Household Automation upgrades BRE display facility.

Household Automation has recently had the privilege of providing the Building Research Establishment (BRE) with Comfort Intelligent Home equipment (from Cytech Technology Pte Ltd) to form part of a training and demonstration display at the BRE campus near Watford.

The task involved the integrating of the Comfort system with the existing KNX lighting & heating control within the Innovation Park Visitor Centre. The new facility allows control and monitoring of the KNX system across the campus computer network. Additional facilities were installed to allow control and monitoring of both the KNX and Comfort systems through the local telephone handset, and the new Cytech Comfort KP06 LCD keypad.

The Comfort Intelligent control system can be described as a system which can automatically run almost any facility within your property including monitored fire & security, access control, heating & lighting, blinds & curtains, irrigation, and voice messaging whilst providing the ability to control and operate the property through remote PC’s, iPads, or any telephone line or mobile in the world!

The versatility and configurability of the Comfort system places it far beyond the standard ‘Intruder and Hold-up Alarm System’, and the inclusion of the Cytech Logic Engine as standard has allowed us to install it as a means of providing logic for highly automated properties with iPad control, as well as providing logic for assisted living projects involving a number of bespoke requirements.

Basic features of the Cytech Comfort system include:

• Fully featured security system suitable for Intruder and/or Fire detection

• Property Automation facilities including interfacing (UCM) to all major brands

• Telephone auto-answering with Voice-mail (digital answering machine with 15 minutes non-volatile messages).

• Dialler capable of contacting up to 8 voice, pager, and CMS contacts.

• 16 reminder messages which can be heard on keypads and telephones at programmed times

• Highly customisable detection and response functions

• Access control facilities

and from the Cytech Logic Engine:

• Expandable to 64 Inputs and 64 outputs (using Local & Slave Expansion) PLUS! 120 digital inputs and 120 outputs via additional ‘Remote I/O modules’.

• All Outputs can be programmed as On/Off, pulsed or as infra-red outputs (up to 250 IR codes).

• ‘Remote I/O module’ Inputs can act as infra-red Receivers.

• 32 time programs, 64 timers (for programmable delays).

• Up to 1024 Programmable Responses which can be triggered by defined events.

• Real Time Clock and Perpetual Calendar with Sunrise/Sunset times and automatic daylight saving.

• External Interfaces for multiple systems concurrently and Bi-directionally, incl Rs232, Ethernet, USB, KNX, C-Bus, Dynalite, Lutron, Rako,Z-Wave, etc. (up to 8 for each installation)

• Use of logic commands such as IF AND OR.

Household Automation Ltd has ongoing projects involving the installation of KNX and Cytech equipment.