Did you know that …

• The Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) has investigated 3 recent house fires reported as “smart meter fires” and found all of them were caused by other factors.
  Read more about the MFB’s investigation …
• Around 850,000 Smart Meters have been installed in Victorian homes.
• Most electrical fires are caused by old wiring, old switchboards, overloaded switchboards, or because there is no surge capacitor in the switchboard.

What you need is …

• A switchboard with Residual Current Devices, Safety Switches and Surge Protection.
• Reliable, experienced Electricians to upgrade your switchboard.

Help is only a phone call away

Pick up the phone and call Tim on (03) 9761 8700 to talk about your wiring, smart meter safety concerns or any other electrical matters or click here to send us your enquiry on line.

Read more about ITA’s electrical and lighting services …

Did you know that …

• A well-lit driveway and front path can add to your personal safety.
• Casual burglars are less likely to break into a house with good exterior lighting.
• Linking low voltage garden lighting to a Movement Sensor is an Energy Efficient way to light up shadowy places.
• Some Sensor Lights have options such as a Movement Activated Camera for added security.

What does it cost?

Costs may vary depending on access to your site, length of cable runs, whether you choose halogen, LED or other globes, the style or brand of lighting you choose and a host of other factors. Here’s a guide to starting prices*:

• One Movement Sensor connected to existing lighting from $195.
• Add one Floodlight from $30.
• Add one Robotic Head Sensor Light from $229.
• Add one Robotic Head Sensor Light with a built-in security camera that wirelessly downloads images to your PC from $380.

Call Tim now
for all your lighting needs
9761 8700

or click here to send us your enquiry on line

Read more about ITA’s electrical and lighting services …

Did you know that …

• Low voltage Down Lights are a serious fire risk and cause many house fires each year.
• Insulation installed over Down Lights, Exhaust Fans or Central Heating Units greatly increases the risk of fire.
  Read our article on Killer Down Lights …
• If you don’t have a working Smoke Alarm and a fire occurs:

1. You are 57% more likely to suffer property loss and damage
2. You are 26% more likely to suffer serious injuries
3. You are four times more likely to die

• Smoke from a fire in the roof space is unlikely to trigger your Smoke Alarm.
• Multiple Smoke Alarms can be linked so you can be alerted if a fire starts in another area of your home. Metropolitan Fire Brigade article on Smoke Alarms
• Safety Switches instantly shut off the power when something goes wrong. Energy Safe Victoria article on Safety Switches.
• Cracked Light Switches or Power Points can be a fire hazard.

What you need is peace of mind knowing …

• Your Down Lights have safety hoods.
• Insulation has been cleared away.
• Your Smoke Alarms are working, linked together, hard wired and have fresh batteries.
• Your family is protected by a tested Safety Switch.

Help is only a phone call away

ITA can assist with FREE, PLAIN ENGLISH advice. If you have any questions, please call to speak with a licensed Electrician.

Your assessment will include a 10 point Fire & Electrical Safety Check covering …

• Down Light installation
• Ceiling insulation
• Smoke Alarms with FREE battery replacement
• Safety Switches
• Light Switches and Power Points

You will receive a written report detailing our findings and any recommendations.

Call us today on (03) 9761 8700
to book your Fire & Electrical Safety Check
or click here to send us your enquiry on line

Read more about ITA’s electrical and lighting services …

What you will need …

… a digital TV or set top box
… a digital-capable antenna system

Help is only a phone call away

ITA can help with FREE, PLAIN ENGLISH advice. We have all the skills and knowledge to rectify any reception difficulties and have your system Digital Ready.

For more information call us now on

9761 8700

Seasons Greeting from all the team at ITA. Thank you for all your support throughout 2010. We wish you a safe and prosperous New Year.

ITA will be closed from Friday 23rd December 2010 and will return on Monday 10th January 2011.

The current and future importance of having an intelligent home should never be underestimated.

As we become more reliant on technology for simple things such as shopping, banking and gathering news, smart home technologies extend further into our lives than many of us are aware.

Many people building a new home or renovating an existing one understand the importance of installing a data network system, security system, lighting system and audio visual systems but may be unsure how to integrate and implement it.

With a little specialist advice, many of these systems can be further developed to integrate with each other and provide added functionality that can make the home more intelligent.

Having an intelligent home has many benefits including the ability to effectively manage energy consumption and therefore lowering your energy bills.

At ITA we ourselves on our expertise in all areas of home integration and energy solutions. We provide a detailed service to architects, designers and builders that allows professionals to take control of their project and leave the technology to us without a need to contract multiple trades. ITA can design, project manage and install all systems integrated into a modern building.

Many home owners are at least vaguely aware of home technologies, knowing that they need to implement these technologies somehow. With a little foresight and knowledge, ITA can help the home owner move forward with getting the technology components of the home just right and making them simple to use.

We are fortunate in Australia to have large open spaces and an environment that has reasonably predictable weather patterns and large periods of time where the sun shines bright and hot.

With the natural resource of the sun so consistently available we can take advantage of the environment and capture this ‘free’ energy.

In Victoria, almost all of our electricity comes from coal-fired power stations which themselves are not very efficient and produce considerable pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Solar can be used in a number of ways. Solar panels can capture the energy of the Sun which can then be converted into electricity by an invertor. Once converted into useable electricity a home can use it, store it, or return it to the ‘grid’ for consumption by others.

If you choose to use the converted electricity as it is collected by the solar panels, the energy can only be used during peak sunlight periods as the panels only collect energy when the sun is at its full intensity. This means that grid supplied electricity is required when it becomes dark or overcast.

If you choose to store the converted electricity, a bank of batteries is required which can be both costly and take up a lot of space. By storing energy in batteries, you consume your own electricity with the batteries being charged throughout the day.

With both of these options, any excess energy produced by the solar panels that is not being self consumed can be returned into the power grid typically resulting in the energy company providing you with a credit on your electricity bill.

With the right number of solar panels and effective measures provided to ensure you have a highly efficient home, it is certainly possible to have electricity energy bills that are nil.

Integrated Technologies Australia is approved by the Clean Energy Council of Australia to design and install solar systems. ITA provides clients with an energy audit, calculating your current energy usage and a suitable system that will harness the Sun’s energy and greatly reduce your energy cost.

Without a doubt, solar panels and systems do cost money and can be quite expensive. The important thing to realise is that a quality solar system is an investment that will quickly pay for itself as you are not reliant on consuming the Earth’s natural resources that cannot be quickly or easily renewed.

For a no obligation quotation, ITA can visit your home, view your current electricity bill and recommend where to go from there with a comprehensive report and proposal.

Call us now on 03 9761 8700 to find out how to lower your energy costs.

At the CEDIA Expo 2010 held recently in Melbourne, ITA once again figured prominently as award winners.

With submissions in three different categories, ITA received a Highly Commended award in the category of Best Integrated Home Installation under $150,000.

We were also proud to be finalists in the Best Integrated Home Installation category between $150,000 – $300,000 and Best Domestic Special Project for Energy Efficiency Excellence.

For the second year in a row, ITA was the winner of the Best Industry Website award for our website that provides clients with clear information on what we do and the benefits of being and using a CEDIA member.

We would like to thank our clients for their time and permission in allowing us to having their beautiful homes photographed and submitted for the awards.

Home automation technology is making life easier and saving money, reports  Zinta Jurjans Heard from The Sunday Age.

It’s as though there is a butler who is never seen, or a housekeeper who is invisible, but there are no wages to be paid — thanks to technology. This status symbol is so discreet, it’s invisible; a house that quietly serves, the truly smart home.

Architectural firm SJB recently completed the ultimate coast house, a gorgeously sleek contemporary sanctuary with a heart of gold. By the time the owners arrive from town, their house is already purring along, warm and welcoming.

SJB director Tony Battersby describes the interaction: “Our clients dial up the landscape lighting, the heating, and have the music going from their mobile phone connection as they head to the house.”

Now that even mass-market housing has taken on stylish designer looks, it’s smart technology that separates the haves and have-nots. The haves never need worry about cold towels — the house has switched on the rails to the desired temperature. They needn’t water the garden, clean the pool, draw the blinds or fossick through an unsightly stack of CDs — the Sonos multi-room music system can bring in more than 2 million digitally stored albums and 16,000 internet radio stations. Each room can groove to its own beat.

The owners of the SJB coast house don’t waste their precious time driving from beach to beach hunting for the best surf; they dial-up on their touch pad to see the quality of waves on offer from a camera feed of surf around the coast. Home automation systems have benefited from “radical advances”, Mr Battersby says, citing “smart” glass with coatings to minimise transference loss,reduce glare and improve views.

Automated blinds can beprogrammed to retract in high winds,rain sensors can close windows, and heating and cooling costs can be minimised through automation. “The advances are wonderful, environmentally,” he says.

Technology also gives great freedom and flexibility to designers. “You walk into a room where there’s music playing but no speakers to be seen, they are so well hidden in the plasterwork,” Mr Battersby says. The main bedroom suite in the coast house has panoramic windows to take in the amazing views across to Western Port Bay, he explains. You wouldn’t want to interrupt such scenery with a television screen, so it retracts into the ceiling when not in use.

In the home theatre, a single touch-screen remote allows total control from the comfort of the sofa. It activates all entertainment sources, allows you to adjust heating and cooling, tweak window furnishings so the light is just right, and if there is a knock on the front door, you can see on the remote who’s outside and open the door without moving. It’s the butler you have when there’s no butler.

The switched-on house is being delivered by a profession that has emerged in the past decade: integrators who design the systems to deliver the best of what’s available. The SJB coast house set-up was the product of Richmond based Lifestyle Technologies & Design.

Lifestyle general manager Jeremy Gomo says the company works with architects from the start of a project, consulting on system designs, calculating load demands and devising electrical layouts that can be incorporated into builder quotes. His crews also handle the installations.

Mr Gomo says the surge in interest in the kinds of systems his company builds comes from the lifestyle choices they embrace. And the good news is that prices are coming down. “It was quite expensive initially,” he says. “Now the products are more affordable.”

Integrated Technologies Australia can also design and install smart-home systems. ITA’s Simon Lakey says the functionality of new products such as the iPhone and iPad are proving affordably popular with clients. The smart house is indeed clever, he says. It can be programmed to know it’s late July, it’s dark, so the lights should be on, and it’s cold so the heating should kick in.

For people who want the bene?ts of these technologies in their new homes, it is vital that they “get in early, even before preliminary plans have been drawn for a house”, Mr Lakey says. “Because it’s all about the cabling in the walls. Retro-fits ts are more of a challenge. It’s hard to get the cabling from A to B without making holes in the walls.” For existing houses, a wireless system is another option.

According to Jeff Salton, a public relations consultant with the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), automation is about controlling our little part of the world, even when we are not there. “The industry has been helped by the internet,” he says. “You can check on a web cam to see what’s happening at home. Open the door for a delivery on line, watch it take place, and lock the door afterwards.”

Mr Salton also recommends planning for future needs, such as installing wiring in a new building. “Upgrades are easy — it’s just a matter of reprogramming — idle wires can be put to use,” he says. The bottom line? “Automation is about 3 to 5 per cent of the cost of building the home,” he says.

“The drivers of home automation are convenience, comfort, security and enhanced entertainment,” says Simon Wehr, marketing manager with Clipsal. “Automation should make life simpler.”

Clipsal’s C-Bus systems are the market leaders in such lifestyle automation technology, gaining experience in projects such as the Sydney Olympics and Opera House, the MCG, Wembley Stadium in London and numerous international hotel chains.

Mr Wehr praises the technology for what he calls “the flexibility to bring the most out in a design”. For a function such as controlling lighting, it enhances a building and banishes what he calls “wall acne” — light switches, wall sockets, thermostats and the like. “Aesthetics is a big part — designers would prefer nothing on the walls. Now at least it’s not plasticky,” he says.

A more practical benefit of smart-home technology is the potential to save money. Automation can help save energy by making sure the house is working as efficiently as possible, Mr Wehr says. “Your home will learn how to live with you. It will automatically and on schedule turn power on and off, it will know to turn on appliances when the tariffs are at their lowest. In future, energy management will be total as we see on screen how much energy is being used and what’s chewing it up.”

Demand for automation is also spreading beyond the luxury home market, Mr Wehr says. “The only thing holding the industry back is the number of quality installers.”

He also emphasises his belief that “technology in the home must be done by a specialist. It’s critical to deliver customer expectations, and the customer has the right to get the best from their investment.”

The C-Bus-approved installation program is called pointOne. Mr Salton’s CEDIA refers people to certified integrators and installers.

It has only taken a couple of years for advanced mobile devices such as the Apple iPhone to become an everyday part of many of our lives. The humble telephone has evolved to become a fully interactive hand held device allowing communication, information, navigation, gaming and many other uses.

In the case of Apple’s offering, the almost buttonless device is controlled by a range of hand and finger gestures that include swiping and pinching to achieve a task.

The new Apple iPad provides another category of products that fills a space between the laptop computer and mobile phone. The iPad, like the iPhone is also a buttonless device with an impressive 10 inch interactive screen that will heighten the experience currently found on the iPhone.

The large screen provides  ideal functionality for reading formatted newspapers, interactive magazines and books with Apple looking set to revolutionise print media as they did with music. The ability to download and view movies, television shows, photos and other visual media to a simple to use, affordable and portable device will add to the flexibility and desirability of the Apple iPad.

For building automation and sustainable energy usage, look forward to seeing a range of applications that together with third party devices and interfaces will be able to fully control a home automation system and entertainment components such as home theatre systems and televisions.

Integrated Technologies Australia has designed and implemented many homes and systems that incorporate the use of new technologies such as the iPhone and iPad for system control. Contact us now to find out how to give you more control at your fingertips.