As a part of making the house eco-friendly, we are also going to consider installing renewables as a final choice - after addressing draught, insulation, replacing doors and windows.
What do you think is the best ?
Solar vs Wind turbine vs Heat pump (air or ground).
Please also recommend if you know good / reliable company that can advise us on the home efficiency aspect as well.
Thx
LMSC I have Lutron switches throughout my house. They use a wifi hub attached to your router. I can control them from anywhere, including voice using (Alexa/Google/apple/etc). They get pricey, at about 50 a piece for dimmers, but they’re REALLY good. They also directly replace existing switches.
For cameras, I use the Ubiquiti UniFi products. Again, no subscription. I bought them due to the ease of setup, the incredible user interface, and the the accessibility. The cameras can also be accessed anywhere, they have motion detectors, and they have IR LED for night vision.
I also use their wifi access points and edge router, which are far superior to having a single router.
Did you integrate TV, Music and multimedia with Laxone? Is it compatible with 3rd party products - AVR, speakers, tuners, etc? What’s been your experience. Btw, I am already in touch with that gentleman! Thx for the contact.
Cheers!
Lightwave rf are another option for lighting/sockets.
I’ve not installed any ubiquiti cameras before but their AP’s are top notch for the money and probably the best looking unit I install.
sorry just seen that you already have them 😁
LMSC The only thing I integrated was my projector, but that was just using the trigger output. My system detects when I turn it on and closes all the blinds and turns the lights off. Then when i turn it off it opens the blinds or turns the lights on (depending on if it’s after sunset).
I have a Sonos speaker in the kitchen that it can send to, but generally I just use that with Spotify. Personally, on the multimedia front, I didn’t see a use case for our house that was worth the cost.
Hopefully Rob will help. I actually spoke to him today about some additional lights I’ve ordered, and he mentioned that you’d been in touch.
Baldrick Thx mate. Will take a look.
hornbyben My system detects when I turn it on and closes all the blinds and turns the lights off. Then when i turn it off it opens the blinds or turns the lights on (depending on if it’s after sunset).
That’s awesome.
In the first run, switches, selected sockets, some curtains/blinds, garden irrigation and radiators.
We do not want to replace all the curtains and blinds in one go. I think, we would look at the living room, kitchen, 2 bed rooms and leave the rest for costs reasons.
Who is your curtains and blinds supplier? If blinds, are they as effective as heavy curtains, which block cold and lights ?
Music can wait. We will integrate what ever we have - TV, radios, apple devices. We want to ensure it is compliant with 3rd party AVRs, speakers etc.
He may have to drop in eventually before he can provide an actual quote.
We will evaluate this over Thread-Matter-Homekit wifi based automation, although systems like Laxone appeal me a lot.
The toughest decision is opening the floors to lay bigger copper pipes if we take the Air Heat pump. Our chief concern will be the kitchen as it is only 5 years old! Even if we put radiators, which will be on the first floor, they would require bigger pipes.
If we do open, additional ethernet will be easier on the ground floor. We will also have to replace the boiler with combi or mega flow to take advantage of the opener floors!
Thx for the inputs.
hornbyben My system detects when I turn it on and closes all the blinds and turns the lights off. Then when i turn it off it opens the blinds or turns the lights on (depending on if it’s after sunset).
pff, that’s nothing…see here https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/195-down-memory-lane/161
LMSC We used https://controlissblinds.co.uk/ for the blinds. We have a very modern aesthetic, so blinds are what we wanted. They’re blackout, but probably not as good as curtains as they don’t cover as big an area. We weren’t bothered about heat retention as we installed modern high insulating windows (the sort where the condensation forms on the outside).
I have no experience of air source heat pumps, but I’d be interested how it goes in the end.
hornbyben You are a waking library on these things! It’s time to share the windows supplier as well. Is there anything that you know that we do not know in the energy efficiency and home automation side ? 😂
If the blinds are not as good as curtains, don’t you guys feel cold?
Appreciate it mate. What a thread this is turning out to be! 😊
LMSC For windows we used https://velfac.co.uk/ for the extension and https://rationel.co.uk/ for upgrading the rest of the house at a later date. They’re sister companies, and have a similar look. Outside is powder coated aluminium, inside is wood. Very thermally efficient and long life. I think the rationel have the edge, as they have a better friction break mechanism to hold the window open.
I don’t feel the cold 😀. Good windows are for staying warm, the blinds really just to block the light out. We have curtains in the bedrooms, but I didn’t find opening and closing them a hassle.
With loxone you can use your curtains/blinds as part of your heating system though. For example you can get them to provide shade when the room is too hot and the sun is shining in.
LMSC A lighting designer recommended Loxone, and I thought it looked like a good system so went with that.
Probably the main thing that swung it was that the programming looked within my skill set, which meant I could tweak and upgrade without needing a consultant.
FYI Loxone has a KNX extension, which allows you to integrate KNX devices into the system.
I’m pretty happy and don’t think I would change anything with hindsight.
LMSC is there a reason you’re against their cameras?
It’s nice to see others using their access points!
hellojava They have made enterprise grade at prosumer price point. They are very popular and make pretty good equipments.
Unfortunately, the UniFi choices are a bit of a mess right now (UDM/UDMP still flaky; UXG under-developed; USG/USGP old and underpowered, and connectivity, no response, … in the camera space). If we google, we know. You might be ok with one or two. I’m not sure if they have addressed these in recent months, as I haven’t followed closely.
I will get their AP for sure, but will stay clear in other areas. Obviously check if their external APs and mesh are weather proof.
Baldrick To my knowledge, their Flex HD wasn’t used to be weather proof or IP rated. I was looking at it some time early last year. I was advised to place it under the roof overhang or the Eve.
Based on your noting, they now are! As I said, their APs are great. We will be adding a couple of more and we won’t look at anything other than Unifi APs.
