LONDON TOWNHOUSE

LONDON

When the basement plant room of a five-storey London townhouse flooded, the owner decided to have the outdated control system replaced as part of the repair work.

THIS SYSTEM MANAGED THE LIGHTING, MOTORISED BLINDS, SKYLIGHT WINDOWS AND HEATING, BUT WAS UNRELIABLE. IT ALSO USED CUSTOM PROGRAMMING WHICH WAS NO LONGER SUPPORTED, LEAVING THE OWNERS WITHOUT KEY FUNCTIONS.

Loop was briefed to eliminate all reliability issues, without causing any disruption to the house during installation. This meant being realistic about what was still usable, and what had to be replaced.

First, we had to work out what was already there, which was tricky with no access to the original plans or coding documentation. However, after some smart detective work we were able to map it all out and take stock, then plan the perfect solution.

A key decision was to swap out the old system for Lutron Homeworks, to deliver complete flexible control. We also upgraded their connectivity, providing new ultra-performance Wi-Fi and replaced their AV controls with a Control4 solution.

The flood damage already meant a complete overhaul of the plant room was needed, and all keypads and thermostats had to be replaced. However, we were able to salvage and reuse much of the existing infrastructure, such as cabling and fittings, in the main parts of the house.

The end-result was that the homeowners now have a single app interface for all controls via Homeworks, giving them total control of lighting, blinds, heating and air conditioning, and fast, flexible and modern internet and connected AV.

So, we were able to keep to our promise of transforming the system with hardly any upheaval!