Affordable, Total Automation for Brazilian High-Rise

In 2018, Brazilian developer Porte Construtora tasked Z-Wave Alliance member Flex Automation to add smart automation to a new apartment building dubbed Helen Altos do Tatuapé. The developer and Flex Automation were longstanding partners of 12 years, since Flex introduced Porte to Z-Wave technology’s benefits, and Flex had become the sole automation provider for all of Porte’s residential and commercial projects going forward.

For this project, Porte knew that in order to fill the multiple deluxe residences of the building with tenants, they needed to install amenities that would attract a very exclusive and high-end market. Since at that time, Brazil had just endured the worst economic crisis its real estate/construction market had ever seen, cost savings were a paramount concern in making the project feasible.

Jean Pascal Nathan De Simone, Director, Flex Automation, provided details to Connected Design about his involvement in the project, the performance advantages that Z-Wave afforded the developers, and how it was completed to the satisfaction of all.

“Porte had already been delivering high-end, fully automated apartments when we approached them for business back in 2008,” De Simone explains, “but they were using exclusively wired solutions which required heavy and expensive hybrid infrastructure: the normal electrical cabling, suitable for conventional lighting, as well as an infrastructure for centralized wired home automation systems. With the only wireless solution available on the bid, we had to be 50 percent cheaper, simpler (90 percent cheaper infrastructure), retrofittable and faster in deployment…. We also had only six months to install a model house with a whole system working for approval. We have always delivered the state-of-the-art solutions to Porte and kept a 24/7 support team to attend the thousands of homeowners. Our goal is avoiding the developer having to deal with customers’ demands. After all, an automation company needs to be a facilitator and an enabler. We don’t want customers bothering the builder.”

De Simone cites Z-Wave’s performance and cost advantages. “We brought Z-Wave technology to Brazil in 2003, earlier than any other wireless mesh technology… It was very difficult [then] to convince developers and system integrators to rely on wireless solutions for whole-home automation solutions… on the other hand, price has always been an issue in Brazil due to very high import duties and taxes as well as exchange rates. So the attractiveness of a solution at least 50 percent cheaper and faster eventually proved to be worth taking the chance.”

De Simone added that in the early days, communicating Z-Wave’s benefits was a challenge due to design and aesthetics concerns among local interior designers, architects and lighting designers. “Most interior designers, architects and lighting designers don’t accept the ‘multi-ganging’ approach. Those 4x8”, 4x10” J-boxes are not even available in local market.

“By 2008,” he continues, “we realized that, and launched a whole family of multichannel touch switches from one to eight channels per device. In a double-gang box (4x4”), we can fit up to six dimmer switches plus a five-scene keypad. In a triple-gang box (4”x6”), we can fit eight channels among dimmers and relays as well as a five-scene keypad and digital clock. All touch, no mechanical switches. Each Scene button can be programmed to control other devices like drapes or trigger macros like ‘Welcome’ that activates whole-house lighting in a desired preset, turns off the alarm, sets air conditioning to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, open the shades at 47 percent, plays your favorite music and sends you a push notification. All in one touch.”