Thankfully, this was to be no mere Powerpoint presentation – Clipsal Integrated Systems had gone to the trouble of producing a 14-minute Lara Croft-style animated science-fiction movie titled "Tamika – Agent in time", that ‘wowed’ the audience and primed us nicely for a look at the actual products.

This look turned out to be an opportunity to get hands-on with the new products, including the revolutionary C-Bus Wireless system – the brains behind home automation. Clipsal says C-Bus Wireless brings home automation within the reach of every New Zealander with its ability to be retro-fitted into existing homes.

This is cutting-edge, world-class technology that’s making the industry finally sit up and take notice – because now every home can enjoy some degree of automation without involving huge expense.

Quoting from the New Products catalogue, the C-Bus Wireless range incorporates a family of RF devices, including wall switches, plug adaptors, a handheld remote control, and a wireless Gateway to Cat-5 Wired C-Bus units.

The C-Bus Wireless wall switches easily replace standard 240V wall switches, with minimal changes to existing mains wiring (a demonstration video was playing to prove just how easy it is to make the conversion). The switches incorporate patented Clipsal technology and are two-wire devices requiring no neutral connection (240V AC active and load connections only).

All C-Bus Wireless units incorporate innovative LearnMode functions for programming devices. Wall switches, plug adaptors, and the Gateway unit can also be programmed via the C-Bus Toolkit software. Multiple units can also be linked into a common network using the software.

Associations can be created between buttons on multiple units, so if you press a button on one unit it will operate a button on another unit or units.

C-Bus Wireless units also include ‘scene capabilities’ which allow users to perform a series of actions across multiple outputs by pressing a single button. An example could be the home owner who, upon arriving home, could use a ‘scene’ to switch on lights in the hallway, kitchen and lounge, and also switch on a heater.

Another example is a ‘good morning’ scene that, at the touch of a C-Bus switch turns on climate controllers, opens the curtains, unlocks gates and even starts the coffee machine. Or how about setting the scene to welcome guests? – the front gate opens, driveway and porch lights come on, the home entertainment system plays soft music, and the water feature in the back garden starts to trickle.

C-Bus enabled home automation is also expected to be used extensively to give homes that ‘lived-in’ look when the owners are away on holiday.

Clipsal’s unique Dynamic Labelling Technology is incorporated in its C-Bus Saturn and Neo units, allowing installers to electronically label switches according to client needs, and easily change this labelling via software, as required.

Clipsal is doing a pretty good job at spreading the C-Bus message. It has held its ‘Tamika’ movie launch in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch – and part of the campaign to educate and train installers is a series of C-Bus Basic Training Courses the company is running up and down the country.

Clipsal has already held training courses in Auckland and Wellington in 2005, and has further courses scheduled for Auckland from 10^th to 12^th of August, and 23^rd to 25^th of November. Christchurch gets a course from 3^rd to 5^th of October.

Laura Hogan, a spokesperson for Clipsal, says further basic and intermediate level courses will be arranged according to demand. All intending attendees of the Basic C-Bus courses must apply online via a tutorial/registration form, at http://training.clipsal.com – there is no other way of attending a course. This website contains all the information regarding the courses in New Zealand and Australia.