• Off-grid, rural home at night showing blue LED lighting theme
  • Vantage Equinox home automation LED touchscreen showing motorised blind control.
  • Off-grid home at night, with changeable colour LED light strips showing red lighting scene.
  • Cozy lounge showing a TV and custom length sound-bar on swivel bracket above a fireplace. Also shows a home automation system on an iPad for control of home theatre
  • Off-grid automated home at night, showing warm-white LED lighting strips
  • Modern kitchen with LED dimmable lighting strip
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Off-Grid - Automated Living

A full-featured automated home using the power of the sun.

Nestled in the valley below stunning Mt Manaia in Northland’s Whangarei Heads, our client presented us with a challenge to deliver a full-featured automated home using the power of the sun.

Completely off-grid, the farm relies on solar and wind power sources to charge a 48-volt lithium-ion battery system, with a generator for back-up if required, so power conservation was a consideration in every part of this design.

The large 8 bay shed provides space for farm equipment or parties, with attached living at one end in the form of a 100 square meter, open-plan apartment.  As the living space is compact, a clean aesthetic helped maintain the appearance of spaciousness.

As the living area will eventually become a guest house, simplicity of use was high on the list of key deliverables.

The keyless entry system has a single pin code which opens all doors and automatically un-sets the alarm.  The access control system also allows the owners to login and create single use codes for Airbnb guests. In addition to using the code, the client can lock or unlock all doors by presenting their mobile phones to the reader.

All aspects of the home, outbuildings and wider farm are controlled by a Vantage home automation system, via keypads, touchscreens and mobile devices.

Vantage home automation controls lighting, blinds, garage doors, Velux skylights, home theatre, audio, heated towel rails, hydronic underfloor heating, pop-up lawn sprinklers, and water pump with clever programming and monitoring to maximise energy conservation.

LED lighting has been used extensively throughout the shed and living spaces, saving up to 90% energy compared to a traditional bulb with the same light output.  Close attention was paid to the colour temperature of the warm white across the different fixtures ensuring consistent colour throughout.  A star ceiling has also been installed in the nursery offering both comfort and dim night lighting.

A ‘sneak’ button creates a dim glow of warm red path lighting from the master bedroom to the nursery, for safely navigating the stairs at night, to attend to the child or grab a glass of water.

With a love of music and entertaining, there are 6 zones of audio, a 5.1 cinema system with custom-width sound bar in the living area and a projection system in the shed for larger parties.  All AV source equipment is concealed in a cupboard under the stairs in a customised rack in line with the aesthetic requirements.  We specified 9” in ceiling speakers on the two-storey eave over the deck and lawn area to give plenty of capacity when entertaining and a pair of Cherry Bombs on the far side of the lawn to provide sound fill over the large lawn area

Our client has a Service+ remote monitoring and management system installed which means that we are alerted to any issues before the client is even aware of them and can apply firmware updates and security patches remotely.  Service+ allows us to remote in and complete most work remotely, saving time and the cost of truck rolls from Auckland.

Client Testimonial

“When we embarked on our build, we knew there were going to be challenges, given the sandy site, the lack of power and the additional delays brought about by COVID.  Working with the team at Automation Associates has been a pleasure – they took the time to make sure that every detail was considered and designed a clever system to make best use of the available power and delivered a simple to use, beautiful interface that is easy for us and our guests to use. 

Like all the trades, AA had disruptions due to COVID, but they stayed in close communication with us to make sure our project was delivered seamlessly. 

We especially love our music system, and the fun LED strip lighting brings the next level to our parties. 

We highly recommend AA to anyone building, especially if there are special site requirements that need well thought-out solutions.”

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