Other New House - Essential gadgets - Discussion/Ideas/Advice

Marine grade speakers installed in a Wet room, not bathroom but Wet room. I hate nothing more than "being careful" with the shower head whilst cleaning the bath/shower. I want to pressure wash the dam room for sake of ease.

It's the simple things that matter more.

Oh and I would convert over to a rack mount for the desktop/server needs, hide the rack somewhere far far away where it can't be heard, then run USB over Cat5 and HDMI to the office space with wall mount terminals.

I'm already running Cat6 here just lack the ability to hide the machines somewhere dark and cool.

 

Not sure about the fish tank as it will require maintenance but Interesting idea about vacuum

This is good point Carrie.

Now this is some tech I would like to have but how effective it is or is it just a gimmick?

Hahaha

Well the rack can be stored in the basement where noise will not be a problem. Cat6 will be the way to go.

 

Surely in every ensuite bathroom/shower room/wet room - we're talking 5/6 bedrooms here aren't we?

 

We have remote control lighting, OK it is not automated it is IR based but can be programmed to work off any remote button, in our spare room it works off the sky remote green button.
In the living room we have a separate remote for the lights. They all work dimmers, in the living room it is LED GU10s sunk into the ceiling. In the spare room it is just a standard 60w bulb as LED GU10s were too much work for no benefit as it was a spare room.
Varilight eclique in satin chrome, it has a nice Blue LED glow and touch button, not the big button but flush to the surface. For 20 quid a pop I think they are well worth the money.

 

Varilight make the best wall mounted rotary / touch dimmers.

 

I am working on the design of the house at the moment. Any 2d/3d sketching software which is easy to use? AutoCad Architectural is proving quite difficult. (I am very new to CAD)

dancingbear84 & longweight: Thanks for that. I will look into Varilight.

 

mad not too

 

No problem. I wholeheartedly recommend it. I couldn't afford proper automation when we redecorated, but every time we sit on the sofa and I turn the lights on/off/up/down I have a little smile on my face. It is also fun to wind up friends as the remote fits in my shovel hands so is hidden. I tell them it is voice activated, then watch them get grumpy as they try (and fail repeatedly) to do it. I also ran cat 5 to the living room, I need to run some to the other end of the house at some point

 

Haha Yes

 

Surely any self respecting millionaire who has a cinema hall, gym, etc. could squeeze in one of these ... http://www.endlessexercisepool.co.uk

And where's you south facing conservatory with electronically controlled shading? You could always put the pool in there

 

There is going to be a pool in the basement so won't need this! but electronically controlled shading will be a must

 

Lutron probably have the best lighting / blind integration and they can also supply some amazing blinds with full blackout and silent motors.

 

Yes Lutron are good! Will read up a bit more on them

 

http://www.lutron.com/en-US/Products/Pages/ShadingSystems/SivoiaQS/WindowTreatments/VenetianBlindsTiltAlign/VenetianBlindsTiltAlign.aspx

 

Thanks. Any idea how much full automation could cost? £25-£40k?

 

I'd look into passive house tech, including a ground heat exchanger and solar panels.

 

/\/\ What he said -

Look at super-insulation and air-tightness for a start.

Then for the size you're talking about you're probably just viable for a heat-recovery ventilation system.

Depending on where you are triple glazing. Either way (particularly with triple) if you're having large amounts of south facing glazing then look at the possibility of built in lovers - preferably motor controlled hook up a RasPi and a IR remote and magic!

Don't put solar panels on your roof... have solar panels as your roof, you're a new-build not a retro-fit so if you're going solar PV or thermal or both then this is the only way to do it. Integrated panels are your friends.

Ground source heat-pump VS air source heat-pump, the debate rages on.

Stove(s) with back-boiler(s) as mentioned are awesome, however most back-boilers stoves struggle to meet (or simply don't meet) clean air regulations that apply in certain areas of the country, so that's something to check before ordering this expensive item.

Ceilings higher than 2.4m! 2.4m is the length of a sheet of plasterboard, and builders and specifiers love nothing more than to use whole sheets... and yes, it's cheaper... but it feels low. If you're having skirting boards, then they can still use whole sheets, and you can get an extra 150mm or more, thanks to the extra height of the skirting, and if that bottom bit is designed correctly, then you get a free cable run thrown in for good measure!

Decide how much storage you need, then add 10-20% more. Trust me.

EL panels are cool (particularly as backs for kitchen cupboards) but I'm not sure about their longevity or usefulness... LW?

A wine cellar. Don't just dig a hole and go, serious research is necessary first and like with storage, once you've decided how many bottles you plan on housing, double your capacity!

I know these aren't really gadgets... but...

On to the gadgets!

A big-ass surge-protector and a moderate UPC. What's the point of filling your house with cool stuff it it's all at risk from the first big static discharge?

Um... that's all I can think of that hasn't already been mentioned...

 

Upgradability

Everyone seems to have hit the main bases but still technology will change. Including elements or features that can allow full changes to made easily like installing new cabling rather than having to deal with retrofitting things like removable panels however these are more house features than gadgets.

 

Been reading about this but still need some extensive research.

Yes very good idea as I have been researching on some roof tiles and they are not cheap! but I rather spend a bit extra to get the solar panel tiles

This is another tech I am looking into. I say the ground source heat-pump with underfloor heating...

Ceilings will have to be no lower then 3m.... I don't like low ceilings.

Don't worry the basement area is bigger than a normal size house... so won't be a problem with storage etc

Yes I was just thinking about it

Yes totally agree.

 

Don't go for solar tiles, they're twee. I was thinking of something more like this with a little bit of tweaking to an existing design it can install on a new build seamlessly!

The only thing to be aware of is over-shading - generally (not always but research) the output of the array is limited by the output of the worst performing panel. So say you have 10 panels gathering 100W and two panels gathering 10W, your output will be 120W rather than 1020W, now that's a big difference!

Ahhh but don't forget that for your wine-celler you want external walls to be un-insulated below about 1500-2000mm - preferably hewn from the living rock - but that's damn expensive, and highly insulated inner walls. That way you'll maximise seasonal stability in temperatures... Oh and a humidifier, you want to keep it at at least 60% humidity, 80% is better but you'll have to go to great lengths to isolate it from the rest of the house if you go that far (damp etc)... sorry, I may be slightly over-eager for a wine cellar There's a really good book "how and why to build a wine cellar" which has everything you need, no sense in me regurgitating it all too you here.