Rapid developments in technologies and collaborative growth facilitated by smart minds has seen the automation world grow into a multi-faceted industry with many incredible softwares on the market. So what can be automated? We now have the ability to integrate into almost any electrical element of a build. However, the most common components of an automation system usually include the following –
Interior and exterior lighting is the most common feature of an automation project, and for good reason. Automated lighting means every light in your home or venue can be controlled from your smart devices whilst not limiting your lighting choices at all. Automation removes the need to have so many out-dated lighting switches all over your building, and instead allows you to install modern, intelligent wall switches that can control the lights, shades, climate and music in that area all from a regular size light switch.
Custom ‘Scenes’ tailored to your project allow you to control multiple lights at once. For example, in a commercial setting, just before sunset, the night trading scene can be automatically triggered, dimming the lights at a slow pace to the new levels so patrons don’t even notice it’s happening. And then once the night is over, staff can simply press the ‘Goodbye’ button which will slowly dim the lighting off over a pre-set period allowing a safe exit path, while turning off all the audio-visual systems, arming the alarm system and locking the doors. In a residential space, we can program scenes that allow you to press one button on your switch to set all the lighting in that area to the right levels to create the perfect ambience as intended by you or your designer.
Electric windows, blinds, curtains, louvres and awnings are all now readily available and able to be tied into your automation system. Automation allows for the incredible convenience of being able to control every shade in your home at once through the programming of ‘Scenes’ which can group all the blinds in an area together so you can adjust them collectively.
Custom editable ‘Schedules’ can be created to open your blinds at a certain time on certain days, and rain sensors can be installed to automatically adjust louvres based on the weather. Our well-rounded smart systems encapsulate multiple solutions – for example, if your system has electric windows, we program in a way to ensure that when the air-conditioning is switched on, all the windows automatically close.
The ultimate comfort of a home or venue comes down to the climate levels, and that’s why tying in climate control to an automation system is such a popular choice. Air-conditioning, fans, heated towel rails and floor heat are amongst the most commonly automated climate elements, eliminating the need for each of those controls on a wall and allowing you to adjust any of them from your smart devices. Time-based ‘Schedules’ can be used to automatically
turn on heated towel rails and floor heat so that they are always warm when you want them to be, without you having to remember to turn them on or off. And we make sure that floor
heat and AC are never on at the same time battling against each other and wasting energy.
For large commercial areas such as pubs, motion sensors can be installed to detect movement in an area which will trigger the system to read the temperate of an area and then
adjust the AC, fans or heaters if it is not sitting at the perfect comfortable level. We program the system to always operate in the most energy efficient way and can install Power Tags to monitor your energy use. We have seen many clients notice a massive difference in their energy bills as a result of their climate control only running when necessary.
Home audio is at incredible levels with studio-quality speakers in stylish and discrete designs for both indoor and outdoor use now readily available. Alongside the speaker developments, sound technology has grown to be more user-friendly than ever. Automation allows you to seamlessly blend your music into your daily life by making it effortless to start playing over your home audio system. Simply grab your smart device, select your audio from your favourite streaming service and choose which rooms you want it to play in.
Select a different source for each room, or group rooms together to play the same music throughout your whole home
and even your outdoor areas. There are hundreds of internet radio stations you can save and choose from as well as all your other favourite services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Sound-Cloud, TuneIn, Youtube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, and many more. Home audio can be controlled from your phone, wall-mounted touchscreens, smart remotes or wall switches.
Best of all, your smart device functions such as phone calls or videos will never interrupt the tunes.
Automation allows for integration of all sources of a media room or television into the one system, eliminating the need to chase down so many remotes and instead providing the option to replace them with one advanced touchscreen remote that can control every video source, the TV functions and sound system, as well as the area lights, blinds and climate. As well as this, your full automation system can be controlled using your phone so you can even use your phone as your universal remote.
A ‘Watch Movie’ Scene can be programmed that when selected, turns on the TV and sets it to the correct source and perfect volume, closes the blinds and dims the lights to off. Projectors, Netflix, Foxtel, AppleTV, DVD/Blu-Ray, free-to-air TV and YouTube are all common components that we integrate into a media room system, which allows them to be easily controlled from smart devices.
Automation can up-level your home or venue’s irrigation system with the ability to integrate as many irrigation zones as necessary. Control your irrigation from your smart devices anywhere in the world, or better yet, let the system do the work for you with editable schedules that activate the irrigation at a certain time on certain days and keep it running for your preferred amount of time. Rain sensors can also be installed that will prevent the irrigation from
turning on if it is wet outside.
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Pool and spa control is amongst the most convenient features of an automation system, as maintaining a pool can often be tedious. Tying in your pool and spa pumps, heaters and
cleaners means that you can schedule these to turn on and off at certain times, so you don’t have to remember too. View and adjust the water temperature from your smart devices, and trust that the system will monitor the temperature to keep it at your preferred level whilst in
the most energy efficient way – on weekends for example, the system will raise the temperature of the pool as this is often when the pool gets used most, or if the house is in ‘Vacation’ mode, the system will lower the temperature to save energy.
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The convenience and safety benefits of automation can be seen with the addition of smart intercom and access control into your project. Intercom is now at advanced levels with simplistic yet stylish designs that won’t detract from the beauty of your building. These intercoms will alert your smart devices with a video feed of who is at your door, and allow you to provide access to your building even when you’re not home. And you can check later if you missed a call. The intercom’s motion sensors take a photo of who is at your door, even if no buttons are pressed. For better visibility and security, remotely turn on your front door lights all from the same Access page on your smart device.
For more advanced control, scheduled access can be programmed in by setting certain codes to work at certain days and times. So, if a cleaner comes at 3-5pm on a Monday, their code that you share with them will only work at the time of the week. You can set as many different codes as you like and monitor when each code has been entered. Further access control can be integrated into your system by tying in your garage door or electric gates, allowing you to check that your home is secure, no matter where you are in the world.
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Gone are the days of blurry, out-dated CCTV cameras – now we have incredible high definition cameras that you can view from anywhere in the world. These cameras have the ability
to tilt, zoom and pan so you can check on every angle of your home and review any footage that you need. You can even view the camera stream from your smart TVs.
Alongside your security cameras, tie-in your alarm system so you can remove yet another unnecessary wall panel from your building and get the most out of your security system. Custom ‘Scenes’ can be programmed such as ‘Goodbye’ which will arm the alarm and gradually shut down the entire system ensuring all lights, climate and AV are off. Then, when someone returns home and the alarm is armed, entering the home will bring up the Alarm page on your wall-mounted touchscreen so you can easily and quickly disarm rather than having to navigate to the right page. Then upon disarming, the Welcome Home Scene will trigger and the lights will gently turn on in the home, evoking that ultimate state-of-the-art, luxurious feeling from your automated home.
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Integrating the energy system of a home into the automation system makes sure the home always runs in the most efficient way. At Ryelec Energy, we install high quality solar and battery systems, and we make the most of this solar power by using automation to enhance it. A correctly designed solar panel system will often generate excess energy during the day. This excess energy flows to the battery and charges it. Then, our smart home technology allows us to decide where that energy is used. Charge electric cars, boost hot water, power appliances, pool pumps or whatever else. It is much more beneficial to use the power in the home rather than selling it back to the grid for far less than you pay. This will ensure the lowest possible electricity bills. The settings can be left on auto mode or managed on smart home apps. We also use automation to enhance geothermal HVAC systems and keep buildings at the perfect comfortable temperature, using renewable energy. Ryelec are qualified installers of electric vehicle chargers with smart technology for energy efficiency.
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