Wentworth Estate, one of the U.K.’s most prestigious residential areas, was founded in the 1920’s around the first ever Ryder Cup and world famous Wentworth Golf Club. Steeped in early 20th century history with Neo-Georgian style and colonial revival architecture, Wentworth Estate is home to some of the most spectacular residences in the world.
One of these residences belongs to Nigel D. Taee, who, with his wife, four children, and live-in housekeeping staff, sought to create an easy means of room-to-room and floor-to-floor communications. To transform his historic home into a showcase of modern technology, he consulted with Rupert Greatwood of U.K.-based integration firm South Anston Ltd. to provide a central means of control for his smart home. To serve as the central hub of communication, Greatwood relied on the ELAN Entertainment & Control System with ELAN Intercom functionality.
“This 11,000 square-foot home was already equipped with modern technology, such as automated gate control and game stations, but it lacked a centralized means of control,” Greatwood said. “The existing A/V control system was old, and therefore could not provide the Taee family with the hardware and software compatibility that they required to connect with each other. That’s why we decided to uproot the old system and install an ELAN gSC10 Controller to serve as the control center for existing components, such as gate security, and new components that we installed, such as multi-room audio, climate control and lighting control.”
According to Taee, his previous system was difficult to manage because each technological element had a different means of control. He wanted to combine all of his smart home control into one convenient and consistent interface. “It was our priority to centralize all of our homes' functionality, while also creating an entirely new inter-home network of communication,” Taee said.
To connect the entire family to each other — regardless of what floor they are on or room they are in — Greatwood installed 16 in-wall ELAN gTP7 touchpanels. Each of the 16 touchpanels is programmed to control the home’s automated Lutron Lighting, 11-zone AC climate control, extensive multi-room audio system, plus a gate and security system. “Now, we are able to access real-time footage of our LILIN IP-security cameras on the property from any touchpanel in the home,” Taee said. “It’s also extremely comforting to know that I can check in on the home’s security gate and property from my app when I’m traveling for business.”
When he’s not traveling, Taee loves to entertain indoors and outdoors on his stunning property. To provide controlled audio both inside and outside at the touch of a button, Greatwood installed an ELAN S86A 8-source, 6-zone audio controller with two integrated 16-channel ELAN S1616A multi-zone audio controllers. “My team created a multi-zone audio system, with two zones just for the outdoor entertaining space,” Greatwood explained.
To protect all of the hardware in case of a power surge, Greatwood suggested that Taee install a Furman F1500Uninterruptible Power Supply in the equipment rack. “We want to condition the power and start the hard drives up the right way,” Greatwood emphasized. “With precious and expensive technology, it’s necessary to take the proper precautions.”
According to Taee, the new control system has made a world of a difference for him and his family, whether he’s hosting a party on the patio or simply calling his children down for dinner. “The installation has made total home control easier,” Taee said. “The system is tactile and uniform. I’d recommend it to anyone.”
