Most readers will probably recognise the name of Carlo Gavazzi as a supplier of control and automation equipment for industrial and commercial users; browse the DPA web site if you haven't heard of them! What might be a surprise (and it surprised me) is that Carlo Gavazzi's UK based subsidiary is very active in the area of home automation - not just the hardware, but the distributor network, the technical support and all the other structure needed to service this growing market.
UK managing director Alan Hickman concedes that the UK's machine building sector - Carlo Gavazzi's traditional market - is pretty slack at the moment. His company was keen to branch out into other areas where its expertise in automation might find richer pastures, and home automation seemed a pretty good bet. House building is on the increase; it was up 17% in the first quarter of 2006 and, of course, there's a lot of home refurbishment in the pipeline. Mr Hickman estimates that the current market for home automation in the UK is around £4m - modest, yes, but it is a fast growing market fuelled by the expectations of consumers and, perhaps more importantly, the now very pressing need to save energy.
Home automation is hardly new. Gavazzi's 'smart-house' concept was developed in Denmark about ten years ago but it is still a relatively new concept as far as the UK is concerned. You can install home automation in various ways: hard-wired back to the consumer unit; wireless networked (battery considerations!) and mains-borne systems being examples. Gavazzi's smart-house, however, is based on its Dupline fieldbus system, a robust network topology originally designed to transmit simple (on-off type) signals in industrial applications. The bus can be wired up using standard Cat 5 cable, but it is so immune to interference that you could use bell wire if you so desired. Indeed, both bus and power can be run within the same cable sheath. The fieldbus approach ensures a very high level of flexibility, allowing the home owner to add more functions as and when they are required, without having to hard-wire back to a central location.
A Dupline home network links a master control unit (illustrated) with the various distributed field devices, including light dimmers, blind or curtain motors, relay modules, motion detectors, smoke alarms, thermostats and temperature sensors - even water leak detectors. The master controller performs all the real time logic and timer functions, the analogue set point control, lighting control (including 'scene setting'), alarm handling and two-way communication via text messages to a mobile phone (which can also be used to control devices remotely). It is set up using a simple Windows based configuration software Package, which is provided free with the controller.
All the field devices have a simple two-character address to identify them on the bus and this can be set-up very simply using a handheld programming unit. Some 128 separate devices can be operated on one Dupline network, which is more than sufficient for the modern home. The master controller can also be linked to a PC via RS232. This adds additional sophistication to the installation, enabling web-cams and Internet-enabled devices in the home to be monitored via a web browser from virtually any location in the world.
Recently, Carlo Gavazzi UK consolidated its home automation offering by appointing three nationwide distributors, selected for their specialist knowledge of the subject. According to Mr Hickman, this is the first time his company has appointed a special support channel to engage directly with consumers at home, as opposed to its usual industrial and commercial customer base. The new distributors include Buckinghamshire based Simply Automate (www.simplyautomate.co.uk); Automatic Buildings (www.automaticbuildings.co.uk) of Coleshill near Birmingham, and Electrical Wholesale (email: info@elect-wholesale.co.uk) of Huddersfield. They will provide a design and installation service for people wishing to automate their homes, supply the necessary equipment and provide technical back-up during installation and beyond.