Case studies

Smart Home Installation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (4/6/2010)

By Alsaggaf Sons Company

In the west side of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the on the Red Sea coast is the city of Jeddah. Here, smart buildings are grabbing the attention of every sector, including private owners of residential buildings who want to elevate the standards of their homes.

The owner of such a residence, Engineer O.M. decided to include automation systems in his private villa. He asked us, Alsaggaf Sons Company, to provide the installation, commissioning and training for an automation system. The project was commissioned and completed in 2009.

Entrance to the smart home in Jeddah.

The brief

The system was required to integrate safety and security, energy management through lighting and temperature, and audio and video distribution. The system had to be reliable, efficiently manage energy, ensures the safety of the occupants, provide convenient and friendly control and maintain the building, with the lowest cost of ownership.

The solution

We looked for systems that could be easily integrated to suit the client's functional requirements, bearing in mind the architectural design of the house and division of areas/zones. We chose the Home Automation Inc (HAI) system for automation and control, and the NuVo Grand Concerto system for audio distribution.

HAI provides easy plug and play functionalities for their connectivity partners within the HAI system as a built-in resource, so all that was required to integrate the NuVo system was RS232 serial connection and some simple programming. We have also integrated the video intercom so that it can be controlled through the HAI system.

The NuVo system controls 16 distributed zones within the home and allows any of the zones to control any of the connected sources, such as DVD player, stereo FM/AM tuner, CD player, audio input (iPod, MP3 player, etc) and satellite receiver.

The NuVo on-wall keypads support IR control, and there is also an IR-enabled remote control, allowing the user to switch on/off a video source within a zone for video distribution in main areas such as living rooms and family sitting areas.

The automation system was designed to save energy by optimizing lighting levels according to time, motion, events and actions, and temperature levels based on outside temperature and time. The system adjusts temperature settings automatically, and dims/switches lights automatically based on preprogrammed logic. The system integrates safety and security with audio, lighting and temperature while monitoring motion, heat and smoke.

NuVo backlit keypad integrated with HAI dimming light switches next to a HAI Omnistat thermostat.

Upon the detection of motion, heat or smoke, the system will turn off HVAC, turn on/off lights, and announces zone identifications to allow faster responses. Laser beams provide a signal indicating when the laser was tripped, and shutters go down automatically to prevent anyone breaking into the property from outside or through entrances within the property. The system will also send a programmed message or call to the owner to tell him which area has been tripped.

Security systems discretely located around the property are integrated into the automation system.

The access control provides various authority levels to access different designated areas. In addition, all of the functions of they system are integrated and accessible, monitored, and controllable via phone or web access to provide a convenient solution that is fully-controllable from anywhere.

An alert can trigger shutters to go down, and a message to be sent to the owner, wherever he is in the world, for monitoring and controlling the situation.

Planning

As the trainer in the region for building and home automation, we were responsible for most of the planning. Our business has grown quickly in the area of building and home automation by working closely with selective manufacturers and a network of dealers and installers, and we have predetermined work processes, schedule planners and typical proposals. The design and implementation of the project were performed by highly-trained and authorized individuals from our company.

Installation

The project was carried out over a period of three months. This covered the tracing of automation infrastructure (backbone) wiring, and installation of each component of the smart home system, comprising the controller (system brain), expanders, and instrumentation (detectors, access control keypads and other inputs and outputs), installation, testing and commissioning.

Motion detectors control lighting and HVAC.

For this project, most of the programming of the predetermined zones and outputs were done at our facility so that the equipment was shipped to the site pre-programmed and ready for a quicker installation. As part of Alsaggaf project process, the equipment went through a series of tests, from mechanical inspection to assembly at our facility, and commissioning on site.

The system was fined-tuned on site, and the handover was completed once the owner had been trained on operation and troubleshooting.

Wiring

For wiring, we used CAT6 wiring for motion detectors, sirens and thermostat controls. The HAI UPB lighting control is via exiting powerline, so no additional wiring was needed there, and we used standard electrical cables to connect the shutter motors to a voltage drop relay to allow full control through the HAI system.

Our strategy is always to provide an upgradable design that is handed over to the client after contract signing, The design includes the wiring of all possible upgrade options for the future.

Challenges

The owner of the property had decided to purchase our wiring plan and use his own contractor to do the wiring. This resulted in a delay due to the inexperience of the contractor, but we managed to make up the time by proper planning so that the installation phase could be optimized, without jeopardizing the quality of the end result.

Experience from the project

Considering what else is happening in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of mega infrastructure and construction projects, what makes a difference to the client is the savings that can be made thanks to the efficiency and productivity of the contractor.

For this project, we realized the benefit of preprogramming systems so that installation time could be saved on site. We have also found that a structured approach to training clients is a key factor, not only in the immediate success of the installation, but over the longer term by anticipating the client's future needs. The project was completed with no additions or changes required, and no ongoing issues.

A smart home was attained by the owner, who is delighted with the result and is looking forward for his next building being smart as well.

Equipment list

HAI 16-zone hardwire expander.
HAI Omni Pro II controller.
HAI Omnitouch 5.7e touchscreen.
HAI Omni Console.
HAI 600W dimming switches.
HAI 600W non-dimming switches.
HAI 1000W dimming switches.
HAI 6-button room controllers.
HAI 15A relay switches.
HAI Omnistat single-stage heat/cool thermostat.
Motion detector.
Siren.
NuVo Grand Concerto Multi-Room Audio System.
NuVo Grand Concerto Expander System.
SmartHome MZ10 access controllers.
NuVo ceiling speakers.
Electro-magnetic locks.
Smoke detectors.
Video intercoms.

Alsaggaf Sons Company Ltd is the premier distributor of building and home automation systems in Saudi Arabia.

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