“This is not your run-of-the-mill tent,” Len explains. “It’s luxury camping at its best.”

Named Tandara, the tent includes a king size bed, WiFi access, a 40” LCD TV and Foxtel. There are Speakercraft Rox outdoor speakers providing music to the BBQ area, and an iPod dock so you can turn up with your own selection of music.

“We do a lot of projects involving Clipsal C-Bus, but this is the first time that we have ever installed the product into a tent,” he says.

“One of the more difficult tasks encountered with an installation of this type was ensuring that while the tent included all of the latest technological inclusions the rustic character of the environment was preserved, meaning that we had to seek out lighting, etc, that was in keeping with the environment, but which were still C-Bus controllable. All lighting was LED, and many of the lights had to be designed from scratch.”

Chris McGowan was the installer charged with completing the installation.

“This tent has all of the fittings of a 5-star luxury hotel room,” he says.

“When the client approached us to do this job, they had a very clear idea of what they would like to achieve – audio, video, LED lighting control and energy efficiency – but it was left up to us to figure out how we could make it work in this unusual setting.”

In order to meet the client’s core goals, Chris explains that certain compromises had to be made.

“Specifically in terms of what equipment we could use, how it was mounted and how it was installed,” he says.

“The cabling around the tent was largely exposed to the elements, more than a residential installation, so it had to be waterproof.

“Most of the 240V equipment is located under the deck and all of the lighting is LED, so it’s low voltage anyway. We brought all the transformers and C-Bus gear together and put it in a sub box out the back and weatherproofed it as well. This way it’s all locked away so it’s low risk from the client’s point of view. They can’t cut through a wire and electrocute themselves.”

To ensure they complied with the tent’s aesthetic design as well as the energy efficiency requirements, Chris says they ended up buying lanterns and custom designing LEDs to suit them.

“We went and found fittings to mount and hang from the ceiling to make them look like they were camping lights, but they were LED fittings.”

To control the system, the team included a Clipsal C-Bus LED lighting system, a C-Bus touch screen next to the bed and a light switch in the ensuite.

“The ensuite is at the back of the tent, still under the canvas, but with a tile floor and a wall that is about a metre tall. There’s also a shower recess with LED lighting on the shampoo shelves.

“As the tent is used for glamping, we had to make sure that the system was pretty robust and all of the cables were hidden away so they couldn’t be fiddled with.”

Contact
Len Wallis Audio
www.lenwallisaudio.com.au