The brief
Our client wanted to completely refurbish a regency property in London. As part of this refurbishment a home automation, lighting and entertainment network was required. This was to include a security system, sophisticated telephone network with whole-house intercom and a wireless LAN. Control was a key requirement of the system. As the property was distributed over five floors, it was essential that the technology was controllable from any room in the house. In order for children and guests to get along with the system ease of use was also high on the priorities list.The solution
To give the level of control required a Crestron touch panel system was installed throughout the house. Lutron lighting was provided to give scene and security lighting controls as well as whole house on/off buttons, useful on the upper floors. Plasma screens allow the display of photographic artwork around the home. A basement room was designated as a dedicated home cinema with an electronic automated screen and projector. Ceiling speakers were installed in almost all areas of the home for general audio. Three different CDs and two different radio stations can be heard in any room at any time as well as Sky+, DVD etc. Floor standing speakers from B&W and Linn in the Family room gave a fuller sound for parties and leisure time. Weatherproof speakers were hidden in the garden wall for barbeque listening. A digital phone network was created to provide intercom functionality to the front door and any other room of the house as well as providing two incoming lines. A colour CCTV system enables viewing of the perimeter via the Plasma screens or Cinema. A high speed wireless network was configured to provide wire-free Internet surfing around the home.In detail
Below we have outlined what was installed in each room and the facilities this gave. At the end of this document, we list the equipment used in the installation in more detail. Guest Studio Plasma screen mounted in a cabinet, showing Sky(+), DVD and CCTV Six B&W ceiling speakers, playing CDs, DVDs, Radio and Sky(+) Crestron colour touch panel mounted in the wall to allow control of audio, video and lighting in the studio, bathroom and on the terrace Lutron keypad allowing control of lighting scenes for the studio, terrace and bathroom Jacuzzi and Gym Plasma screen in the Gym mounted on a swing arm bracket, showing Sky(+), DVD and CCTV Four B&W ceiling speakers, 2 Linn Unik wall speakers and a M&K sub-woofer playing CDs, DVDs, Radio and Sky(+) Crestron colour touch panel mounted in the wall to allow control of audio, video and lighting in the Jacuzzi, hallway, gym and garden Lutron keypad allowing control of lighting scenes for the Jacuzzi, hallway and stairs Master Bedroom Wall mounted Plasma screen, showing Sky(+), DVD and CCTV Six ceiling speakers playing CDs, DVDs, Radio and Sky(+) Crestron colour wireless touch panel allowing control of audio, video and lighting as well as security including a panic button Lutron keypad allowing control of lighting scenes for the stairs, hallway and whole house off/on functions Drawing room Wall mounted Plasma screen, showing Sky(+), DVD and CCTV Six ceiling speakers playing CDs, DVDs, Radio and Sky(+) Crestron colour touch panel allowing control of audio, video and lighting as well as front door opening Library Wall mounted Plasma screen, showing Sky(+), DVD and CCTV Six B&W ceiling speakers playing CDs, DVDs, Radio and Sky(+) Crestron colour touch panel allowing control of audio, video and lighting as well as front door opening High quality speaker points for floor-standing speakers and local high quality HI-FI installation Study and W/C Crestron colour desk mounted touch panel allowing control of audio and lighting as well as front door opening Four B&W ceiling speakers playing CDs, DVDs, Radio and Sky(+) Automatic lighting in WC, illuminating on entry Dining room Wall mounted Plasma screen, showing Sky(+), DVD and CCTV Four B&W ceiling speakers playing CDs, DVDs, Radio and Sky(+) Crestron colour touch panel allowing control of audio, video and lighting as well as front door opening The dining table will seat 12 people, with a removable top so it can also be used as a full size snooker table Piano room Wall mounted Plasma screen, showing Sky(+), DVD and CCTV Four B&W ceiling speakers playing CDs, DVDs, Radio and Sky(+) Crestron colour touch panel allowing control of audio, video and lighting as well as front door opening The Steinway piano was fitted with a pickup system from the USA. Connected into the multiroom system, a pianist can be heard via the ceiling speakers through the house or the piano can be left to play itself during a party! Kitchen Wall mounted Plasma screen, showing Sky(+), DVD and CCTV Two B&W ceiling speakers with an Artcoustic under plasma speaker, playing CDs, DVDs, Radio and Sky(+) Crestron wireless colour touch panel allowing control of audio, video and lighting as well as front door opening and audio control of the garden An icebox was installed under a cupboard, which allows a CD or DVD to be played locally (and via the ceiling speakers), TV to be viewed on the flip-down screen and Internet surfing and Emailing to take place while cooking Garden Four Bose all weather speakers were installed in the Garden for audio while barbequing or partying Scene lighting that can be controlled from neighbouring rooms A large fountain that can be operated from the Kitchen or Gym Cinema A 7ft electric automated screen descends from the ceiling when in use An Infocus DLP projector mounted on the ceiling for viewing Sky(+), DVD and CCTV A THX certified combination of Liberty THX cable, Rotel processor and amplifier and M&K THX speakers for a heart-thumping surround sound Custom designed ceiling space to house screen and projector, with a custom designed cabinet to hide the front speakers and sub-woofer Bar area A wall mounted Plasma screen for viewing Sky(+), DVD and CCT A combination of floor standing and in-ceiling speakers LCD flat panel screen which follows the cinema for uninterrupted viewing while attending to refreshments. Guest bedroom/bathroom Four B&W ceiling speakers playing CDs, DVDs and Radio Crestron colour touch panel allowing control of audio and lighting A second Lutron keypad allows the lights to be switched off or on when entering or leaving the bedroom and also allows the nearby hallway to be controlled.The equipment
The equipment used was extensive; here is a breakdown of what we installed: Cinema Infocus 5700 screenplay - projector Elegantι - remote controlled screen M&K 150 and 350 - speakers and subwoofer Rotel 1066 - surround sound processor Rotel 1075 - 5 channel power amplifier Kenwood 6050 400 disc DVD player Multiroom audio 5 x Rotel 1048 8 channel power amplifiers 26 pairs of B&W CCM65/50 - ceiling speakers iMerge S2002 - 3 Zone music server 2 x Rotel 1080 radio tuners Kramer VA16xl 16 channel volume controller Kramer VS1616A 16 x 16 audio matrix switcher Multiroom video 9 x Pioneer 433 Plasma screens (wall mounted and swing-arm brackets) Hard disc based CCTV system covering 3 views with automatic intrusion recording Sky and Sky+, Artwork DVD player Automated control 10 x Crestron Colour in-wall touch panels 3 x Crestron STX-1700C - wireless colour touch panels 13 x Lutron See touch 5 button lighting keypads 60 x dimmable lighting circuits Panic and vacation lighting controls Security record/replay and whole home on/off lighting controls LAN and Telephone Panasonic digital hybrid telephone system allows 2 lines to make and receive calls, call transfer, intercom and whole house paging. Netgear wireless access points Netgear 16 port switches providing 100mbps LAN and Internet connections to every room in the house A Netgear ADSL router and Netgear wireless network cards for Laptops Security Hard disc based CCTV system Multiple point remote controlled alarm system including vibration and window opening detection direct call to local police Lighting linked to the security system to alert occupants of intruders
