The aim of the project was to provide affordable level of state of the art Security and Home Control. The whole system including control of the curtains, lights, security and TV/ Video were to be operated by an optional Remote Infrared Handset, the unit chosen was the Philips Pronto. The loft was to be controllable remotely via telephone and also via the internet. The Comfort Home System from Comfort Home Controls represented the best value for money being able to offer internet control using a local PC via Home Highway and Homeseer Web Software and could interface with Lutron Lighting, Philips Pronto, Silent Gliss Curtains and could provide full integrated security alarm functionality which was able to comply with British Standard 4737 and the Security Regulatory body N.A.C.O.S.S. codes of Practice. In this respect, Comfort's ability to be remotely disarmed was disabled in the programming to comply with the requirements of BS4737. A variety of security detectors were connected to Comfort and could also double-up to be used for automatic operation of lighting. This was used to great effect in the All-glass Bathroom and en-suite, which required full automatic movement-based operation of the lights and curtains to provide privacy when the rooms were being used.

Automatic Bathroom and En-suite Lighting and Curtains Operation

The Optex FX360 360 degree ceiling mounted PIR, proved to be ideal for this application, it was capable of sensing the whole room even when it was mounted in a corner. Comfort timers also determined that the curtains should open and the light switch off after 10 minutes of non-activity in the bathroom and en-suite. The curtains were made controllable over the internet and so this represented a potential cause of false-alarms so, the zone type used was of a non-security type so that the curtain would not cause an alarm while it was operated, but the lighting and the curtains would still operate. An alternative method would have been to bypass the zone while the curtain was moving using Comfort's flexible programming language called 'action codes'.

Lutron Scene Lighting
Lighting was to be a major feature in the design, X10, LEAX and Lutron were all considered, but Lutron was eventually chosen based on the range of options available for scene setting within a budget and their attractive wall switch combinations. The lighting would consist of 12 circuits and would be controlled from a variety of sources: Local control, Remote Control via Philips Pronto and from Comfort using Infrared transmitter mounted directly onto the Lutron 3000 Grafik Eye controller. Two 6 circuit units were used and mounted in the mains cupboard above the Comfort panel. Even though X10 wasn't to be the main form of signalling, we decided to include an X10 Filter (TF678) which was mounted in the MEM box with the Main Neutral passed through it's core. This device prevents X10 signals from passing from one apartment to another. It also allows the customer to use X10 devices for appliance control if required, as it happens, we did use it to supplement the control signals from the Pronto to Comfort, particularly for control of the curtains.

The designers wanted to keep the technology as invisible as possible, so the control equipment was kept largely out of sight. Infrared receivers (IR543AH, KP02 LED and Lutron GRX) were mounted in the lounge and each Lutron wall switch also had their own receivers, this gave the Pronto extended range from most positions around the loft. The IR543 is an Infrared to X10 transceiver, it was not essential but was used as back-up for the Pronto to provide Comfort control signals. We removed the KP02 LED and mounted it in the front of the IR543AH, this brought it from the doorway to the lounge area where the Pronto was most likely to be used. We used Comfort's IR received responses and the X10 Received responses together driving the same responses, this meant that the response was often triggered twice, not a problem unless the response is a toggle type, which would cause a cancelling effect.

Auto Events
Comfort was to trigger the Grafik Eye using Infrared signals sent from a Comfort 12v output. The Lutron codes were first learned using the Philips Pronto and saved into Comfort using CSXpress local programming software as 17 Responses. This related to 16 scenes and a Master Off. Once the IR codes were downloaded into comfort, they could be triggered ffrom various events such as a zone input as in the main light switch at the front door, and the automatic lighting control for the bathroom and en-suite triggered by the PIR's. Additionally, we could also program the Fire Alarm input to switch all of the lights on and to operate various lights and curtains when the property was unoccupied during Holiday Mode to give that lived-in-look.

Internet Control
The Comfort Web Interface (CWI) was employed to provide control and vision for the flat over the Internet. A PC was provided running Windows 98SE, a TView2000 Capture Card and the CWI software was installed. The RS232 interface (UCM01 Module) which connects Comfort to the PC via serial port was installed next to the PC and an RG59 cable was connected from the camera to the Video input of the capture card, this provided a permanent video connection to the PC which could then be streamed into CWI using iVISTA web cam software. The main purpose of the web connection was to provide lighting and curtain control on the web.

Secret Switches (Sensor Switches)
The Secret Switch is a wonderful device. It is basically an electronic toggle wall switch but with no moving parts. It operates it's output by sensing the body-field from your hand allowing you to trigger lights or curtains, the supply required is just 12v DC and we connected the -ve output to a Comfort zone set to a non-alarm zone type. It looks like a blank wall-switch plate and can be hidden beneath wallpapaer or in this case, the switch was glued behind the MDF panelling near the front door and the main lounge window. Normally, the switch can operate when your hand is placed to within 1/2 inch of the device, but because we mounted the switch behind MDF which was around 20mm thick, you had to touch the wall to operate the circuit. Two switches were used, one for the curtains and one for the Lutron Lights. There were two responses written for each switch, basically the curtains required a pulse on an output to close them and another pulse on another output to open them. The same method was employed on the Lutron Lighting controller. The zone switch was programmed with a response which toggled between Scene 1 (entry Lights ON - IR Code 1) and Master OFF(IR Code 17).
The switch used was a special low voltage only version for compatability with Comfort zone inputs, but Sensor Consultants have produced a 240v version which can be used to substitute a momentary light switch when used with X10 DIN Rail Dimmer Module LD11 allowing dimming control of the lights.

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