A stately three-storey historic building received a very thorough renovation in which the comfort of living was raised to the highest level. This includes a home automation system linked to all important functions - from heating, audio and lighting to security. Both the residents and the system integrator are satisfied with the result.
Completely gutted
"The property used to be a run-down student house that has been transformed into a very luxurious family home. Only the walls remained," says installer Alex Peters of Huisautomatiseringsservice.nl. "The house has been completely gutted, extended, insulated, and made sustainable."
For the house's occupant, home automation was a must. "She is active in the hotel business and had problems because she couldn't easily adapt the system she used there," says Alex Peters. "So we started looking for something better. Lots of brands were reviewed but TELETASK's strengths convinced us. This system interfaces very well with other technologies. I have been installing and programming it myself for 25 years and I can only recommend it to my customers."
Also for the nanny
Huisautomatiseringsservice.nl drew up the complete solution for this project and was responsible for building and installing the distribution boxes and the programming of the home automation system. It is controlled by a TELETASK PALAS G3 central unit. Residents can use all functions via 2 OPUS touch screens. In addition, the entire house is equipped with several AURUS panels and the homeowners also have the newest ATMOS app so they can control everything remotely. "But actually they use the app even when they are home, because they find it so convenient - they always have their smartphones at hand anyway. Only the nanny always uses the buttons on the wall-mounted control panels," Alex Peters explains.
The system integrator provided several dimming modules, relay modules and also a P1 module for interfacing with the digital meter. On the roof are 11 solar panels of 500WP each with a Solar Edge 3-phase inverter. This allows the electrical part of the hybrid boiler to be switched on when the P1 module in the PROSOFT indicates that the solar panels are producing energy.
The Mitsubishi Electric air conditioner and the Sonos audio system are IP-controlled and are also be integrated with the TELETASK system, just like videophone system at the front door. They communicate with the two OPUS screens - one in the kitchen and one on the floor from which all functions can be controlled, including the three-point front door lock and the four outdoor cameras.
Extra focus on security
"At the request of the residents, security got extra consideration," says Alex Peters. "Every room, except the bathrooms, is equipped with built-in smoke detectors. If a smoke detector goes off, the users receive a notification in their app and the emergency lighting in the stairwell automatically switches on. Outside at the back is a connected camera with motion detection. If an unwanted visitor were to walk across the flat roof, an alarm is activated and the outside lights turn on."
Cooling and heating
For extra comfort, an underfloor heating was installed in the bathrooms and laundry room, controlled by AURUS-4 TEMP panels, in combination with an under-floor sensor. In the living and dining room and in the hall and cloakroom, there is underfloor heating via the central heating boiler whose groups are also controlled by TELETASK via the sensors of the AURUS panels on the ground floor. For this purpose, centralised motorised valves are controlled by an eight-channel relay interface. The bedrooms have air conditioning for cooling but there is also heating via radiators controlled by 24V Theben motor valves via an 8x10A relay interface and an AURUS-4 TEMP panel. This way, a perfect combination of comfort and energy management is obtained.
Lighting with sensors
The stairwell features lighting controlled by several AURUS-2 SENSE panels, with a discreet built-in motion detector and an exclusive solid glass front. In the toilets and garage, SIRIUS motion sensors hang from the ceiling. When motion is detected and it is below a pre-set light level, the lighting is set to 100% during the day, and 50% at night.
Preset moods
The front door, back door and master bedroom all have a multi-function AURUS-OLED keypad for extra functions and pre-configured 'moods' such as 'all off' and 'coming home'. LED lighting was chosen throughout, but in a variety of forms such as spotlights , LED strips and pendant lights, controlled by 0-10V dimmers and Dali interfaces.
Personalised service
The new residents have lived in the renovated mansion since the summer of 2023 and they are very satisfied with both the technical installation and the service. "I still visit there very regularly, because the owner is very much into interior design herself and likes to regularly add new elements," explains Alex Peters. "So for her it was important that everything not only works well and is easy to operate, but that it also looks nice. For example, the glass AURUS panels perfectly match the cover frames from the standard push buttons and wall sockets."