Along with leading environmental developer, Heritage Pacific, and a host of sponsors and government organisations, Gold Coast City Council has developed Innovation House 2 (IH2). This high tech, eco friendly home is currently showcasing the very latest in digital and sustainable living. Like the first Innovation House, a high tech unit open to the public free of charge for nine months, IH2 offers a glimpse of the future of digital living in a domestic environment.
Located in the Gold Coast’s growth corridor of Coomera, IH2 is within Australia’s first large scale, fully integrated water sustainable community.
Gold Coast’s Deputy Mayor, David Power, said digital living opens up a world of entertainment and opportunities to work from home, while the latest smart and green appliances make life easier. “The ‘smarter’ home features full automation of security and entertainment with automated motorised windows and doors, a Voice IP phone for video conferencing, wireless sound throughout the home and the very latest in home entertainment technology,” he said.
Digital living begins with a fast connection to the outside world to meet telecommunications, entertainment and home office needs. Through fibre optic cabling, IH2 delivers high speed broadband access, providing the home with a standard phone line, fast ADSL connection and Pay TV all at the same time.
The home is fully automated through a Clipsal C-Bus ‘central nervous system’, connected to smart wired appliances and devices. Among other things, blinds can be programmed to come down when the sun streams in, louvers to open to let in the afternoon breeze, lights to dim when the plasma TV is turned on, appliances to switch off when the door is locked and fans to start circulating air just before the owner arrives home.
The home automation in IH2 also includes full lighting programmability and integrates state of the art security through Telstra’s Fortress system. The Fortress system enables surveillance inside and outside the home over the internet from anywhere in the world.
For further information contact Council’s Project Manager, David Potts, on (07) 5581 7730, or visit the IH2 website at www.ih2.com.au for more information on products and technologies.
