01. Buckinghamshire – Fully-fledged Smart Home

Take a look at the transformation of this gorgeous house into a Real Smart Home, including Smart Lighting, CCTV, Heating and AC, Energy Savings, and more

Project Overview

The client had just moved into a new-build property and they wanted to turn this gorgeous house into a fully-fledged smart home.

​We started by discussing their requirement, which included going through all of the services they were after and showing them an extensive range of devices they could choose from. We also talked through a variety of automations to match their lifestyle.

​Lighting was an important part of this project, as it is with most projects, and the client was happy to discover they wouldn´t need to rewire the house to get the smart lighting they had always dreamed about. We only needed to confirm the electrical wiring included neutral on the switches, which was the case, and that allowed them to choose between a much wider range of smart light switches.

​For the security system, we recommended the client the installation of 9 Hikvision cameras featuring colour video at night without the need for infrared light around the house, covering both the exterior and interior of the house. These cameras were enhanced with our Smart CCTV system, which includes AI for object and sound recognition, providing multiple extra features like event notifications, extended storage for events, and more. A couple of features that impressed the client were the number plate recognition and audio recognition, with the latter allowing them, for instance, to receive a notification if the fire alarm is triggered while they are away.

The client was keen to have an energy-efficient house, and with the advantage of being a fully-electric house, the addition of smart capabilities completely fulfilled this desire. We set up automations so the house is energy efficient, running the heat pump for hot water and heating at the time of the day when the electricity is cheaper, and turning off lights and appliances when they are not needed (for instance when presence is not detected, or even shutting down the whole house during holidays). Some months after finishing this project the client told us they are very happy with their smart home as they are saving an average of 41% of their electricity bill every month.

To give the client more control over their smart home, we integrated all the devices into a single mobile application and we drew an interactive 3D Floor Plan of their house that they will use to view the status and interact with all their devices including their CCTV system from one place, no matter where they are in the world.

We also integrated other smart devices, including some that were provided by the client, into our platform, like a robot vacuum, a washing machine, a tumble dryer, two TVs and a soundbar, a water filter (that tracks the water usage and allows them to receive notifications if any tab water is open or there is a water leak while they are away), a cat flap (with an automation that locks it automatically at night or when they are away), two electric blinds (with automations to open/close automatically in the morning or when they are watching a movie), a doorbell (that pauses any movie and changes the channel on the TV to show the video feed of the main door). The client wanted to have a particular feature to allow their friends and family easy access to the house under certain conditions, so one of the automations we set up for them was the number plate recognition feature, with an option to select a certain friend or family member for “temporary easy access”, which unlocks the main door and disables the alarm as soon as the car with the correct number plate parks into the driveway. For complete peace of mind, this works together with another automation that sends a notification to the client’s phone every time the main door is unlocked while they are away.

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