Making the most of my C-bus system

Hey guys. Couple of years ago during building i installed c-bus lighting in to my house. Ive got the Saturn switched pretty much everywhere, Ive got a 2x8 channel dimmer relay units, 4x12 channel relay, a few outdoor PIR, 2 internal PIR and got this hooked up to my Ness 16X alarm panel.
My set up so far is I have the lights to trigger when alarm goes off, I have a few dimming scenes, the PIR setup and everytime I go away on holidays I use my External PIRs to control the indoor lights on a timer since I have no timing gear.
I would also like to know how to hook up my ducted aircon to c-bus just for a basic on/off function.
Im sure Im not making the most with what Ive got so any suggestions on what else I can do with my C-bus set up would be great.
I know I need something to do more on scheduling/time based functions but.......you know $$$$$$.
Thanks in advanced

 

This will depend almost entirely on the specific system you have installed. Some have dry contact inputs for remote on/off control, some can have this functionality added with expansion cards, and still others do not allow remote on/off capability.

What exactly are you looking to do? If you can be more specific about the things you'd like to do then I'm sure plenty of forum users will able to make recommendations on how they achieved that result.

The biggest recommendation is probably to save up and get yourself a device that is capable of programmable logic, such as a PAC, a Wiser or a Touchscreen (with logic). Once you've got one of those devices then what you can do is pretty much limitless, depending only upon your ability to write some code to achieve what you want.

 

I find the ability to bring many systems together more valuable and it makes the other systems more powerful.

Your A/C control is a good example of what I am talking about.

If you look at any of the alarm panels that have a C-Bus interface, you can start to do more with lights based on security events (arming turns off all the lights, disarming turns on some of the lights for entering the house, a fire alarm lights a pathway to the door).

Sometimes C-bus is not the best solution ($ or other) and the best solution may not have the ability to comminucate on the C-Bus network so you need a third party device/software.

This is where HA software can help bridge the gap and bring all your devices into one interface (AMX, Crestron, Control4, CQC, the list goes on) YOu start to get control of everything from TV's home theatres, pools, audio, lights etc. and you can do just about anything that you think of. Great for automating the taks that you routinly do.

Hopefulyy something for you to think about - C-Bus is not the be all for this stuff (I leave C-Bus for LV switching only - lights, fans curtains, everything else is done with other devices)

Mick

 

If all you're after is logic functions then the PAC is the cheapest way to get that. It lives on your network as a magic box that does tricks.

If you can afford to spend more, both the B&W and Spectrum Touchscreens (with logic) and the Wiser include the same logic engine of the PAC (but are more powerful), are a similar-ish price and both provide a user interface. The Touchscreens have the touchscreen obviously, and the Wiser serves up a user interface to any flash-capable web browser or to an iPhone/iPad. A Wiser also has the ability to allow you to control your house when you're not there and provides the means to re-program C-Bus remotely.

The Wiser provides a "pre-canned" user interface where you enter some basic information and it builds the user interfaces for you. A Touchscreen gives you total flexibility in the user interface graphics/layout/etc but takes longer to configure because of this. The choice between a Wiser and a Touchscreen would depend upon which kind of interface you'd prefer.

 

Thanks mate.
Anyone knows of a resonable priced place to buy this gear?
Ive lost my contact with my old seller.