Lighting | Marsh Flatts Farm Self Build Diary

Week 49, Day 2:

More issues with the automated WordPress updates – I did a WordPress upgrade at the weekend and forgot to check whether wp-cli (which does most of the work for the automated daily updates) needed an update too (it did)
The final delivery of BPM light fittings from Phil at GreyBlue with some of them installed already – notably the two LUK CRUSADER which at 120mm in diameter seems enormous close-up but it’s a powerful fitting (30W of LED running at 900mA) and so only really suitable for large-scale installations
More work commissioning the internal and external wall-lights which are (mostly) simply switched rather than being on dimmer controls
- These are controlled by a multi-channel KNX relay (not via DALI) and so need commissioning in KNX and some sort of user interface for control
- After work I got a simple configuration working in OpenHab to be able to test these lights and they all work fine – I find it very pleasing to stand outside with a smartphone and turn the external floodlights on and off over WiFi
The main “nerve centre” in the Dressing Room on the First Floor is now nearly complete – just a few more switches to go
Off-site work by Mick machining the oak boxes for the staircase treads at the workshop

Week 49, Day 2

BPM LUK CRUSADER lamp over the staircase

BPM IKI Wall Lights in the Dining Room

Control boards in the Dressing Room on the First Floor

Week 49, Day 1:

Work to install the cove moulding (between the top of the walls and the ceiling) in the Living Room which will house LED strip lights as the main source of lighting for the room – one strip is at the “top” of the moulding – lighting across the ceiling – and another is at the “bottom” – lighting down the walls
- We’d been aware for a while that the Living Room ceiling wasn’t flat but the coving showed up just how not-flat it is, and for the LED strip lights to work well the coving needs to fit tight against the wall and the ceiling. Some re-work on the ceiling will be required.
Lots of commissioning of the plumbing systems – pressure-testing and checking for correct operation. The water is now “on” but the drains aren’t connected up yet.
Preparation for machining the oak treads for the staircases, ensuring that the slight inconsistencies between the locations of the supporting steel treads will be adjusted out when the oak goes on
At the weekend I commissioned one set of temperature monitors (portable units from Oregon Scientific) and configured the software to collect the temperature details in a “Time Series Database” (InfluxDB) and I’ve been experimenting with various tools for graphing the outputs, my current favourite being Grafana – sample image below
- I’ve started drafting some more notes on this which I’ll publish as a Technical Article in due course
- The most notable conclusion from the data collected so far is that the second floor is much warmer than the ground floor – not really a surprise since it’s very evident when working in the house, and hot air rises… – when the MVHR is running the temperatures will even out considerably
- The Comms Room has some IT kit generating a few watts of heat and hence it is (even) warmer than the Plant Room, also on the Second Floor