New Home Design, - Expert Advice Sought

Hi Guys,

I am currently building a new home and seek the advice from fellow experts so i can understand how in my head c-bus will integrate correctly.

The plan is to roll out in stages and initially starting of with lighting, then automation, alarm, irrigation etc.

The first part of the plane will consist of 38 down lights ( 50 watt / dimming compatible ) as shown like the ones below.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/10X-SQUARE-F...yZ106199QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have worked out that there will be the following light circuit combination's - please correct me if my terminology is wrong, i am an electronics / i.t buff and i am not an electrician. I will be using
someone licensed i just want to get an idea of how this is going to work so in about 3 months when my frame is up and in lockup stage i can begin stage 1.

DIMMING
--------

Master Bed - 4 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit/dimmer to control all 4
Main Living - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit/dimmer to control both
Dining Area - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit/dimmer to control both
Kitchen - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit/dimmer to control both
Bedroom 2 - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit/dimmer to control both
Bedroom 3 - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit/dimmer to control both


NOT DIMMING
------------

Inside Garage - 4 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit to control all 4
Outside Garage - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit to control both
Front Porch - 1 x down light - 1 switch/circuit
Front Hall - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit to control both
Front Study - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit to control both
Master WIR - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit to control both
Kitchen bench - 5 x down lights - 2 switch/circuits to control (circuit 1 x 3 lights / circuit 2 x 2 lights)
Bedroom Hallway - 2 x down lights - 1 switch/circuit to control both
Toilet - 1 x down light - not dimming - 1 switch/circuit
Laundry - 1 x down light - not dimming - 1 switch/circuit

Bathroom - 1 x down light & 1 x 2 heat light IXL Tastic - 4 individual circuits (fan, ixl light, heat, downlight)
2nd bathroom - 1 x down light & 1 x 2 heat light IXL Tastic - 4 individual circuits (fan, ixl light, heat, downlight)

All the lights will be controlled manaully by hard wired switches and not the wireless type, there are no sensors in place yet for this part of the build.

I want to start planning ahead and purchasing equipment before my sparky friend starts his work, and would like to know which modules would be required to setup the above?

Any help would be appreciated

S

 

My first comment would be that you are using down lights throughout the entire house. Although one downlight uses 50W, you often need to run multiple units together to get sufficient light for an entire area. If you work out how many 50W lights you are going to run at once you might find that you are spending a fair bit on electricity (which is rising in cost fast).

I'm not against down lights and use them in my own home but I also use plenty of fluro units (round, strip and compacts in commercial fittings).

Many modern fluros turn on (nearly) instantly, not like the flicking that occurred years ago.

Consider fluros in areas that you are going to light for long periods of time and don't need to dim. In my own home these units contain two compact fluros (18W each) in a commercial fitting. Each lamp can be switched independently to give the required level of light.

 

Hi Leigh,

Thank you for your reply.

I acknowledge the cost factor and this is just a personal preference that i have with having them installed.

As shown above the grouped ones together are grouped in circuits.

The rest of the house can not be grouped together as they are separate rooms.

Shaun

 

From what i have seen above i believe i am going to need

1 x box cbus pink cable - already purchased
1 x 8 channel dimmer
1 x 12 channel relay

What other devices would i require to get this setup up and running?

Shaun

 

More lights needed.

Just my humble opinion but in my experience you will need to at least double the amount of downlight fittings in most of these areas to achieve sufficient illumination. By their design they cast most of their light down and not sideways like a standard globe, this is a particular problem in areas like kitchens where you typically need to place a fitting directly above each task area.

 

Yeah no where near enuff lights by the sounds of it. eg 2 dls in a living room, unless its a very small room isn't enuff.

You should talk to your sparky about lighting etc, we know this stuff
It's important to have the initial numbers and groups pretty right to enable roll out of cable and circuits in a logical manner.

You really need someone to go over the plans, if not your sparky at least a knowledgeable light shop rep or similar.

A small investment in consultancy now can save you heaps of grief and $$ if you have to rehash things later.

GL

 

Hey Guys,

Thanks for your comments - Sorry i should have provided more information on this but i did not think it was necessary at the time.

The kitchen / dining and living room is one big room.

There will be a total of 9 downlights in this area which i hope will be more than ample as this house is only 18 squares

I have attached the plans for your viewing if you are interested.



Shaun

 

My main concern is not if i have enough lights or not - it is to know what is the right amount of c-bus equipment to use

I have not had anyone answer my question yet, i am curious as to why?

Shaun

 

1 x L5508D1A (8 channel dimmer with power supply)
1 x L5512RVF (12 channel relay with power supply)
1 x L5508RVFP (8 channel relay without power supply)

You will also need switches/sensors/touch screens etc, the above units wll allow for no more then 20 devices. If you want more then 20 devices then you can get the 8 channel relay with power also which will give you around 30.
You will also need a PCI or CNI to program (if your doing it yourself) or to access the system via your PC in the furture.

 

Thank you i appreciate your response

Although i am getting a licenced contractor to fit all the c-bus in place i will be programming most of the steps myself using the pc c-bus device.

Thanks again.

Shaun

 

Dont forget that lights do not have to exist on the ceiling only - wall lights can be an attractive option as well.

You may as well dim all internal lights apart from the bathrooms and laundry (maybe the garage).

Dimming in the toilet so that at night when you visit you dont get blinded - bring them on softly.

Hall lights can be dimmed for a similar purpose or for when you are out you can have then on dimmed so that you are not using as much power.

If you install an alarm unit, integrate that and you can use scenes with ramp rates to really make the place look fancy as opposed to just lights comming on and off (which you can still do with a dimmer)

Watch the transformer on the ebay items. The capacitance may be too high to run 4 on a single 1A dimmer channel. The Atco possums have been a favorite of many installers.

Using two 4 channel dimmers instead of one 8 channel dimmer has also been recommended in the past (cost of two 4 ch dimmers is about the same as a single 8 ch dimmer). The advantage here is that the 4ch dimmer is rated to 2A/ch - or go for the universal dimmer at 2.5A

I do not agree with the decision for down lights in the laundry and garage, but that is a personal opinion - a round fluro would be better suited in the laundry.

The other problem I see is that down lights are hard to install now - the new AS3000 dictates distances from flammable materials (ie timber). So when you mark out where they should be on the floor (so they are symetrical in the room), you will always find one wont fit because it is too close to some timber in the ceiling.

Mick

 

Hi Mick,

Thanks for your informative response.

As per the down light locations, they are going pretty much in the identical locations as the display home.

If the house is built to plan then i hope that the locations should be o.k

I think adding more dimmers is a better idea - allows me to have low light throughout when the kids are in bed and they get up they dont run into anything and can find there way to us.

 

Hi Ashleigh,

Thanks for this information, i was not aware of the c-tick approval as of yet as i had not shown the sparky which ones i was looking at.

However knowing this information now i will find out all the facts before i make any purchases.

I appreciate your responses and help guys

Shaun