify the functionality of the room. Functionality can also extend to the practical, with intelligent panels that magically illuminate when your hand waves over fascia, and temperature sensors that can integrate with a heating and cooling system.

Other home systems such as motorised blinds, security and audio visual, can be easily controlled from a single room control panel. When integrated with intelligent motion sensors, ambient light sensors, and timers, functionality can be further extended. Lights can automatically be controlled, seemingly knowing your routines and intentions, without you even having to touch a button – now, that’s a smart home!

 

Philips Dynalite Antumbra series of lighting control panels
Philips Dynalite Antumbra series of lighting control panels