Many people may have seen this already in shows the like the “BLOCK” and it is not just a gimmick but a reality. Voice control can be achieved several ways but our preferred method is currently using the Amazon range of products like Alexa and Dot. While these are not readily available in Australia they can be purchased and set up to work in Australia quite easily.

They do not work on their own in the native C-Bus world but do work In conjunction with certain C-Bus products you may have installed already. It can also work in conjunction with PUSH control systems and RTI’s range of XP processors which we are big fans of.

One of the big reasons we are fans of RTI is their suite or compatible products such as LCD touchscreen remote controls, hard button remote controls, panel interfaces for apple and android phones and tables plus their own range of touchscreens. RTI is a very successful company focusing on control products and their gear is a well-designed and a quality product that works great.  RTI also works very nicely when connected to Clipsal C-bus home automation products offer 2 wayfeed back and control. Two wayfeed back means that if the switch is showing that it is “on” with C-bus, it will show that it is “on” within RTI, say on your ipad running the RTi software app.

One other nice thing is that if we have an RTI touchscreen remote or ipadthat is controlling your AV gear, we can even dedicate a button on a Cbus switch to turn on the TV or have volume controls on the Cbus switch. Now add voice control and you can then say,” turn on the kitchen lights” or “turn off the TV” etc.

The Amazon Alexa is a very intuitive product that easily understand accents and voice types. Recent testing we did saw it respond just as well to an adult voice or to a 6 year old childs voice. It also makes a great little Bluetooth speaker. Once you have the Alexa app installed, there are many options for adding “skills” or “apps” to your Alexa.

Even straight out of the box and once connected to your network, Alexa can do some really helpful things. I know one thing I like is to be able to set a timer with my voice when cooking while leaving my food covered hands free. Another great one is creating shopping lists that you can share between you and your partner. Just call out “ Alexa can you add milk to my shopping list” and its done. It appears straight into your Alexa app list or even links to other well-known app lists that you may share with your partner.

Some people may think it is all a gimmick, and I did at first but as you get into It, it is really quite a clever and useful device. You do keep thinking of more ideas of how you can use it. I could easily see another few of these around my house.

The Clipsal C-Bus home automation system is a very powerful well proven product and so are products from RTI such as their remote controls and XP range of processors. Add the Amazon Alexa and you really add value and further usefulness to what you already. On top of that there is added  “cool” factor to your current home automation and AV control system.

Well it’s about what it can do for you that normal electrical wiring cannot do. If those things though are of no interest to you, then you don’t need and shouldn’t have such a system. Many jobs we go to done by others have the Cbus unfortunately as just a very expensive light switch or dimmer with not other smart functions programmed into the system. What I would like to explain are some of the benefits and things you can do with a C-Bus home automation system.

This is one of the most popular features of a Cbus home automation system. But what is a “scene”? A scene is one of those new words within our industry that I would describe as one button press doing multiple different things. Let’s look at some of the scenes we typically do and some of the scenes I have in my house.

Working scene  or at Home. – At home I have a scene called working located on my C-Bus colour in wall touchscreen and it was simply the button my wife would hit once she was home with the kids from school. 15 years on, this scene is not used much anymore.  In our household back then however, my wife would be making dinner and helping the kids with their homework as they sat around the family room table. Our kitchen and family room have 7 separate switched groups of lights. She wanted all the lights on so the room was fully bright so instead of turning on 7 different switches, she only had to touch one switch/button to activate all lights to 100%. All lights at full brilliance for cooking and doing homework under.

Going Upstairs Scene or Relaxing  – After dinner and homework it’s time to relax. At our house that means going upstairs to watch TV and downstairs is not really being used much. One button press and the stairwell wall lights come on, the hallway lights come on at a dimmed level, the downlights in the TV/Home theatre room come on at a very dimmed level, the main kitchen lights over the work areas all go off, dining table lights go off, and the range hood light provides a gentle glow over the bench top as well dimmed pendants over the island bench. One wall light is left on in the family room. This scene sets the upstairs level ready to watch TV with subtle mood lighting, it’s easy to see for going up and down the  stair case, there is subtle lighting in the kitchen for a venture to the fridge or pantry to grab something to eat. People can easily walk around but there are no common areas lighting on at 100%.

Goodnight scene – the night is over and its time for bed. This is my most used scene every night of the week. Instead of running around the house and turning off lights and lamps, one simple button is programmed as a goodnight scene. This turns some areas off instantly and other areas that are on dimmers ramp off over a pre set period of time. Any outside lights that have been left on now go off. The lights around me are programmed to take a bit longer to turn off than others further away, the niche near the kids hallway is left on to give some light to negotiate the hallway and stairs if needed. I have this switch located at the entrance to my bedroom. Next to my bed I have another switch that simply ramps off the bedroom light which has already been preset to dim at only 20% to ramp off slowly to nothing over 20 secs allowing me to get settled into bed.

Outside scene or Panic scene – So you are woken up with a noise during the night and the dog is barking.  One button next to your bed is programmed to turn every light on outside. Normally those lights are independently switched over 9 switches and a sensor for the floodlights but when I press this scenes button,  all my outside lights come on in the hope of startling anyone who is out there and also allows me to be able to look easily out of any window and into the yard to see what is happening.

Entertaining scene – people are coming over for a dinner party. One button press turns on all the outside garden lighting, the hallways and stairs come on at dimmed levels, the entry lights are dimmed to 60%, kitchen work areas are on at 80% but main kitchen floor area is off, decorative wall lights and table lamps are turned on, lighting in feature niches, over artwork and features like stone walls are turned on partly dimmed. Formal dining area is dimmed to just 40% of maximum. Again just one button press sets the house up for all of this.

Art scene- this one is just like it says. Instead of turning on individual switches for art works, pictures, glass cabinets, stone walls, niches, and maybe table lamps, this scene is a simple one button press that turns on all those lovely features you have incorporated into your house.

The number and choice of scenes is really up to your imagination. We haven’t even talked about other items in the house that are not lighting but can be incorporated into scenes. For example in the goodnight scene the TVs in the house are all turned off. The system checks if the garage door or gates are open and closes them, the alarm is set to partial arm so the downstairs and garage areas are activated.

Clipsal C-Bus can do all this but try to do this easily with traditional wiring. If you like the sound of  scenes then maybe Clipsal Cbus might be your thing as well.

Next time we will look at “schedules” in your home automation system.