​In the autumn of 2015, Electrical Magic was commissioned to install Niko Home Control by Doyle Construction Ltd. The construction firm was carrying out a renovation and extension of a 6,000-sq.-ft. property in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire.
Due to the size and potential value (£2.6 million) of the proposed property, the team from Doyle Construction were advised, by estate agents, to install smart home technology to ensure maximum value when it came to the sale of the property.
The renovation started without Electrical Magic on board, which meant that the site electricians had already made a start at installing a traditional wiring system. Electrical Magic were called in at the last minute to provide a complete smart home system that would control the lighting, heating, hot water, window blinds and electric gates. The developers also requested an integrated audio system, Wi-Fi and CCTV. All installed systems had to be easily controlled from a wall-mounted iPad and the resident’s smart phone.
The planning and design of the solution fell to Electrical Magic’s Director, Karl Ferguson. Initially, Karl consulted with the developers and then worked up a whole-home solution that would cover all requested bases. As with all smart home installation projects, Karl was responsible for liaising with the plumbers and onsite electricians to ensure Niko Home Control integrated seamlessly with their efforts.
Niko Home Control was chosen to control the lighting, heating and gates due to its simplicity and ease of use. Electrical Magic also chose Ubiquiti for the Wi-Fi, Sonance and Nuvo for the audio, and Hikvision for CCTV.
The on-site electricians worked with Karl and his team to connect all of the 240V and data cabling as per Electrical Magic’s design specifications. Electrical-Magic was solely responsible for building the control panels and installed these along with Niko Home Control, the Wi-Fi, audio and CCTV equipment.
Over the six-month build period, it took Electrical-Magic 27 days, including numerous site meetings, to complete the project. The project might have been even quicker to install if the smart systems had not been considered as an afterthought. Provision had not been made for the large control module panel but this problem was overcome by splitting the system into four smaller panels and locating them in the back of custom-built cupboards.
The overall effect of the installation is just as Doyle had envisioned and the ease of use and simplicity have really impressed. The system has been set up with a simple control program, which will be configured to suit the property’s new owner, once sold.
Karl Ferguson is director of Electrical Magic.