In our last Blog post we referenced our newest Animation ‘Liverpool Waters flat demo.’ This is a rendering and enhancement of our latest work. We have installed a system in a flat in the ‘Park Central, Liverpool.’ With the walkthrough we wanted to give people a detailed understanding of what Nifty™ can do, how easy it is to use and most importantly, how simple it is...
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And in this time, we have seen slow times and fast times, hardware vendors come and go and unfortunately a few really irritating choices by massive companies. What have we learned? The rug can always be pulled out from under you Not to rely on the big boys (Google, Amazon and all the rest.) When Google decided to kill WWN (Works With Nest) and force everyone to use...
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This is probably the number one question that people ask us. Generally the person most often in the house and the least interested in technology. It’s a pretty damn important question and the obvious answer is: You can. Unless you rip out all the switches, you will always be able to use a switch to turn the lights on and off. Our system is designed to...
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Over the last year we have created a fairly extensive pre-work survey that we ask clients. We don’t always get all the answers but the more information we have before the project starts the easier it is. In this blog we look at a few of the questions and why we need them. 1) What wall types do you have where you want us to install light...
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A few months ago, we decided to trademark our ‘Nifty brain, we had put a lot of work into the development of our ‘Nifty brain’. Working to integrate the Openhab base software with what we wanted to offer as a company, what people wanted and what the hardware we all used could do. This multi-year project had finally created a stable, clever and hard-working brain for...
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What we did we do to help manage the pool work more effectively and to save the owner money? Step one - Understand the problem First of all, we set about understanding what the different components (pump, filters, heater etc.) did and what they needed to do to keep the pool healthy and fun. Once we understood this and how the owner used them, we could then...
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This will be the first of a few blogs about the work we have done on removing some of the pain of owning and looking after a pool. So first up, what are the pain points in owning a pool: Running the pumps to keep the water moving Running the cleaning system to keep the pool clean and bug free Running the heating to keep the...
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It’s more than technology So last week my new music kit (toys, according to my wife) arrived, a Roland TR8, a Novation launch pad pro and a Novation control XL these are incredible bits of kit that allow me to create music using pretty much any instrument, sound or rhythm. And because I can play all this over my headphones, I don’t get banished to the garage or...
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Why did I become an Electrician? This post is going to be a wee one. I passed 4 City and Guilds exams to become a fully qualified domestic electrician in February this year. While we don’t need an electrician to do all of our installs, a lot of the Nifty backbone works best when it is installed within the electrical network of the house. It becomes...
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What were your early passions and interests? From an early age I have loved art and technology and have been obsessed with integrating the two. I have been painting since I could hold a brush and working with computers since I got one in 1990. This led to building and selling computers in my early teens, programming in my late teens. All while studying Art &...
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