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New home tech

Paid_Peanuts

By Paid_Peanuts
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dhicks

dhicks

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Have at least one power socket in each corner of each room

 

And, if possible, either side of each door, otherwise you always wind up wanting to plug something in where you have to lead an extension all the way over the doorway.

 

Might be an idea to plan to have a small porch / entrance hall, with remotly-unlockable front door to the outside and possibly a fridge / freezer, that way delivery companies can deliver food and large parcels when you're not in.

 

Provision extra-wide doors capable of taking a wheelchair, especially for the bathroom, and provision room for grab-bars - worth planning ahead for the future, and being able to get a wheelchair or walking frame through a toilet door easily makes for way less stressful times if you have ageing / disabled parents in the house. Also, Asian-style toilets with squirty hoses for flushing make way more sense than toilet brushes.

Paid_Peanuts

Paid_Peanuts

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You'll have to show us pictures of the stages! ive always wanted to build my own home!

 

 

Will do! However, having just won an appeal against the councils original decision, we are still some time away from starting yet. I estimate anywhere from 1.5 to 2 years away from breaking ground.

Paid_Peanuts

Paid_Peanuts

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What bits are you building yourself - are you hiring bricklayers, electricians, plumbers, etc? Are you living on-site while the house is built?
Not building it ourselves, we will hire a primary main contractor and have them manage the build process. No we won't be living onsite during the process.

 

How is the house heated / cooled? Is the garden big enough to fit a ground-sourced heat pump in?
The plan at this early stage is to have under floor heating in majority of large rooms, coupled with radiators in bathrooms etc. Heated from traditional gas central heating, still to be convinced of return on investment of ground source heating. Plot size is plenty big enough to explore this further though.

 

How is the house powered - will there be solar panels on the roof?
No way! I hate the look of solar panels (personal preference). All aspects of the roof will be on show so there will be no hiding them.

 

Servers / switches: probably a good idea to have some provision for a small on-site server / network cupboard, but check how noisy your server / PoE switch is before you buy - you (and/or spouse/children) might not want to put up with the kind of equipment we stick in our server cupboards at work.
Yes this is all accounted for in the initial plans. There is cab space allocated for this purpose.
Paid_Peanuts

Paid_Peanuts

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I have a room dedicated to the kids play room / my cinema room! There should be enough storage to hide all their toys etc. then have a nice adult space for serious film watching.

Will also double as the kids hide out / gaming room when they get older no doubt.

 

Easy to get carried away with bespoke cinema design, before you know it you could spend a fortune!

Must have though has to be:

7.1 surround

projection

smart lighting and blinds

popcorn machine :getmecoat:

LTurner3692

LTurner3692

Posted
Posted
Have you thought about something like sonos system thoughout the house? can have speakers in the ceiling without it being to noticeable but they give out good sound and works quite well (my brother in law did this).
Paid_Peanuts

Paid_Peanuts

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Have you thought about something like sonos system thoughout the house? can have speakers in the ceiling without it being to noticeable but they give out good sound and works quite well (my brother in law did this).

They do look good! I'm just conscious of having any hole in any wall or ceiling specifically designed for a ipad/speaker, which in 10/15 years time, when it breaks and you have to replace it your then hunting for something of a specific size.

All these smart home projects i look at online have ipad docks in the wall - great in 5 years time when the connector is out of date and the ipad is a physically different size.

Davit2005

Davit2005

Posted
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They do look good! I'm just conscious of having any hole in any wall or ceiling specifically designed for a ipad/speaker, which in 10/15 years time, when it breaks and you have to replace it your then hunting for something of a specific size.

All these smart home projects i look at online have ipad docks in the wall - great in 5 years time when the connector is out of date and the ipad is a physically different size.

 

Please do a YouTube once all completed, be nice to see the finished tech in action :-) .

jthompson

jthompson

Posted
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You probably want to give a wide berth to anything that's particularly novel, especially if it's relies on an Internet service. Stick to well-established, standard things that will be easy to service and replace (such as RJ45 and regular electrical fittings). I should think there are plenty of novel products on offer in terms of renewable energy systems (such as Tesla roof tiles), but stick to boring stuff that won't be a pita once out of warranty.
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Arthur

Arthur

Posted
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Not convinced you would ever see your money back...

Yeah. You probably wouldn't see your money back, but at least they look pretty which is the main thing. This is why I suggested them. :)

 

Personally I don't mind the look of traditional solar panels so I would get those instead, save lots of money and have something that's more efficient too (like @Garacesh mentioned).

dhicks

dhicks

Posted
Posted
Must have though has to be:

7.1 surround

projection

 

A large screen might be cheaper than a projector if you're aiming for 4K resolution, and if you're going for a large screen you could get a touch screen.

 

I agree with your other point about not building in things like iPad docks and similar, bearing in mind likely future changes in size and formats. It might be worth investigating house-wide wireless network options - as well as WiFi, some home systems might also handle Bluetooth and/or Zigbee for smart device control.

Davit2005

Davit2005

Posted
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A large screen might be cheaper than a projector if you're aiming for 4K resolution, and if you're going for a large screen you could get a touch screen.

 

I agree with your other point about not building in things like iPad docks and similar, bearing in mind likely future changes in size and formats. It might be worth investigating house-wide wireless network options - as well as WiFi, some home systems might also handle Bluetooth and/or Zigbee for smart device control.

 

By the time you factor in a Powered projector screen, mounting the Projector, HDMI cables long enough or HDMI extenders, etc.

MkII

MkII

Posted
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Passivhaus standard insulation etc.

 

Optimum position and location to best utilize natural energy.

 

Naturally airy, fresh and warm.

 

Inset trunking with draw wires.

 

Motion sensors wherever possible instead of switches.

jthompson

jthompson

Posted
Posted
Motion sensors wherever possible instead of switches.

 

Ooh no, I wouldn't like that. You don't always need or want a light on when going into a room at night. Then again, it aint me that's getting to build my own house. :)

Roberto

Roberto

Posted
Posted (edited)

In terms of "smart home tech", we've had the Drayton Wiser system fitted and I'm really happy with it - and more importantly, my partner who feels the cold something dreadful is also happy.

 

This uses a WiFi-joined boiler controller that lets you control heating and hot water via an app/scheduler/IFTTT and also has "smart" TRV valves on your radiators which are also thermostats, so can take accurate temperature in a room and control the heat in each room individually, again, via app, scheduler, etc. These TRV/Thermostats can also do things like detect drafts from open windows and change behaviour accordingly so you're not trying to heat the world outside.

 

This works well if you've got a large family home that doesn't have the kids in it any more and you only need to heat the rooms you're using now.

 

Using NetGear orbi for wifi in a larger house too, which works quite well. I would probably look at ubiquiti if I needed to do more with WiFi again tbh.

Edited by Roberto
Paid_Peanuts

Paid_Peanuts

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I think the minimum building regulationss are now a heating zone per floor, however, I would look to extend that and have zones for each individual bedroom, kitchen, living room etc.

Throughout the day you may require different temperatures in different rooms. Controllable via a thermostat in the room but also an app :nod:

Roberto

Roberto

Posted
Posted (edited)
I think the minimum building regulationss are now a heating zone per floor, however, I would look to extend that and have zones for each individual bedroom, kitchen, living room etc.

Throughout the day you may require different temperatures in different rooms. Controllable via a thermostat in the room but also an app :nod:

 

That's exactly what Wiser gives us. I can set the temperature by zone (room), or by radiator if I have more than one in a room. Want it to be 19 degrees in the guest bedroom and 18.5 in my room from about 9.30 onwards? No worries. I think a few other people do the same kind of system too? (Hive?)

 

It also means we can run the gas fire in the living room because it looks nice and gives an immediate hit of warms if we've just come in from the cold without worrying that we'll end up either sweltering in that room because the radiators kick in too, or freezing elsewhere because the thermostat (previous house owners had sited a nest in the living room) thought things were just swell because of the fire and didn't do anything for the rest of the house.

Edited by Roberto

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