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Automation
This type of wiring prepares a house for several options in home automation.
The minimum system should include:
FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Category 5 telephone cables containing four twisted pairs each. Category 5 is a special type of telephone cable that can be used for higher speed communications than normal telephone cables. This cable should be run to any room in the house where you may want a phone, fax machine, or computer.
FOR VIDEO CAPABILITIES: Residential quality coaxial cable (RG-6) run to all locations in the house where you may want a television set. Also consider cabling to exterior doors, nurseries, or any other places where you might want "upstream" capability for TV monitoring cameras, or where you may want to run a VCR output from one room to another.
FOR AUDIO CAPABILITIES: Twisted pairs of intercom and high-quality shielded audio cable if you want to pipe stereo throughout the house
What is Home Automation?
PCM
Phase change materials (PCMs) are "latent" thermal storage materials. They use chemical bonds to store and release heat. The thermal energy transfer occurs when a material changes from a solid to a liquid, or from a liquid to a solid. This is called a change in state, or "phase." Initially, these solid-liquid PCMs perform like conventional storage materials; their temperature rises as they absorb solar heat. Unlike conventional (sensible) storage materials, when PCMs reach the temperature at which they change phase (their melting point) they absorb large amounts of heat without getting hotter. When the ambient temperature in the space around the PCM material drops, the PCM solidifies, releasing its stored latent heat. PCMs absorb and emit heat while maintaining a nearly constant temperature. Within the human comfort range of 68o to 86oF (20o to 30oC), latent thermal storage materials are very effective. They store 5 to 14 times more heat per unit volume than sensible storage materials such as water, masonry, or rock.
Phase change materials perform best in containers that—when combined with the PCM—total one inch (25.4 millimeters). The packaging material should conduct heat well; and it should be durable enough to withstand frequent changes in the storage material’s volume as phase changes occur. It should also restrict the passage of water through the walls, so the materials will not dry out. Packaging must also resist leakage and corrosion. Steel and polyethylene are common packaging materials. Situating the PCM containers so warm air flows over both sides increases their performance.
Exterior Wall Material
Spray Grancrete
Spray Grancrete over a frame of Styrofoam, metal, wood—even woven sugarcane stalks—and in 20 minutes you have a waterproof, fire-resistant structure that has more than twice the strength of traditional concrete and can withstand extreme temperatures without cracking. A liquefied concrete-like mixture of sand, ash, magnesium oxide and potassium phosphate, Grancrete descends from a product developed to encase radioactive waste. And since it takes hours instead of weeks to build a home, it’s poised to provide low-cost, high-quality shelter to the estimated one billion people who lack it. $20.50 to coat 15 square feet.
Concrete Homes
As reported by Eugene Morgan in Concrete Homes: Concrete Homes Council, The Cast-in-Place Concrete construction advocated by the Concrete Homes Council uses Cast-in-Place, or poured-in-place, concrete homes are typically constructed in one of three ways: 1. Only the exterior walls are Cast-in-Place concrete.
2. Both exterior and interior walls are Cast-in-Place concrete.
3. The floor/ceiling, exterior walls and interior walls are all Cast-in Place concrete.
Safe Rooms
Walls and Ceilings: Wall construction spanning directly from floor to ceiling is often favored because of the structural continuity of the framing. Unit masonry (e.g. brickwork or blockwork), can be effective in stopping bullets, but prolonged attack with sledgehammers can eventually dislodge individual masonry units. Steel stud walls, braced with additional reinforcing ties can be faced with steel sheet and/or proprietary bullet-resistant materials such as Kevlar. These in turn, are covered with sheetrock, tile or other decorative finishes normal to the subject room. Steel and Kevlar panels have the advantage of being available in large sheet sizes, and minimize the number of joints which can be the weak point of any assembly. To minimize this weakness, it is common to overlap the resistant sheets or to reinforce the back-side of each joint with similar materials. Flame retardant material should coat the walls.
Where construction does not include concrete floors, ceilings can be constructed similar to stud walls. In all cases it is important not to overlook penetrations that may be made for light fixtures, power points or plumbing pipes. Ductwork passing through protected walls should also be carefully considered to ensure that the security is not breached, or that poisonous gasses are not forced into the Safe Room by this route. Floors: Concrete floors are ideal. In other forms of floor construction, (e.g. wood), it is important to provide supplementary protection suitable to the anticipated level of attack. As Safe Room construction often uses heavy materials concentrated in a small area, it is important to ensure that the floor is designed or reinforced to take this heavy load. Doors: Doors are one of the most critical and complicated aspects of the Safe Room - Panic Room design. A bullet-resistant door with internal steel framing can weigh several hundred pounds, yet it must be designed to operate smoothly, easily and without fail in an emergency situation. The hardware must be selected to provide substantial, secure locking without compromising the smooth operation of the door itself. Most importantly, it must allow the door to be secured quickly, preferably from a single control point. The hardware should not be capable of being overridden or tampered with from the outside. Sound Insulation: The attackers may try to verbally "psyche out" the Safe Room’s occupants. Effective sound insulation will limit the ability for unwanted communication of this sort. Conversely, it will also prevent the intruders from hearing phone or radio conversations carried out by the occupant with security or police forces. Well-designed Safe Rooms - Panic Rooms should contain the following items: Cameras & Monitors: Concealed cameras located outside the room enable the Safe Room’s occupant to secretly monitor the movement and numbers of attackers on a monitor screen. It is common to locate one visible camera outside the room. An attacker disabling the exposed camera may not think to look for other hidden cameras, giving the Safe Room occupant an advantage in that situation.
Great Sources
Safe Environments
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