17/01/07
Compact Residential Infrastructure System (CRIS)
To address the requirement for greater aesthetic appeal within up-market property developments, electrical accessory manufacturer Hamilton Litestat has adapted its Cheriton Victorian range to provide a bespoke solution for custom installation company Elephant Communications Ltd.
This company uses the Compact Residential Infrastructure System (CRIS) from Aldous Systems (Europe) Ltd to provide fully integrated multi-room audio and entertainment systems within top-end properties. To enable the Cheriton Victorian plate to accommodate the CRIS modules, Hamilton Litestat has made the required modifications to its face plates so that these CRIS modules can be easily clipped into the grid frame.
Over recent years, the lowering costs of custom installation has made home automation and intelligent features much more accessible to the domestic market, bringing ease of use and accessibility to the popular electronic gadgets such as: Hi-Fi systems, DVD Satellite TV and digital radio and the internet etc. Using Cat 5e and WF100 coax cabling, these custom installations are able to fully integrate: lighting, multi-room audio, a full data network, home cinema and an internal telephone network.
According to Robert Barnes, Managing Director of Elephant Communications, "As we deal with very high quality installations, including those in penthouse suites and other luxury homes, we wanted a face plate that would blend with the superior interiors in which our products are featured. As Hamilton Litestat has a very extensive product portfolio of top end wiring accessories, they were able to recommend the Victorian plate from their Cheriton range. This plate had the depth required to accommodate the CRIS 25 x 50 or 50 x 50, 100 x 50 snap-in modules and grid frame, as well as attractive styling along with a high quality satin chrome finish to compliment contemporary styled interiors".
The CRIS modular system, which has been installed by Elephant Communications in a large number of the apartments and luxury town houses within the Grosvenor Quay development at the prestigious Eastbourne marina development in East Sussex, uses the installed structured cabling system to provide very versatile solutions for managing voice, data, TV, audio, IR and lighting within these luxury homes. The CRIS connection modules include impedance matched volume controls, TV/FM/Satellite modules, FM & Digital Radio, Telecom/RJ45 data outlets, banana and phono connectors for speakers etc. Each of these modules can be clipped into the grid frame which is located within Hamilton's modified face plates.
Each custom installation within the Grosvenor Quay development is being utilised, for example, to control the digital sound from radio or CD player throughout the home, enabling users to move seamlessly from one space to another without having their music or radio programme disrupted. It can also be used, for example, to automatically switch the sound between the flat screen televisions, located within the tiled wall of the bathroom or shower room, to the house music system. There is also the capability to define extensions for the digital telephones, thereby enabling users to broadcast messages, or to use the telephone as an intercom system. At the same time the system also creates a wireless reception for Broadband internet services, giving home owners the choice of using their lap-top of computer system anywhere in the home.
The Cheriton Victorian plates have also included customised impedence matched volume controls which are used around the building to allow home owners to adjust the sound transmission levels from the music system to suit their individual requirements in each room.
To conclude Robert said, "When our clients employ our company they expect technical excellence along with products that visually stand out from the crowd. The use of the Cheriton plates has proved ideal for these purposes, as they not only have a high quality finish that suits the contemporary interiors within these new build properties, but also, they have the advantage of being able to match the special plates with Hamilton's standard Cheriton Victorian switches and sockets to create total visual harmony throughout the project."