Electrical and home automation design: what should it include?

Many people treat the electrical design and home automation as two jobs. The electrician goes first, and automation gets sorted out later.

That works worse. Automation depends on where the cables run, what is in the panels and which points are prepared. All of that is decided in the electrical design.

One design, not two

In the Lisbon home we worked on, the first step was a single electrical and home automation design. The equipment came after.

That was the right order. By the time the hardware is chosen, you already know where each piece goes and what the network has to carry.

What the design should include

• Light and control points. Which lights are controlled, from where, and whether the dimmer suits the load.
• Electrical panel. Room for the automation modules and for consumption metering.
• Network. Network cables and access points, so automation does not depend on weak Wi-Fi. See how we prepare cabling and network.
• Audio. For music in several rooms, you need to know where the amplifiers and speakers go.
• Access. Lock, keypad and the link to the rest of the system.
• Energy. Where consumption is measured, so it can be seen and acted on later.

From design to installation

In that home, the equipment arrived months after the design, in stages.

• Lighting. Dimmers to control light room by room.
• Sockets and energy. Controllable sockets and consumption metering.
• Openings. Door and window sensors.
• Safety. Flood sensors connected to the system.
• Audio. Streaming amplifiers for music in several rooms.
• Access. Lock and keypad with access control.
• Network. Cables and network equipment to connect it all.

Every stage built on the first design. No walls had to be opened again.

Open systems, with the future in mind

The equipment came from several makers and works as one system, because we build on open systems. Another piece can be added later without redoing what is already there.

What to ask before you sign

• Are the electrical and home automation designs done together?
• Is there room in the panels for what you add later?
• Is the network part of the design, or left "for the end"?
• If a maker changes its product, does the system keep working?

Planning a home or a renovation in Lisbon? Talk to us before the electrical design is closed.