Why Builders from David Reid Homes choose PDL for their Queenstown Builds

With Kiwis increasingly seeking homes that make their lives easier, builder company David Reid Homes has chosen to rely on PDL for their builds: including their newest show home in Queenstown. Find out how and why David Reid Homes uses PDL’s C-Bus Smart Home Automation System in their newest build.

About New Zealand homes and PDL

As more Kiwis choose to build new homes, they want increasingly more out of their builds. They aspire to live in homes that are not only comfortable but also make life easier and more enjoyable. PDL by Schneider Electric has become the go-to for New Zealand builders when it comes to creating homes that exceed clients’ expectations. Its extensive range of residential electrical solutions includes everything from switches and sockets to smart home automation. Designed for the Kiwi way of life, PDL’s products have been in New Zealand homes for more than 80 years and come with the support of its renowned global parent brand Schneider Electric.

Why David Reid Homes chooses PDL Solutions for their Queenstown show home

Builder company David Reid Homes Queenstown looks to PDL to add quality and value to its impressive builds. Director Fraser Mackenzie says they choose its products for their innovativeness and reliability, coupled with the outstanding back-up support from the PDL team. This results in high client satisfaction with the final build.

The David Reid show home at Hanley’s Farm in Queenstown is one of the company’s latest projects. There, PDL solutions have helped to create a spectacular home that makes smart living simple. The new four-bedroom house has distinctive design echoing its alpine surrounds with a stone exterior and use of bagged schist and timber detailing inside. Created for today’s modern lifestyle, it includes extensive interior and landscape feature lighting, a wine cellar, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, and a hot tub.

Using PDL SpaceLogic C-Bus Smart Home Automation

Managing the Queenstown show home is made easy with PDL C-Bus smart home automation, whether the owners are at home or out of town. The microprocessor-based wiring system can control and automate virtually any type of electrical load from lighting to blinds, heating to home security or audiovisual systems. It gives instant access to any electrical feature linked to it from a discreet eDLT wall screen or via a smartphone app.

Perfect for homeowners living away from home

Fraser Mackenzie says more people are interested in adding some level of smart home automation to their builds and C-Bus offers flexibility and scalability in an easy-to-use system. He says that for clients from around New Zealand (and sometimes further afield) who use their Queenstown properties as second or third homes, the remote access that C-Bus provides is game-changing.

“The biggest thing is helping people to understand what exactly C-Bus is and how it can benefit them,” he says. “It interlinks with everything, so C-Bus can control the whole house if you want it to, from wherever you are. It’s really simple and offers lots of options.”

Easily control multiple electrical appliances

With the average home having a wider range of electrical features than ever before, C-Bus is a way to streamline daily life and manage the elements that are now becoming commonplace in many new homes.

Sleek with no messy wiring

Jones says the sleek light switch-sized C-Bus eDLT is a big advantage as it eliminates the need for banks of switches or a messy stack of remotes around the house. “In a standard wired system, you can have multiple switches dotted everywhere, what’s known as ‘wall acne’,” he explains. “Whereas the eDLT is very slick and is easier for the client too, because we can dynamically label all the buttons. It’s about simplifying the modern home and getting away from lots of buttons and lots of confusion.”

Affordable and luxurious home automation system

Mackenzie says he considers C-Bus a fantastic product and would recommend for any build starting from the $600-700k range, while Ryan Jones of Custom Digital, who carried out the C-Bus installation in David Reid Homes Queenstown Hanley’s Farm Show home, says they’re putting C-Bus into more 2–3-bedroom builds now as well.

“C-Bus has come out with more switches and more options, so it’s becoming more affordable and more expected now,” says Jones. “Home automation is on the tip of everyone’s tongue and they want to at least know about it and be educated about it.” While the smart home automation of a decade ago could run into the tens of thousands of dollars and require costly maintenance, a wiring system like C-Bus can be installed for a fraction of that and be upscaled as required.

Using PDL Iconic Switches and Sockets

As well as the C-Bus system, the David Reid Queenstown show home also features PDL’s popular Iconic and Iconic Styl switchgear. Fraser Mackenzie says the choice of finishes that PDL offers is a bonus for clients, who can add a point of difference to their home’s interior while creating a cohesive look across all the light switches and power points and even the C-Bus eDLT screen.

Working with the team at PDL throughout the build

As well as the technological support on offer, Fraser Mackenzie also enjoys the ease of working with the team at PDL by Schneider Electric and says clients like the peace of mind that comes with having a trusted brand in their new homes.

He says that C-Bus and the wider PDL products add real value and extra ‘wow’ factor to David Reid Homes Queenstown’s builds. “Their range ticks a lot of boxes for us and works perfectly with our ethos of creating homes that are high end, energy-efficient and designed specifically for each client”.