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It wasn’t so long ago when a home’s electrical included just a small selection of switches, sockets and a light in each room. Today you’ll find that there’s an amazingly wide range of innovative products, advanced technology and clever, affordable electrical solutions to take your new home to the next level.
Whether it’s choosing the colour, texture and style of your power points and light switches, carefully planning their placement, thinking about device charging and data availability, or incorporating Smart Home convenience and energy efficiency – today’s electrical infrastructure is all about enhancing how you live your life now, and into the future.
Here are 6 things to consider when planning the electrical for your new home:
1. MAKE YOUR DREAM HOME A SMART HOME.
Imagine having your lights and heating turning on just before you arrive home, or waking up in your new home to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Today’s affordable Smart Home solutions can make that, and so much more a reality. Automation technology has traditionally been considered overly complex and expensive. Luckily things have changed dramatically, and now it’s widely agreed that you can have a Smart Home for the cost of a Smart Phone*.
With clever, easy to install and use solutions such as Legrand’s Excel Life Smart, you can connect every power point and switch in your home to your phone or a hand’s-free operating system such as Amazon's Alexa, Google Home, or Apple's Siri.
Anything you want to control in your home, you can.
Legrand New Zealand’s National Trade Sales Manager, Scott Boyd explains, “Smart Technology has never been more affordable, so there’s no reason why every home can’t be a smart home. It adds so much convenience to your life; with Excel Life Smart you can even control non-smart appliances such as lamps, kettles and irons without having to replace anything.”
And the benefits of having a Smart Home are far wider than just convenience. With today’s technology enabling energy monitoring and management, and smart cameras that alert you to any movement directly to your phone – Smart Homes are more energy-efficient, and safer as well.
2. CHOOSE WIRING DEVICES THAT BLEND SEAMLESSLY WITH YOUR INTERIORS.
From gloss, metallic and matt finishes, to textured or coloured options, there’s a vast array of power points and light switches to choose from. Scott comments, “Today’s wiring devices are designed to fit in seamlessly with your interior finish, there’s no need to hide them behind furniture anymore.”
Consider what will compliment your interior design and don’t be afraid to be bold.
Products such as Excel Life Matt Black can create a striking finish on a kitchen splashback or tiled bathroom wall. And remember, you don’t need to use the same range throughout the house. Choose the areas where you want to create the wow factor such as kitchens, living areas and the main bathroom. To reduce costs, opt for a standard product such as Legrand’s Excel Life Original range for less frequented areas such as kids’ bedrooms, garages and laundries.
3. STREAMLINE YOUR LIFE WITH THOUGHTFUL PRODUCT PLACEMENT.
The careful placement of light switches and power points is vital to creating a home that works for you. The best way to do this is to envision how you’re going to live your life when you’re in your new home. Consider where you’re going to place furniture and appliances. Think about how you’ll use each space, and what electrical capability is needed to make your life more convenient and streamlined.
Scott comments, “Your Electrical Contractor will create a base plan and lay everything out logically, but you can still make changes at this stage. When it's time to do a walk-through, check that the planned layout of light switches and power and data points actually works for you.”
He adds, “You definitely want to go overboard with power points in areas such as sculleries and kitchens, the last thing you want in your beautiful new home is extension cords or unsightly multipower boards everywhere”.
At this point you’ll also want to think about which appliances require internet capability. With so many of today’s appliances connecting to the web, data points are vital to easing the load on your WIFI.
Scott comments, “From Fridges to TVs, if you can plug it in to power, you should really allow for an internet connection as well. Most of these appliances are WIFI enabled, but by adding data points you’ll free your WIFI up for mobile devices such as phones and iPads”.
4. CARE FOR YOUR WALLET & THE ENVIRONMENT.
Forgetting to turn off lighting, heating and appliances can be costly – not just for your power bill, but for the environment too. By incorporating smart home technology such as Excel Life Smart into your home, you can set a scenario to switch your entire home off with one command using voice, touch or the app on your phone.
This means that every non-essential appliance such as TVs, stereos and kitchen appliances, as well as all your lighting can be turned off easily, resulting in dramatically reduced energy consumption when you’re not at home.
Scott comments, “Lighting makes up on average 22% of your power bill, so having the ability to easily turn lights off when they’re not needed is key to reducing your energy consumption and being more energy-efficient. Excel Life Smart allows you to do this with one command from your phone, wherever you are – in your home, or remotely.”
Solutions such as Excel Life Smart also allow you to monitor and manage your electricity consumption. Information from the system is sent to your phone and will give you invaluable insights about your electricity usage, enabling you to better control your environmental footprint.
5. LIGHT UP YOUR OUTDOORS.
Well-planned outdoor electrical is a must to impress friends and family this summer.
Consider adding an outdoor power point or two, and if you think you might want outdoor speakers for the ultimate in summer entertaining – now’s the time to add it to your plan.
Lighting is a key consideration for the outdoors. Functional lighting should include security sensors and task lighting. You’ll also want to think about what electrical you’ll need for your outdoor ambiance lighting requirements such as decorative outdoor LED lighting and garden lights.
6. FUTURE PROOF YOUR INVESTMENT.
With the introduction of 5G and developments in Artificial Intelligence, your home will be able to think, make decisions and adapt its behaviours by observing and understanding how you live your life. Don’t let your new home be left behind. Discussing your options with your Electrical Contractor at the beginning of your project will lead to better, less expensive Smart Home outcomes.
Making your home smarter is a smart move for your financial future too. To really set your home apart though, buyers expect to do more than just turn things on and off remotely – adding features such as energy efficiency, audio-visual functionality, and security surveillance will make your home more attractive to increasingly active millennial home buyers.
Ask your Electrical Contractor to take you through your options, or better still ask them about Legrand’s Rethink Electrical portal and be inspired by the endless possibilities available to you.
* Based on installed cost of Legrand’s Excel Life Smart Starter Kit.
