PRE-WIRE:

The very first thing that gets done on site after the System Design Diagram has been completed is to run all the necessary wiring that's needed from every room to a central location typically designated as the Equipment Area or Utility Room. Many considerations and factors need to be incorporated before you decide on which area or room all your equipment will go. You have to consider adequate ventilation (because equipment gets warm or hot). You want to make sure that the space is not prone to flooding or too much dirt. Accessibility & Egress (for servicing). Once you've nailed that down, that would be the only time that you can start to wire. And we will be running miles and miles of wire.

EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION:

There are different types of equipment that need to be installed, Low-Voltage and High-Voltage. Then the others are mechanical type systems. The High Voltage equipment is always handled by licensed electrical contractors. They take our Lighting Design CAD drawings and they wire up the all the lighting fixtures according to the design.

Different trades man and sub contractors are also involved in the type of projects that we do. The irrigation/ sprinkler contractors. The swimming pool & pool control installer. The burglar alarm installer. The video surveillance contractor. The HVAC contractor. The plumber, who installs the heating (conventional & radiant) system. The motorized driveway gate installer. The water feature and effect installer. All these things are Sub Systems that will need to be in place and independently working on their own before they get "tied-in" into a centralized Remote controlled 3rd party system.

AUTOMATION:

Once all these Sub-Systems are tested by their respective installers and deemed to be working properly, then it is time for us to tie them up to the Master Control System that will allow the property owner to operate the Cooling & Heating, the front driveway fountain, the lights, the television, the motorized window shades, the entry gates, the viewing of his security cameras from his/her TV, smart phone, tablet, or tabletop/ in-wall mounted touch screen control interface. There are also a lot of programming done outside of the direct manual operation of each devices. Like automatic timed events, lets say a portion of your living room where your priceless work of art sits gets a lot of direct sunlight between 11am & 2pm. We can make the motorized shades go down automatically during these times. This can also be achieved via the use of light sensors.

Certain sets of lights need to turn on 15 minutes before sunset. When everyone goes to bed at 11pm, certain group of lights (inside and outside) dim or turn off. Certain lights outside need to turn off by sunrise.

During an emergency, when the burglar alarm trips at 3am, all the interior lights can go on full bright and the outside lights "flash" and during the warm months the sprinkler systems also turn ON. So that the intended burglar not only panics but also gets wet.
When the fire alarm trips or in an event of an actual fire, the same thing happens as when the burglar alarm trips, but inside the lights near the windows and doors flash so if there is smoke, you can be guided by the flashing light to the nearest door or window to escape. On top of the outside lights flashing, the motorized gates also open so that emergency vehicles can access the property. While all this is happening the surveillance cameras are also recording both within the property and also on the remotely located hard drive recorder (HDR).

When somebody rings the door bell, the touch screen turns ON and shows you who is at the door or if you are watching TV, the TV flips to that camera.

Bathroom lights and fans can be programmed to turn OFF automatically after a certain time.

If you have a child who notoriously turn all the lights ON and leaves it ON, a timer roll-back feature can be programmed so that you don't waste electricity (Not unless you have solar...then it wouldn't matter).

There are many things that can be done to enhance your lifestyle and at the same time reduce your carbon footprint, keep you safe and secure through the use of automation.

And lets not forget the very basic, when you watch TV (if it's daytime), bring down the shades, dim the lights if its ON, tune the cablebox to your favorite channel. Simple things.

In the very near future, the incorporation of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) incorporated to Voice-Command will bring automation to the next level. These are very exciting times.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All images and line drawings shown below are original designs of RLG Design Inc. and cannot be reproduced or copied in any form without the written consent of RLG Design Inc.