New to C-Bus

Hi,
I am building a new home and I am going to install C-Bus. The electricians try and steer me away from it with these new WiFi/Blu-tooth fixtures, but as an engineer I keep coming back to C-Bus for its shear flexibility. Anyway....

I am looking at gradually buying the bits. First question. I am in Australia and the C-Bus Multi-Sensor is Part # 5753PEIRL . On eBay there are some for sale in the US that are SLC5753PEIRL and Clipsal SquareD. I can not find what SquareD is and if it will be OK in my Australian C-Bus system.

Thanks

 

Clipsal and SquareD are all brands owned by Schneider Electric and the above parts are the same.
However the relay and dimmers are not, the USA runs on 110v 60Hz.

 

Great. Thanks Wonkey.

 

Jaden, where are you located? Stand your ground and stick with a proven system. There an so many new wireless products hitting the market. As an electrician, I roll my eyes (internally) every time I hear the promises of 'the system that's going to change things'. In reality, most will die off. There is plenty of knowledge here on this forum and you won't be disappointed with your decision.

 

Hi Conformist,
I am in Coffs Harbour. I have also been told that Control4 is the way to go. The local electrical wholesaler tried to convince me that some of the Blu-tooth systems were 'easier' but lacked this or that and C-Bus was an old system! Yeah it is an old system but that is a good thing. It is still going , and like you said, the others will die off. I have started to buy items on eBay for my house build. So every road seems to lead to C-Bus. I am also integrating it with an M! NESS security system. Happy Days.

 

I think C-Bus is a great place to start and you will find it is something you can play with forever. Control4 is good and I have actually just converted my house controller to a C4 controller (because my old original Wiser died) to be able to have some good and easy AV control, I would totally do it again, having a back end of C-Bus is so reliable and spares are easy to get and no more expensive than C4 or most of the main systems on the market.

 

As Jboer has also said, C-Bus is a great place to start (and finish). Control4 is great as a control (brains) but C-Bus definitely for the 'leg-work'. With all due respect to the local electrical wholesaler, they really have no idea on products other than what the reps tell them and maybe some feedback from the basic electrical contractor. I started a facebook forum to lift the awareness of professional home automation and the overwhelming message we see is from contractors who want to work in this segment (not just the BLE/WiFi etc) and want to get started. It shows that despite the plethora of new wireless offers, there is still a definite need in the market for reliable proven product. The Ness M1 is a great system too for SELV control and some 'brains-type' control if you don't want to go for Control4.
Good luck with your adventure. Be sure to pop back here if you have any questions as there are some great guys and girls on here who will help you.

 

Is there any reason to go with Control4 over a SHAC/NAC? I am avoiding Control4 as I want full control of the system without relying on a dealer.

 

If you are a DIY type of guy then have a look at CQC as an option to Control 4. It has a C-Bus driver and will allow you to integrate lots of stuff into your system.

As an example, I have a 6 Gang Saturn in the bedrooms, one button turns the A/C on or off for that room - even though the A/C is not connected to C-Bus at all. The internal garage door has a C-Bus button to open and close the garage door which is connected to the M1 (or PLC - I cant remember now) - again, not connected to C-Bus directly.

You need to understand what you want to control first and how you want it to work and then decide if the SHAC will do the job. I have always been a proponent of CQC because it has given me the most flexibility - I have drivers I have written myself to monitor thing like my electric fence (which I can turn on and off from a C-bus switch), but in saying that I have not used a SHAC yet to understand its full capabilities - I dont know if it can control my 5 LG serial controlled TV's, my serial controlled A/C, electric fence, solar inverters, PLC, Home theatre amp, and the list goes on.

 

I was sitting on the fence myself but went with the C4 because I wanted to tie in my AV better and yes there are lots of options with that but as I was able to choose at that point it made the best sense. I do have the benefit of knowing a dealer and being able to become a tech for them so I am able to have full control over my system.