The most important factor in a home automation or automation project is the design, in which the bases must be established so that it is complemented by the electrical, architectural and aesthetic part.
Richard Santa S.
Much has been said in recent years about smart homes full of technology, but ordinary people are not clear about what an automated home is or think that these are unattainable due to their high costs.
And it is precisely the ignorance about what home automation is, its benefits, its scope and its costs, which has not allowed a greater development for this segment of the AV industry. This is recognized by experts.
Mauricio Mejía Lamprea, general manager of Hometech El Hogar Digital, explained in simple words that home automation is "obtaining security, comfort, entertainment and energy saving for the home or office by making use of technology. And most importantly in a simple, friendly and unified way."
For each of these concepts you mention, there are specific solutions.
In comfort you can find lighting control, curtains, fireplaces, air conditioners, irrigation systems, doors, engines, valves. In entertainment there are home theaters, televisions, DVDs, amplifiers, video games, Bluray, projectors and distributed audio.
In addition, for energy saving there are sensors, photo cells and timers. In security there are cameras, alarm systems, fire/flood arrest systems, panic rooms. Each and every one of these solutions has a way to be controlled through a touch screen, a cell phone, a remote control, a computer.
"It's very important and it should be clear that each device works on its own. This means that in case of any failure in the central system, everything must continue to work individually as we do today manually," said Mauricio Mejía.
Automate a constructed building?
When starting the process of automation of a house, apartment or office, according to Camilo Galeano, Commercial Manager of ComfortLife, it is preferable that it is in the design stage, in plans, because in this way all the proposals and modifications can be made before starting the project.
"But if it is already built, the condition is that walls, ceilings and in some cases floors have to be intervened. Simply put, you'd have to think about remodeling. It is a little more wasteful, but with a lot of professionalism and willingness of the client you can achieve incredible results in this type of buildings, "he said.
The main thing to consider is to determine if there is the necessary infrastructure for the installation of the equipment. But with the existing technology, says Mauricio Mejía, it is possible to automate 80% of the buildings built, converging on wireless systems that use different technologies such as WiFi, Zigbee, RF, Z-Wave, bluetooth, among others, which allow communicating all the elements of the home in a wireless network.
But at the design stage, the installer must analyze in which equipment to use wireless technology and in which wired, according to the quality of the final result that its users will perceive. In addition, it is necessary to leave electrical outlets and mains points in certain specific places of the house/apartment.
"It's important to keep in mind to have excellent coverage conditions on each of these networks. Sound systems, in most cases, are better installed in a wired way," said Mauricio Mejía.
He also pointed out some of the conditions that the installer must consider when designing an automated house:
-Have network points near televisions.
-Electrical outputs for curtains.
-Speaker outputs on the walls or ceilings, reaching a single point and communication with home theater systems.
-Pipe outlets to the outside area of the house, which in the morning can be used for irrigation systems, motors, sound, to list a few.
-Outputs for wired security systems, which are much more stable than wireless systems.
Lack of communication and coordination
All the people involved in the home automation project, be they electricians, construction masters, drywall installers, air conditioning technicians, must have constant communication throughout the process.
But it does not happen like this, said Camilo Galeano, "lack of communication and coordination between the other technical areas that participate in a project, because everything is done on plans and many times things are modified that none of the other areas knows, this makes some companies have to improvise in the execution of the work".
Other common mistakes during a project are the non-planning in the design of the system in issues such as scalability and scope of the same; redundancy of equipment, for example having on a wall a touch panel, switches, thermostat and a safety panel, when the touch panel fulfills the functions of all.
Mauricio Mejía commented that you should not forget the training of the client and the members of his family on the operation of the system, leave it programmed in the simplest way for the client, avoiding false errors in it. Also, do not use low-quality equipment or very old protocols with problems that will only bring a system malfunction.
Home automation grows in the region
In recent years, home automation projects have been growing in Latin American countries, in part, thanks to the fact that equipment is becoming more affordable.
"We can talk about a country like Colombia having an average per year greater than 3,000 automation projects. Although it is important to clarify that automated projects are understood to be those that comply with all the systems of the home in a remote control, enter the house with the fingerprint, have a camera system with remote monitoring, advanced security systems, lighting control, control of motors such as curtains, doors, windows, "said Mauricio Mejía.
For his part, Camilo Galeano pointed out that automation today is a concept that is being imposed in almost all high-performance projects, not only in houses or apartments, but also at a commercial level such as hotels, shopping centers and offices that want to have a more comfortable environment and at the same time have a saving in energy consumption.
To keep in mind
Looking for the best possible result, to the satisfaction of both the client and the installer, the two experts in home automation recommend taking into account some points:
• The only control should be friendly and summarize all the equipment in a single system, it is something like the orchestra master or our brain.
• You must know what the system is to select what you want.
• Select the brand or brands in the market that can control all these equipment.
• Make a complete design with the possibility of expansion or scalability, without leaving thousands of outputs and tubes meaningless.
• Make an excellent diagram of equipment connection, including type of wiring, connectors, distances and references.
• Find the nearest certified company to perform the installation. The equipment is not to be taken out of the box and installed, it needs to be installed, programmed and configured by an expert in the field.
• Installers must have knowledge and interpretation of architectural, electrical and automation plans.
• Have a tool of excellent quality and that meet the characteristics required for the project.
• Collect customer needs and expectations.
• The customer must demand and attend in-system training.
