What are the recommendations for “smart house” technology?
8e2NSscyFw
| Posted in Energy Efficiency and Durability on
What is the technology that you feel currently returns the most value and flexibility for today and changes that might come along in the industry? Where is the industry going? Are there brands/systems that you would recommend for a reasonably, moderate and high end system and what do you think the price point would be to totally outfit a 4,000 sq foot house?. Thank you!!!
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
I would suggest you consult with a Home Automation specialist in your area that can work with you on your home. The options are limitless nowadays when it comes to home automation. It can include HVAC systems, communication, lighting, appliances, entertainment, security, energy efficiency, comfort, landscape lighting and irrigation, pools, and even assistance with care for the elderly and disable. You can spend from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands depending on your needs, wants or wishes.
Marlene:
A reasonable system would be Control 4, moderate would be Vantage, high end would be Crestron. Depending on what you controlled and how extensive of a system you install, I would give a general and broad estimate for those 3 at $35,000, $60,000, $100,000 respectively. That would include lighting control, security, structured wiring (data-phone-TV), HVAC control, maybe some audio-video wiring but not equipment. IP cameras are my favorite technology because of low price and high quality. There are also touch screens and iPad Apps for these systems.
Allan
Holy Lord of the Living Room Allan,
$35,000 is reasonable?
Brett:
I think for what you get $35,000 for a system that controls and integrates lighting, security, cameras, audio-video, and conventional structured wiring is reasonable. A bare bones system might be done for a bit less. We spend on average about $75,000 per house. I’ve seen as high as $250,000.
Marlene,
After seeing Allan's ballpark estimates, you might decide to join most green builders and green homeowners and decide you are happy with a dumb house.
I live in a very dumb house and I'm quite satisfied with it. I'm a fan of the humble toggle switch.
I'd say that kind of money might be worth spending on a smart house that cleans its own floors, scrubs its own toilets and stocks the refrigerator. Anything less than that, I'm with Martin.
Ouch... makes me even more happy I'm running my own wire to get data/audio/coax to the rooms in my place. Looking at @ $2,500 for the hardware, wire and parts. It'll be worth the sweat if and when we decide to sell and every room has those connection capabilities...
To me, it seems like cabling is something that will always be useful, even 15 years from now... the components of a "smart" house system will always eveolve, but, for example, if you lay down CAT6 ethernet cable (which can be used for data transfer or phone), you should be set for a long time, since not too many home technologies will ever use ALL of the bandwidth that CAT6 can offer... And while you're running that, you can run coax and audio, as well...
Not that anyone is interested but this is the company I use:
http://www.aveon.com/
They have prices listed on their "Solution Packages" tab. By the way, Control 4 is the hottest thing going now because of price.
I care, for sure!! Thanks for the time that you have taken to help me. It is so appreciated.