HiddenWires - Nikobus in The Old Church in Hertfordshire
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Nikobus in The Old Church in Hertfordshire (3/12/2009)
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By Niko (UK) Ltd
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The Old Church is located off the Green in the beautiful village of Sarratt, Hertfordshire. Originally built in 1895, it has been sensitively renovated and extended using carefully-sourced materials to complement the existing structure. The use of specialist suppliers and craftsmen has allowed key elements to be retained whilst updating to 21st Century standards.
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The building was carefully dismantled internally. Attention to detail included even preserving the stained glass windows and re-installing them as part of a much more energy-efficient doubleglazing system. The aim of the project was to deliver all of the convenience and energy efficiency that is possible with a 21st century new-build home without detracting from the character-full nature and features of the original church building. The value of the property was around GBP2,000,000, and the value of the project was GBP75,000. The project was managed for the developer by Kieron Myers of Woodenstone Limited, and by Stephen Calder for Niko (UK) Ltd. The project started in October 2008, and was completed in May 2009. The brief The brief was to provide an environment within the house that would enhance the value of the property and its desirability to potential buyers through the installation of a fully-integrated system for controlling all aspects of the home environment. This included lighting, security with CCTV, heating, and A/V distribution. The system was to be discreet and stylish, providing a luxurious feel, without an excessive spend, as this project was a development for selling, not a personal investment in a home. The system was also to have the flexibility to be upgraded and expanded should the ultimate buyer of the property choose to do so. The solution All rooms have built-in speakers, video feed, data and programmable lighting - all linked to a
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HiddenWires - Nikobus in The Old Church in Hertfordshire
central Nikobus home automation system, which also regulates the heating, and integrates with the Xantech-incorporated video/audio and CCTV.
The Nikobus rack. Control was provided in each room with wall switches and Xantech wall-mounted touchscreens for controlling the house systems and viewing CCTV coverage in addition to the television coverage from CCTV cameras. As well as the Xantech touchscreen, the Pronto TSU9600 was programmed to provide remote control over all of the house systems and equipment. CCTV cameras were placed all around the exterior of the property and linked to a hard-drive recorder. The images produced are viewable throughout the house on television screens as well as being viewable remotely via the Internet using a PC link.
The exterior of The Old Church. Electronic gates, with intercom and camera, ensure that security is maintained without inconvenience to welcome visitors. The exterior of the building and the garden have been fitted with lighting to create a stunning setting, all of which are controlled from within the house as part of the Nikobus system.
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HiddenWires - Nikobus in The Old Church in Hertfordshire
The internal remodelling retains the lofty proportions of the original building whilst creating dramatic yet practical living spaces. The interior combines entertaining, relaxing and quiet areas along with a large family kitchen and a stunning master bedroom suite that overlooks the adjacent countryside. The house comprises an impressive vaulted living space on the ground floor that uses most of the area of the original church building. The living space is divided into an elegant dining area and living room. This leads from the front hall, and also off the hall is a study and snug. The snug is part of the distributed audio video system, and has a plasma HD screen and distributed audio.
The internal remodelling retains the lofty proportions of the original building. The A/V system in the house is controlled via Nikobus using a Xantech 8-source 8-room A/V amp, and a Xantech touchscreen to see CCTV and control lights, heating and A/V source equipment. All of the main rooms in the house, including snug, family room and master bedroom, already have LG HD plasma screens installed and are connected to the LG HD DVD player and DF Solutions media server that are housed in the plant cupboard in the centre of the house.
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HiddenWires - Nikobus in The Old Church in Hertfordshire
The AV plant cupboard. Via Nikobus, there are 60 zones of dimming, 12 zones of switching, thermostats in all rooms, and PIR sensors in the family room and to the exterior rear and front of the building. Presence simulation has been provided through the PC link. The lighting can be easily programmed using Nikobus to provide a wide range of light settings, and it can be set to run at 90%, which has no discernable impact on lighting levels, but greatly reduces energy consumption. Energy consumption is also controlled by the whole-house heat recovery system, which exchanges the warm moist air from the bathrooms with fresh filtered air from outside. This has the dual benefit of giving a fresh environment whilst reducing heat loss - and thus energy consumption. The main living space is pre-wired for a surround-sound system to enhance the audio experience of watching films in high-definition on the ultimate owner's choice of projector and screen, or plasma/LCD television. Challenges The big challenges in this building were to integrate the technological systems into the architecture of the building without allowing them to become a feature of the building; and to program the Xantech touchscreen and the Pronto handheld remote control in order to provide the same instructions and make controlling the house systems easy. The house has been created with double glazing and maximum heat conservation and control. The lighting system can be programmed to reduce consumption without any adverse impact on the living environment. The indoor environment can be controlled using the Nikobus heating control system. This typically divides a home into at least three heating zones: the living spaces, the bedrooms and the bathroom. In an average home, these zones are used at different times during the day and normally they should be heated differently. In this case, the system controls the heating levels for each separate room individually. The advantage of such a setup is that the heating of a room can be switched off when the normal everyday routine no longer applies. Moreover, children and adults do not use their bedrooms in the same way, nor do they use them at the same times during the day: children go to bed much earlier, and often they use their rooms for play and study too.
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HiddenWires - Nikobus in The Old Church in Hertfordshire
Lighting needs are different according to the time of day and application. Using the Nikobus thermostat, different day and week programs can be set. Three temperature modes are available: day temperature, night temperature and frost protection. Furthermore, the Nikobus actuator has a connection point to force the thermostat in night mode, which overrules the program. The Nikobus system is easily programmed using either a manual system directly onto the DIN rail mounted modules, or using a PC. This is a very quick, simple and efficient way of changing the system's criteria whenever the needs of the inhabitants of the house change. Conclusion By using Nikobus to integrate all of the equipment and systems in this house, we have created a very impressive and discreet home control system that allows for efficient energy consumption; easy and enjoyable access to all types of audio and video entertainment throughout the house; and efficient control of the environment in terms of both security and comfort - heat control is easily achieved using the system. Anyone walking through the front- or back- door of this property would be struck by its beautiful design, and feel instantly comfortable, in control, and 'at home', without finding any obvious signs of technology imposing itself on them or on the building. The key elements in this system are the functionality of the systems, the energy efficiency that they deliver, the level of discreet security that has been achieved and the user-friendly ease-ofuse that is delivered by this system. In addition, we have also delivered a system that is fully-functional and ready to live-in, with the added benefit that it is flexible so that the developer can sell this house on to his customer the house's ultimate occupant - with the option of upgrading and changing the system, after some straightforward and simple training, to meet their personal preferences and needs, at an affordable cost.
Niko designs and produces advanced solutions for electrical switching equipment, light control, home automation, door and video phone systems. www.niko.be Visit our featured links
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HiddenWires - Nikobus in The Old Church in Hertfordshire
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