Home Automation
Home automation is something we may think about when building a new luxury home. For the average consumer, it just isn’t a high priority.
Home Trends
There is a very real trend of home automation becoming affordable for middle class consumers. There are several drivers for this trend: 1- New needs of consumers, 2- Low cost of computers, and 3- LCD touch screens.
Customer Needs
Customer needs have grown with the widespread use of the computer. Nowadays, even grandma is connecting up to the internet to check the email. Teenagers are known for sending thousands of text messages a month and voicemail is becoming a thing of the past.
Consumer sentiment is growing towards a more connected world. This increased connectivity allows for more convenient ways to communicate. We have cell phones that can do a lot more than computers could 100 years ago.
The home is the place for us to connect. It is where we are with our families and most of us spend a great deal of time with digital media. Controlling that media can be fun, make you work more effectively, and increase home security. There are a lot of good reasons to make your home automate.
Low cost of computers
The other main reason for the trend being reachable is the low cost of computers. Wal-Mart actually sells a computer, online, for $200.00. The computer runs on linux and doesn’t come with a monitor. Nevertheless, computer power is quite good these days and the cost is pretty minimal.
This low computer cost allows people to install servers in their home. The servers connect and control all the computers and appliances in the home. Once again, due to computer advancements the server can be purchased for little cash. They even sell a hard drive with a Trilobyte of storage space. That’s a lot more than the 2 gigs that were available just 10 years ago on many systems.
LCD Touch Screens
Digital television is being used, as of February 2009, on all public televisions. That’s a major change. The change has been, in part, fueled by LCD and plasma technology.
The cool part is that they are sleek and slim. Imagine a controller that was as large as an old CRT monitor. It wouldn’t be all that easy to put into a wall; or anything for that matter.
Thin displays make home automation a lot more fun. You can have a display to see who is at the door and another to see what is going on downstairs.
Plasma and LCD have gained so much in popularity that the manufacturing costs have come down quite a lot. Again, this has fueled the opportunity for middle class people to have a state of the art home automation system.
Why do I need Home Automation
Well, in our old home the upstairs was always too hot and the temperature controller was downstairs. This would often involve getting up at night to turn the thermostat down. We would program the thermostat, but there always seems to be a reason to get up and turn it one way or another.
Then there was the case of lights. When we would go out at night, we could never remember which light switch was for the porch light. Often times, we would just not use the porch light because it was inconvenient to use.
Perhaps the coolest thing, although, is the use of streaming information. I used to wake up to an alarm clock on the other side of the bed (to wake me up). Now, I wake up to my favorite programmed music. And, through the use of a touch screen controller, I can add different music or television stations. In fact, I can even program the television to come on and play a favorite program so I don’t forget it.
There are many more features I haven’t used, but I like the option of having modules to add as I go along. One of these days I’ll have the cool guys from 4 home control come over and give me some more recommendations.
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