An integrated home is a residential property where electronic technology has been effectively integrated into the building to serve and enhance the lifestyle of its occupants.

Name of project: Beach Front Residence
Value of custom installation contract: Equipment: 170,000€, Labour: 40,000€
Location (city AND country): Area: City: PAFOS, Country: CYPRUS
Date of completion of installation: 18/1/2013

The clients’ request was a state of the art system with future proof infrastructure. A major focus was the residents and guests entertaining, security & energy savings. Finally, the systems had to be very reliable & friendly to use.

Requirements classified into 4 categories:

Environment

The seafront location of the property required temperature & humidity to be constantly regulated for a comfortable environment. The Lighting and motorised shading systems had to be controlled smartly. Energy saving was required wherever possible, plus, colour changing control of swimming pool lights and water fountains. Status monitoring of the fuel tank used for the heating system and, the sewage tank levels.

Entertainment

Music in multiple areas was required, with the possibility to listen to different music. Satellite and stored digital media had to be available on all HD TV’s & projectors throughout. A stealth AV system was desired in the Lounge, and in the basement a dedicated home cinema room for enjoying quality time with family and friends, watching movies and live TV.

Network

Wireless network infrastructure, with optimum reception, across all levels and outdoor areas. It was requested to have different Family & Guest access rights to the Wi-Fi network.

Security

Camera monitoring and recording for various outdoor areas was required. Burglar and Fire alarm system integration to HVAC. Everything had to be integrated to the Home automation for maximising security and giving remote access and control to the owners.

Environment

A “LUTRON Homeworks” lighting control system allows control of the lighting and shading from elegant laser engraved “Seetouch” backlit keypads. The owners can control the lights of any area, select mood pre-sets for the SPA & Cinema, change colour of the swimming pool lighting, and even initiate the fountains from any room or even remotely via touch-panels and mobile devices. Astronomic time-clock programming adjusts the lighting and shading according to the time and day of year, and, for the same buttons to activate different scenes for day or night. By being able to interface the shades and external louvers with the lighting control, we made it possible to harvest the natural light and reducing energy usage during daytime, but, also provide shading when necessary (according to the sun’s direction) to keep the house cool or warm. The use of occupancy sensor in common areas together with smart programming helped increase energy saving from lighting & HVAC systems. For the HVAC systems, a “CoolMaster” interface integrates the “Daikin” VRV air-conditioning system to the “Crestron MC3 Processor”, and, for Under-floor Heating Crestron’s CHV-TSTAT smart thermostats and remote temperature sensors are utilised. Advanced programming allows the client to set the desired temperature for the room, through the user friendly “TPMC-4SMD” touch-panels, and the control system decides automatically what systems need to be utilised. A monitoring and alerting system notifies the Owners for “low level of petrol” in the fuel tank, and, “near full level” of the sewage tank, automatically on all the touch panels and iPads.

Entertainment

A Crestron “SONNEX” digital music distribution system feeds 12-zones of music. To meet all the occupants’ tastes in different rooms, a dual-FM tuner, an internet radio, a dual streaming “Mozaex” media server, and, an iPod docking station are available through the touch-panels and mobile devices. Sound is reproduced for in-ceiling and outdoor Russound loudspeakers.  A Crestron “Digital Media DM-MD-8×8” distributes HD/3D video to 6 areas plus the Home Theatre from 7 HD video sources: 2 Mozaex Media Servers, an Apple TV, 2 SKY HD receivers, and 2 digital terrestrial HD receivers for the projectors. Everything is hidden away in two 42U racks, with room for future expansion, in the server room located next to the Home cinema.

The requirement for a completely stealth AV system in the lounge was met by exchanging the standard glass partition separating the study by an active shutter frost glass to be used as a rear projection screen. Then, an “Infocus-5108” HD projector and a “Unitech” ceiling motorised lift where installed in the study. HD picture was sent via Creston DM8x8 and sound via Crestron SONNEX to the “Russound” in-ceiling speakers of the lounge, utilised both for music and video listening. The result is way above client’s expectations with an outstanding picture and sound quality and a totally invisible installation.

Last but not least, a dedicated “007 theme” Home Theatre room, with high spec sound and picture and luxurious CINEAK seating, is located in the lower level. This is where the family and friends enjoy daily their movie collections on a 133” DaLite micro-perforated screen with automatically adjusted masking. The JVC “DLA-RS60” reference THX projector produces a crystal clear image in 2D&3D for every movie played back from the10-Terrabyte Mozaex Media or the Apple-TV and SKY-HD receiver.

A “Crestron-Procise” DSP and matching amplifier are driving the 7.2 speaker setup delivering 400 watts per channel. Monitor Audio “Platinum Series” Column L/R speakers, a Centre, 6 bi-polar surrounds, and, 2 active subwoofers fill the room with a staggering sound experience of the highest quality. All controlled from a “TPMC-3X” Wi-Fi touch panel remote. The result is definitely a wow factor!

Network

A Wireless network was installed with high gain outdoor and long range indoor “MIMO” technology. “Ubiquity” access points with roaming ensured no dead sports throughout the residence.

Security

Apart from installing IP cameras in price locations, extra theft protection was provided by interfacing the Alarm & HVAC system for a specific sector with the fire alarm CO2 smoke system. This was then programmed in an event of the specific sector intrusion, to stop the HVAC airflow and fill the area with smoke in less than 3 seconds. The client was excited with this feature that is adding value to the control systems provided. The fire alarm integration to HVAC also disables air circulation in case of a fire. Full local & remote arming and disarming of Alarm is available thru mobile devices and touch panels.

The very user friendly GUI & touch-panels allow us easy control of all the devices including lights, shades, alarm, HVAC, music, video, TVs. This is extremely convenient and puts us in full control of the premises. The minimised clutter on the walls, the concealed speakers, projectors, and thermostats, compliment the minimalistic interior design. The combination of the HVAC with the Burglar & Fire alarm is a great safety feature. Alarm arming and disarming, and the monitoring of Security cameras, through the iPad and touch screens is very convenient when at home, but also, while away. The fact that the fuel and sewage tanks display instantly a notification on the iPad when they reach their threshold is a real life saver. We are also very happy with all the energy saving features incorporated in the system, allowing us to save money and help save the planet.

The projection system in the Lounge with the frosted glass and projector lift combination in the study has proved to be the perfect solution. The digital collection of music and video is now so well organised and easily accessible from all areas of the house, which makes it very simple for all family members and friends to enjoy anytime. The Home theatre is really our favourite room. The whole experience is magic!

The whole project took some time to be completed but a lot of very professional work & care was taken to produce a result that is excellent and in many cases exceeded my expectation!

LUXURY APARTMENT – LIMASSOL, CYPRUS

A state of the art home theatre and an integrated automation system were to play a significant part in the overall design of this modern luxury apartment located on Limassol’s seafront. The apartment has some specific characteristics that dictated the type of equipment used and its installation.

System Description and how our design meets the Client’s requirements

A glass wall separates the bedroom from the home theatre room, giving visibility from the bedroom of the large projector screen situated at the far end of the room. A sauna is built into the bathroom and Jacuzzi area and the client specified that the TV, which was to be installed in the bathroom, should be visible from the sauna. Sound was to follow images throughout the apartment and controls were to be intuitive and easy to operate. Given this brief Lifestyle Technologies customised a system that more than satisfied all of the client’s requirements.

We installed a comprehensive array of top of the range audio-video equipment to create an outstanding home theatre setting. An InFocus projector, mounted on a Future Automation lift, is directed at a 106” motorised DaLite projection screen. Stunning sound is delivered through a Marantz amplifier and an Anthony Gallo speaker system. A Marantz DVD player and Humax satellite receiver provide high quality video images and all components are concealed in a 19” Raxxess equipment rack.

Bathroom installations, by their very nature, present specific challenges. We created a very special solution in this instance. A 20” Aquavision waterproof mirror TV built into the bathroom wall gives crisp, clear images. The requirement for visibility of the bathroom TV while using the sauna was met by installing a window made of special glass that inhibits moisture build-up – ensuring visual clarity.

The motorised blinds that screen the bedroom from the home theatre, together with apartment lighting, are controlled by a Lutron HomeWorks system.

A Crestron system controls all automated functions, including distribution of sound to the appropriate areas. Effective pre-programming and the use of wireless touch panels make the system simple and intuitive.

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