How smart can you get !
Modern technology now allows you to maintain a dialogue with your home.
Would you ever have imagined that one day you would be able to “dialogue” with your home ? Modern technology allows you to do just that…
According to the dictionary, “home automation” covers “all techniques which incorporate into the home automated equipment for security, energy management, communication…”. Professionals reject the term. “We prefer to talk about smart homes that are easy to live in,” says Lionel Duchamp, director of marketing and communication for Somfy France.
Indoors
From your home, using a simple “inter” (or control box), you can turn off all the lights, switch on garden lighting, roll up the blinds, switch on the alarm, programme the sprinkler system… Is there a limit to what can be done ? For Lionel Duchamp, “The limit is simplicity. Even if we constantly think up innovations, we tend to stick to the notion “easy to manage and live with”. And in this direction, radio technology offers a fabulous advantage, in the sense that one doesn’t have to add any wiring or make more holes in the walls”. Radio Technology Somfy (an exclusive product) thus makes it possible to “pilot” the entire house. The “Telis Patio” remote control “Tout Terrain” is still the brand’s most popular model, shock and damp resistant (from 71 € and up to 122 € for the “Sunlight RTS” model). The “In One by Legrand” system provides the most suitable scenario for each user : Legrand has produced packs containing items that are essential for a custom-made installation. Its “Centralised Lighting Scenarios” pack costs 1,490 €.
“Tébis”, a top-notch orchestrator of the smart home, bears the Hager label. It is based on an installation of two separate systems. One distributes energy, the other distributes control information : it’s at the very heart of the electrical unit that the intelligence of “Tébis” is stored and that instructions transmitted by radio are decrypted. Your servant “Deltis 8.00“ from Delta Dore concentrates a maximum number of technologies in a remote control. Push-keys, a rear-lit screen, and you can control your TV/hi-fi/video, rollerblinds, entrance gate, central heating and alarm. There are three keys for three different areas (house, lighting and television). The bonus ? The telephone transmitter which keeps you constantly in touch (recommended prices for the “Deltis” range, excluding installation and accessories, 75 to 500 €).
Outdoors
The home can be just as smart outdoors as in. With “Home Motion”, the “Soliris RTS” captor (128 €), which measures sunlight and rolls down the awning over the terrace. The anemometre, which constantly analyzes the strength of the wind, controls the roll-up manœuvre. The new remote control “Telis Sunlight RTS” can trigger three automatisms fitted with RTS Somfy receivers (rollerblinds, external shutters, garage doors, garden lighting, sprinklers…, approx. 122 €). Equipped with the “Axovia multi pro” motor, it takes just ten seconds to open double doors. And with the “Keytis 2 RTS” remote control, just a click sees that the garage door opens up. A motor called “Axorn” fitted with an RTS radio receiver provides the solutions required (380 to 550 €).
Via Internet
Compatible with all installations, a gateway teamed with Hager’s “Tébis TS” enables the user to monitor and control via an on-site or remote computer. You hook up with the service portal www.domoport.com to establish the connection. Just as efficient, the “Omizzy” pack from Legrand (from 2,600 € including installation). You can also pilot and monitor using Netcam cameras : if a problem crops up, you’ll receive an E-mail or SMS.
By Cécile Olivéro - photos press.
