This 3-storey mansion on the slope of a hill in Plattekloof, near Cape Town, is probably the most advanced house of its type anywhere in South Africa. It features an array of electronically controlled features - security, entertainment, energy management, communication and more - that leaves first time visitors open-mouthed.
There are more than 60km of conduits in this house, all of them hidden. In fact, you won't see a single wire anywhere. Virtually every eventuality has been anticipated and wired-in.
Of the many intelligent features in this project, there are several that really stand out. For example, when the heavy glass cover slides back from the indoor plunge pool, both parents receive a warning message on their cellphones. Another child-safe function kicks in at the top of the staircase: if the stainless steel gate is left open for longer than 12 seconds, a computer generated voice drones a stern reminder.
Virtually every part of the house is monitored by closed-circuit television, infra-red sensors and lasers, all of which feed the data to a central controller that translates it into graphics.
There are seven wall mounted touchscreens around the house, that double up as televisions. PDA's, cellphones, RF remotes, Infra-red remotes and voice activation are other ways that the occupants can interact with the house. The house can also be monitored and controlled from anywhere in the world by simply logging on to the internet and visiting a dedicated web page.
Over 500 C-Bus circuits control the lights (800 lights in all) and 250 individual plug points, both normal and UPS. There are 90 wall mounted keypads around the house which control more than 100 output units spread over 6 distribution boards
Intelligence is built into the house, in that it makes decisions based on a few factors. For example, when the wind speed exceeds a certain velocity, the water features around the house are automatically switched off. The skylight closes automatically when the outside humidity exceeds 90%, or when it starts raining.
There are substantial energy and water savings as a result of intelligent systems like these.
All of these features, and more, are what makes up a truly intelligent home.
