I have been tinkering with some home automation...i am glad i didnt jump in with both feet...man there are a lot of options.

So what i plan to do is go through the process set by step....learn as i go.

Starting with the power supply ...no power no automation.

What do we need to start... firstly we need to decide what we are going to connect to the circuit and how long will it run the system

What are we gona need.

A solar panel
An inverter (pure sine wave)
A battery or 2
A circuit with blue dedicated plugs for the essential services only.

the next step is to decide what is going to be regarded as essential services...so that we can decide on the power requirements

The gate...which has a battery backup (but will also be on the circuit for additional backup)
The garage Door (also has a backup battery ...but because the motor is run from the battery...it just needs a charge.)
The adsl/fibre router.
The alarm system (also has a backup battery ...so just power to the charger will be required.)
The outside security lights will also be on the dedicated circuit.
The CCTV system (no backup battery at this point)
The TV and lite box.
An led light in each room which can be activated via the alarm app...(controlled via a central relay system...which can be manually bypassed if the system fails)
Door locks which will also have dead bolts which can be manually opened with a key.

All the lights around the house will be operated via the alarm PIR sensors and day/night sensors.

Things i need to take into consideration:

The location of the system to prevent long cable runs.

Roof space and heat... I am considering building a small room/cabinet in the ceiling space to house all the equipment ...taking into account the 50 temp at midday...so thermal insulation around the space... then ventilation.

type of equipment to use...for example do i just stick to a standard router or do i split it : a dedicated router - switches/poe switches - WiFi access points etc


Time to go to work ...to be continued.

Some of the biggest challenges will be trying to find SABS certified equipment.