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Developer to sell "security smart" homes |
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Home Automation -
News
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Written by Jennifer Brown
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Monday, 30 March 2009 09:41 |
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Page 1 of 2 A Toronto developer has opened sales offices at Mountain Trails in Collingwood, touting the development as the first smart neighbourhood in Canada where every townhome will include automated technology to control temperature and lighting levels, monitor home security, smoke detection, and a water sensor to detect flooding, as well as enabling energy management.
“The system we’re providing is very user friendly and the homeowner can
control these functions from a centrally located in-wall touchscreen
when they are in residence,” says David Hirsh, president of Brandy Lane
Homes.
Wherever they are in the world, the homeowner can connect to their home
system via telephone or Internet using a Snap-Link USB key drive which
plugs in to any Windows-based computer. Snap-Link offers the ability to
securely access and control the home, using 128-bit encryption similar
to that used by banks.
The USB drive can be plugged into any PC (cannot be used on a Macintosh
computer) and connects back to the home with full visibility of cameras
(an upgrade), temperature, doors and window security and lighting.
“I’ve always been very interested in home automation and target
marketing this community to a weekender buyer — someone who enjoys
skiing and hiking and activities all year long,” says Hirsh.
The 136-unit development offers townhomes, which range in price from
$300,000 to $375,000 are 1,800 to 2,200 square feet in size. Hirsh
estimates the home automation features are valued at $13,000 to $14,000
with the structured wiring and motion detectors in the house and a
touch screen station that delivers messages about the home.
In doing his research, Hirsh says he found potential buyers of vacation
properties were concerned about the maintenance of the home and
worrying about what was going on when they weren’t there.
“I started looking at the feasibility of creating a smart home
community. I thought this market would want to monitor their homes
remotely with total control over heat and air conditioning and lighting
to give the house a more lived-in look.”
Hirsh also found that security was a concern but not from a perspective
but a break-in but whether a pipe had burst or something malfunction of
the home.
The system being installed at the Brandy Lane homes is manufactured by
Home Automation Inc. (HAI), established in 1985 in the U.S. which
manufactures home control products.
System designer and home automation integrator Total Home Automation
Inc., of Barrie, Ontario is working with Brandy Lane Homes. Hirsh
approached King about eight months ago to work on the project.
“To date, the bulk of our clients are installing our systems in their
high-end custom homes or in commercial applications,” says Aubrey King
of Total Home Automation. “Mountain Trails is the first to put this
system in as a standard feature.
Many of the buyers will be using the townhome as a second residence or
weekend getaway and the remote control aspect is seen as a plus, says
King.
At Mountain Trails, the standard system uses Cat5E and RG6 cable in
principal rooms that are fully networked and ready with high-speed
Internet to each home.
The townhomes will also include a security system with front and rear
entry door contacts, plus three motion detectors (one per level). If
there is an intrusion, the designated smart lights automatically switch
on and the system calls the first of up to eight pre-programmed
telephone contact numbers.
If the smoke alarm is activated, the system will automatically shut
down the homes’ HVAC system to prevent smoke from spreading throughout
the home, and then dial one of the specified emergency contact numbers
until a person or voice message is reached.
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