Downlights and power points plan

[thisisme]

Mr Thisisme has draw up the powerpoints, downlights etc plan. I'd love to know what you all think. Both about the number of each and location.
1PP stands for single power point and 2PP is double.

Your advice and feedback are always greatly appreciated :love it:

Downstairs:
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/1377/ppanddownlightground.jpg

Upstairs:
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/7118/downlightsandppupstairs.jpg

[thisisme]

What I am thinking of is adding a power point in the walk through robe just in case I ever decide to blowdry/straighten my hair there. Not that I would need to because there is plenty of room in the ensuite... :S

What do you think?

[thisisme]

Oh, I'm also thinking of adding a single powerpoint inside the vanity, as in on the wall but underneath the benchtop, that way I could keep my hair drier plugged in and in the drawer all the time, without having to take out the cable each time...

And I'd probably need a power point in the pantry (underneath the staircase).

[Julie-Ann]

Portico - great
Garage -
have you planned 4 downlights for there? I would put a large fluoro tube instead.
I would add a triple power point to the front of the garage. 1 point will be used for the reticulation system And others for when doing electrical work out the front.
Are they speakers in the garage:D?
Foyer -
I would add another downlight near the Sitting Room doors.
I would also have a light in the Cbus cupboard so you can see easily in there.
Powder Room-
Are you having a light and fan unit in there?
Cinema- is great
Sitting/ Dining -
you could probably do without 2 of those downlights and space the others further apart.
I would put a 2PP on the right side of the dining area as well. I didn't & had it done later.
Stairs -
Have you thought about having lights just above floor level going up the stairs. Very stylish & safe
Kitchen -
I agree about the pantry space.
I would take 1 of the 2PP away from the back wall and add to the left side of the island.
Gym- looks great but depends where the desk is going.
Bathroom downstairs - great
Laundry -
Have you allowed for power for you washing machine/dryer and if you do an ironing set up?
Family Room - great
Meals -
Maybe add a downlight either side of the fan (but past the blades so it doesn't flicker when the fan is on)
Alfresco- great.
Garden- have you allowed for PP outside in your garden? For pond pumps and outdoor lighting and when using electrical equipment out the back?
Top of stairs - great
Master Bedroom -
I'm not sure about the 2 downlights against the right wall. Are they there for something specific?
WIR & Ensuite - great
Agree 2PP in wardrobe
You can leave h/dryer plugged in for convenience but apparently leaving appliances plugged in adds to the electric bill. And with this size house it will be a big bill.
Main Bathroom & Toilet - great
Minor Bedrooms - great
My only suggestion would be to have the downlights near the robes as ones that can angle, so you can angle them towards the robes. I wish I had done this. The angled downlights have a larger rim so you would need to get the fixed downlights in these rooms to match.
Upstairs linen -
is there a light in there?

By the way have you checked with the electric company that the transformer near you is big enough to fire up this house?

I hope this helps:)

[thisisme]

Thank you so much for that Julie-Ann :love it:
You would get along with Mr thisisme so well. You are both all about upgrading, and never reducing and downgrading :p

[thisisme]

Garage -
have you planned 4 downlights for there? I would put a large fluoro tube instead.
I would add a triple power point to the front of the garage. 1 point will be used for the reticulation system And others for when doing electrical work out the front.
Are they speakers in the garage?

I did once suggest a fluoro tube in the garage but I can’t remember what his reasoning behind downlights was. What argument should I use to try and get him to swap downlights for a fluoro tube? Yes, he really wants speakers in the garage *rollseyes*. They will be in the ceiling though :)

Foyer -
I would add another downlight near the Sitting Room doors.

Tick
I would also have a light in the Cbus cupboard so you can see easily in there.

Good point!

Powder Room-
Are you having a light and fan unit in there?

Hmmm. Probably not. I guess we need some downlights there as well :)

Sitting/ Dining -
you could probably do without 2 of those downlights and space the others further apart.
I would put a 2PP on the right side of the dining area as well. I didn't & had it done later.

Tick

Stairs -
Have you thought about having lights just above floor level going up the stairs. Very stylish & safe

Ah yes. Mr thisisme wants those but not sure why he didn’t include them in his plan. He originally wanted an LED light on EACH step :S but I said it was overly excessive and that one for every second or third step would be fine. What do you think?

Kitchen -
I would take 1 of the 2PP away from the back wall and add to the left side of the island.

Tick

Gym- looks great but depends where the desk is going.

Good point. It would probably be best to move the pp on the window wall to the bottom left corner. What do you think?

Laundry -
Have you allowed for power for you washing machine/dryer and if you do an ironing set up?

Excellent point!!!

Meals -
Maybe add a downlight either side of the fan (but past the blades so it doesn't flicker when the fan is on)

Tick

Garden- have you allowed for PP outside in your garden? For pond pumps and outdoor lighting and when using electrical equipment out the back?

Thank you!!! Will discuss with my MR.

Master Bedroom -
I'm not sure about the 2 downlights against the right wall. Are they there for something specific?

We had an idea of a bulkhead on that wall (above the bed), but not sure about that any more since we would need lamps anyway.

Upstairs linen -
is there a light in there?

Turns out this will be a c-bus hub :( but good point about the light :)

By the way have you checked with the electric company that the transformer near you is big enough to fire up this house?

LOL. It’s not that bad is it?
We’ve actually got three-phase power so a/c, lighting etc will be spread across different phases.

[thisisme]

Do you think there are too many downlights in the kitchen?
We are also having downlights underneath the cabinets against the wall.

Also, if we decide to go with pendant lighting over the island, being a 4m island, would you recommend 3 or 4?

[Julie-Ann]

Oh no MrThisisme would definitely not like me - I would remove 70% of his precious speakers:D

Garage - From what I understand fluoros give a stronger light and last longer. I am off to the lighting shop today so will check that with my expert.

Powder room - I wasn't sure what the symbol in that room was for but yes you will need a light in there. Maybe a small chandelier:D

Stairs - yes every 3rd step is more than fine. MrThisisme is cracking me up with his excessive ways:D

Gym - which wall is the desk going on?

Main Bedroom - I would do lamps as you have more flexibility.

Kitchen - no I like the number of lights and the placing of them here.
With the pendants on the island it depends on the size of the pendant as to how many. Any thoughts on what you want to put here.

Electric Company - it is a good sized house with a lot of electrics going on. Are you building in a new or old suburb?

[thisisme]

Oh no MrThisisme would definitely not like me - I would remove 70% of his precious speakers:D

Ohhh. Do tell :)

Would you remove all the bedroom ones?

[thisisme]

If we decide to go with pendant lights over the island they will most probably be something like this, as these are the only ones I've seen and liked :(

http://www.decoratingforum.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=1375&d=1281325352

[thisisme]

Re: gym

If we have a desk on the door wall, do you think there would be enough room for a double bed in there somewhere?

[thisisme]

We are in an old suburb. Is that good or bad in terms of electricity?

[thisisme]

Re: garage light

Do you know if fluoro lights are compatible with c-bus? I have a feeling that's the reason Mr thisisme decided not to go with it. Because we want to be able to remotelly turn the lights on and off, also there will be a sensor so that when the panel door is open the light will go on automatically...

[Julie-Ann]

I would remove the speakers from the minor bedrooms but I would add them to the gym. Unless he spends a lot of time in the garage I wouldn't have them there. Hasn't the man heard of portable radios:D?
Tjose pendants look like they are about 30cm wide so probably 4 would be good for a 4 mt island.
With the gym what are the measurements of the room. Why would you have a double bed in the gym?

Being an older suburb is bad. I would contact the electricity company to ask about the transformer. I live in an older suburb where in 2 suburb blocks all the old houses were knocked down and 3 big houses were added on each block of land. We had so many power problems and so many appliances were fried by surges. My electrician put in expensive surge protectors in the meter box which helped. But the power was always going out - which was kind of fun as we all would get together and have a street party until the power came back on:D. One night the transformer in the street finally blew up. We had our very own fireworks display:D. Since they put in the new transformer no problems.
I have known very big 800m2 houses have had to pay a lot of money to get the transformers on their street upgraded. I don't think you will have to do that though - I hope not.

[thisisme]

I know what you mean Julie-Ann. He said he want's speakers in the garage for when he is detailing the cars. And I said, but can't you just turn the car on and listen to the music that way? But no, this man does not like compromising. Ughh.

Re: pendant lights
So you don't think even numbers are bad in a decorating sense?

The gym is around 4.2m x 3m. I'd like to be able to fit a bed in there just we have to have an elderly person stay with us temporarily, or in case one of us breaks a leg or someting.

We did actually have issues with electricity when Mr thisisme was using his super heavy duty welder and other machinery while working on structural steel. It kept cutting out or something like that. But the electricity company came and fixed it.

[rosierose]

IMO downlights are a very harsh light and very expensive to run.....Think about lamps and maybe some wall lights. Have you ever sat in a room with down lights on...you don't usually have them all on because it can be really harsh..we had then in last house and were always using lamps because we didn't want to be blinded. If you can put some on seperate switches in larger rooms as you don't want all on at once.
In saying that i have not looked at your plan in detail so maybe you don't have too many..I will look again but just wanted to make this point...

[Julie-Ann]

It appears MrThisisme is right the fluoro won't work with the Cbus.
If you put a bed on the wall that backs the kitchen and the desk on the wall which faces the bathroom - it should all fit. I would suggest a sofa bed so it only uses the space when needed.
If the electricity company have been out already then no need to worry.
I agree with Rosierose we have our downlights on several switches and many on dimmers as well.
If you want to put up where the light switches are I will be happy to check over that too:).

[Abigail]

We have our downlights in groups on separate switches and also lots of dimmers. I don't want so many downlights this time and will look at hanging lights with lamps. I find the downlights very harsh. The only time we have had them on all together was when the Estate agent turned them on. They seem to like lots of light.

[Julie-Ann]

I actually like all my downlights as I like really strong light when I want it. I have a pendant light in the kitchen which is the one used the majority of the time as that is softer. I would have preferred a pendant in the dining room. We also use lamps at time. But I like having all the different options:)

[thisisme]

IMO downlights are a very harsh light and very expensive to run.....Think about lamps and maybe some wall lights. Have you ever sat in a room with down lights on...you don't usually have them all on because it can be really harsh..we had then in last house and were always using lamps because we didn't want to be blinded. If you can put some on seperate switches in larger rooms as you don't want all on at once.
In saying that i have not looked at your plan in detail so maybe you don't have too many..I will look again but just wanted to make this point...

We both like downlights but I know what you mean about them being expensive to run. We hope to replace all the globes with LED ones in the near future.

All our downlights/lights will be dimmable so we will be able to control how bright they are etc.

[thisisme]

It appears MrThisisme is right the fluoro won't work with the Cbus.
If you put a bed on the wall that backs the kitchen and the desk on the wall which faces the bathroom - it should all fit. I would suggest a sofa bed so it only uses the space when needed.
If the electricity company have been out already then no need to worry.
I agree with Rosierose we have our downlights on several switches and many on dimmers as well.
If you want to put up where the light switches are I will be happy to check over that too:).

Thanks for checking that :love it:

And if you could check our light switches I would be very grateful :)

[thisisme]

Re: switches

We are having a few different types of switches

DLT will be in all the living areas and bedrooms:
http://www2.clipsal.com/cis/__data/page/428/5085DL,GF2.jpg

And these will be in wet areas:
2GKS stands for 2 gang
http://www.whomedigital.com.au/images/saturn%20switch.jpg

CTS stands for colour touchscreen:
http://www.faradaygroup.com.au/media/40-cbus-touchscreen.jpg

And BWTC stands for black and white touchscreen, which is exactly the same as the one above but it's black and white and doesn't use as much electricity to run.

[clp]

Wow my head is boggling with your light and power options - way too hi tech for me to think about.

[thisisme]

Me too clp :(
I still don't know what everything is for, c-bus is insane. There are just way too many options and ways you can program the switches :(

[Julie-Ann]

Gorgeous I love those switches. Do you have a plan that shows which switches turn on which lights? This way I can check if you have enough 2-way and 3-way switches set up.:)

[thisisme]

Thank you Julie-Ann :)

I think all those switched can be programmed to turn on all the lights. I will check with Mr t.

[rosierose]

OMG.............sound great................as u know hubby is an electrician and he was talking about all this but I just want him to make there be no cables for tv, dvd player etc..... and the other powerpoints I want to be basic run of mill......I figure if it is too complicated I will not use it.....

You may use it all but I find as with all technology I don't use all the functions available (on my phone, ipod..etc...) and besides do not have the budget for this............

[thisisme]

I get your point rosierose and completelly agree :)

Mr T is in the home automation industry and he gets all this stuff for next to nothing. That's the only reason we are getting this stuff :)

[Julie-Ann]

I have no experience with Cbus I'm afraid. But can't you also turn the lights on manually? I was talking to someone the other day who's bathroom 3in1 fan system was by remote. The problem was they can't find the remote at the moment:eek:. Anyway if there is a plan let me know- always happy to help:)

[thisisme]

Not sure which lights you are referring to Julie-Ann, but all our lights will be turned on/off manually, as in by pressing a button. We won't have a remote for the 3in1 fan system, just the standard sort of thing.

Also, Mr T just informed me that with c-bus everything is linkable to everything, as in you can program any switch to control any light in the house. There is a maximum of 8 programmable options per DLT, but with touch screens you can have as many options as you like. It's all very confusing :S

[Julie-Ann]

That's brilliant - I love the flexibility of it:thumbs up:

[thisisme]

Mr T is a bit of a show off, and wants to put the touch screens where they will be seen (but also where they would be handy to have).

On the plans we've currently got a colour one in the kitchen, next to the fridge, a black and white one in the foyer, and another colour one upstairs, the first thing you see when you go up the stairs. Do you think these are the best spots for those (for both showing off and functionality purposes)?

[Julie-Ann]

Lol men and their toys:D.
Actually from a functionality point of view I think they are good locations. And they won't be missed by visitors either:thumbs up:

[thisisme]

Wooo hooo!
Win-win!

Thanks Julie-Ann :)

[thisisme]

Mr thisisme has gone nuts with downlights and has updated the plans. I will post them later tonight.

Ughh

[thisisme]

I've modified the plan :) I deleted a couple of downlights in our portico only leaving two. I've also removed two downlights from in between the dining and sitting room. I've noticed that Mr Thisisme added a downlights above each vanity in main bathrooms. Would getting those adjustable downlights and pointing them towards the mirror improve the ligthing at all or would this be bad?

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/8949/groundfloorwiring.png

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/8489/topfloorwiring.png

[Julie-Ann]

Ok here we go again:):

Garage - the 2 downlights at the front I would move closer to the centre so the light is spread more evenly. When the garage door is up and they are covered the garage door light will be on. But when it is down the garage door light won't be on and the 2 downlights are very far apart and there might be shadows in the middle.

Stairs - what are the 4 lights just right of the stairs?

Meals - I would put 4 downlights here beyond the reach of the fan blades.

Foyer - Is there a powerpoint in the foyer near the dining or sitting area?

Everything else looks great:thumbs up:

[thisisme]

Thank you once again :)

We've now sorted out the garage and meals. Mr Thisisme seems to think that we might not be able to sqeese a powerpoint in the foyer near sitting area, will need to check that.

Re: stairs. I think that might be LED lights on the steps :)

[thisisme]

Julie-Ann, do you think the switch (labelled DLT) in the sitting room, on the left of the foyer, is best placed where it is in the plans or on the other side of the doors? Considering this will be double doors I think it will be awkward getting to the switch... as you would need to shut the door in order to get to it. Or should we make the doors open the outwards?

[Julie-Ann]

It does look awkward- what switches will be there?

[thisisme]

C-bus switch (for lighting/audio/fan/ac)

[Julie-Ann]

I think the doors are opening the right way. But yes this is a very awkward spot. You should avoid having to move a door to turn on a light. Can it move a little more to the right?

[thisisme]

As in move the switch more to the right, as close to the door as possible?

[Julie-Ann]

No I meant move the DLT further in to the Sitting room along that wall. So it isn't behind the door.

[thisisme]

Oh I get it. The only thing... there will be a tv unit along that wall, but I guess tv units aren't that deep so it shouldn't be a problem to reach it. Thanks for that :)

[Julie-Ann]

Depends on what size TV your hubby is thinking of. My mind boggles as to what Mr Excessive could be planning:D:D. But I think it will be an easier place to access it easily.

[thisisme]

LOL. We won't be buying any new TVs any time soon :)

I will ask him to move the switch so it can be reached even when the door is fully opened :)