I have been staying at a very upmarket hotel for a few days (The Peninsula, Hong Kong) so I was keen to try out some of the features.
This is me watching TV while having a bath!
Around the bedroom there are a couple of pad controllers like this:
Well it was very pleasant to have the convenience. . . . . but I don’t think I could justify the thousands of dollars it must have cost to integrate all these functions.
Even though all the builders wouldn’t actually install the aerial I got them to install the wiring to various points around the house with an amplifier in the roof. (If this is what you plan make sure there is a double power point in the roof space)
With my current unit there is no aerial as everything comes through cable, or the internet.
Talking with my friends I find some of them don’t watch free to air stations at all, and many only watch them through Foxtel.
Will you need an aerial on your new house?
Wondering what those electrical abbreviations are?
Well here are a few of the common ones:
A – Amps (Ampere)
AC – Alternating Current
A/C – Air Conditioner
CCTV – Close Circuit Television
CFL – Compact Fluorescent Lamp
DC – Direct Current
EF – Exhaust Fan
GPO – General Power Outlet
IP – Ingress Protection, For instance an electrical socket which has an IP63 is protected against dust and wind driven rain.
kW – kilowatt
kWhr – kilowatt hour
LED – Light Emitting Diode
MCB – Miniature Circuit Breaker
RCD – Residual Current Device
When I first arrived in Australia I lived in a rural area and I was struck by how impressive the stars looked at night.
Now I live in Melbourne the views aren’t quite as good.
A large part of the reason is lights shining upwards that illuminate specks of dust which make it hard to see the stars clearly and blocks out the fainter stars.
This slide shows the effects of various fitting and how to reduce light pollution.
For more information check out this slide show: Light Pollution
Why does the builders standard outside light fitting seem to be a floodlight?
In my view they are quite unsuitable:
So what do I recommend?
I have found ‘Bunker Lights’ to be a great light source for my backyards.
This is the one in my current backyard.
I like them because:
It replaced a 150 watt flood light that cost $0.4 per hour to run.
So when you go for your Selection Meeting don’t forget to specify bunker lights for your backyard/
Guest post by Hubert Dwight
With that in mind, comfortable lighting can be difficult to acquire without breaking the bank, and so many choices can also mean a lot of potential pitfalls.
To help you along the way, here’s just a few solid options for making the economical choice in style.
With homes and offices slowly moving away from fluorescent lights and other less favoured options, LED lights in Melbourne have been booming, and for good reason.
Ceiling panels can give the impression of a natural light source and make a room feel larger and less constrictive.
These simply reliable squares of light take up little space and bring a surprising amount of illumination for their size.
They may not be lighting an Olympic basketball court any time soon, but for a stylish touch to your living area, a few well selected panels are sure to impress.
Creating a welcoming entrance to any room, while also taking the stress and expense out of consistent, on-demand lighting, motion sensors and auto dimmers can be a luxurious, cost effective addition to your home.
These lights can often be set for brightness, so you can always be sure that your room hits the perfect lighting just as you walk in.
The interesting difference between auto dimmers and other kinds of automatic lighting is that they are always illuminated to various extents, sometimes going as low as three watts equivalent, to conserve energy while still creating a fluid and natural feeling as it brightens to your preference.
One oft overlooked factor when setting up a room is how furnishings will affect light entering it, which can lead to dark, gloomy areas that have the potential to be warm and inviting with just some small alterations.
Making sure that you are minimising the obstruction of natural light will go far in creating a living area or bedroom that you can be proud of.
If this isn’t possible in your current abode, using soft light bulbs in these rooms can supplement the light lost and still leave you with a cosy, comfortable place to wind down.
Room Mapping
Having a strong light source in the middle of a room is all well and good, but it can be distracting, and neglect corners and walls that can’t be reached.
Making smart choices about where your lighting lays can completely transform a room, providing an even glow and avoid the risk of walls becoming overshadowed.
This layout will be different depending on the size and purpose of room being furnished, but a keen eye is often all you need to make sure that your home is at its best.
While it may be difficult at first, specifying the lighting of your home can make all the difference to how comfortable you and your family will feel within it.
In the end, the best choices will be different for everyone, but the more information you have going into an endeavour of this kind, the better.
Guest Post by Hubert Dwight
One of the most important elements when building your dream home is lighting design.
There are several enchanting lighting options that you can opt for, however the wrong choice of lighting may lead to extortionate maintenance costs over the long-term for the homeowner.
One way around this is to install energy efficient light bulbs that will reduce the energy consumption for the homeowner.
LEDified, who specialise in residential and commercial LED Lights explain the benefits of installing these types of energy efficient lightbulbs.
LED light bulbs use up to 80% less energy than traditional incandescent light bulbs and can produce the same amount of light.
They can also be used intelligently with dimmers, sensors and software that will adjust the light to external conditions and space.
For people that are building new homes, the initial supply cost of LED lights will be higher than incandescent solutions, however the long-term savings can easily outweigh the initial installation costs.
According to discussions on Whirlpool Forums, the average annual energy bill costs the Australian household $1000-2000 a year. (The figure varies depending on the household’s size and electricity consumption requirements.)
The initial cost of LED based systems will be offset by lower costs and maintenance of the lighting system over the long-term.
According to LEDified’ the maintenance cost can save home owners hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year.
One of the great things about LED lights is that they don’t need to be replaced as often as often as incandescent bulbs.
The lifetime of an LED lightbulb can be up to 60,000 hours compared to 1500hours of incandescent bulbs.
For example:
More information on LED lighting solutions can be seen in the video below.
They can be installed for creative lighting designs.
Because LEDs are small and directional, they can be used in several ways for the home’s lighting design.
For example, they can be used to illuminate flooring and cabinets and individual paintings.
Down lights can be installed to completely illuminate a room.
We are living in an era where people are aware about eco-friendliness and sustainability.
People are willing to invest in eco-friendly solutions for their home.
Builders and developers can make this process easier by providing an ‘off-the-shelf’ sustainable homes with LED lighting solutions.
This can be pitched as a USP for the property and may even earn a premium price for the property developer.
Incandescent bulbs generate a lot of heat in order to emit light.
This results in fire risks and burns to people that touch the bulbs.
LED lights don’t produce heat in the form of infrared radiation.
This allows LED fixtures to be positioned in most locations around the home, including positioning near food and textiles.
Builders and developers can do future homeowners a favour by installing LED lights into properties.
Not only will they benefit from reduced electricity bills over the long-term, but builders and developers will be playing their part in selling sustainable homes that will help reduce the carbon footprint on the environment.
Take action today and start taking advantage of the benefits that LEDs have to offer.
It could have been worse they could have been sh%#ting on solar panels!
I just had to share this with you as it is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a kitchen for a while
See the kitchen power outlet?
Its that round stainless steel disk set into the counter.
Just press that disc and you can then pull up the power tower, which looks like this
It seems just the thing if you want a bench with waterfall ends, as you don’t want to spoil the ends with power outlets.
Disclosure: I have not been paid for this post I just thought it was a cool idea.
Why not plan some internal sensor switches for your new home.
Unlike the sensor lights commonly used for outdoors its common to have a sensor switch wired into the lighting circuit rather than a combined sensor and light.
For my last house I installed one in the Walk in Robe, which worked well.
Here are some things that I learned , from experiance, about installing sensor switches.
Make sure the sensor has a good view of the most of the room.
There is a temptation to have them mounted in the top back corner. . . . . In Walk in Robes the field of view may then be obscured by a high shelf and/or things stored on the top shelf.
Its better to point into the room you wish to light.
The mistake I made was the sensor was opposite the door so everytime we, or our pets, walked past the open door the light came on.
Most people don’t realise that sensors can be adjusted to improve their suitability.
The time can normally be adjusted between around 10 seconds and 5 minutes.
When I first used the WIR and was looking for my shoes on the floor the light went out after a few seconds as I was below the field of view.
Adjusting the time to around 3 minutes gave a much better result.
The sensitivity adjustment affects both the range of the Sensor and the size of the object that is being detected.
A lower sensitivity will avoid pets setting off the lights. (In the case of outside security lights this is really useful in avoid birds and possums causing the lights to continually going on and off)
This affects the amount of light at which the sensor will function.
At the lower level the light will only come on when it is completely dark, at the higher level it will come on during day light.
Usually a mid range setting will be best.
Make sure you choose the best light bulb for the room.
LED bulbs are better than compact fluorescent as they switch on quicker, and are at full brightness immediately.
Also check on Light Colour to check the light you are getting is the best to help you choose the best outfit.
