Home Automation Trends This Year
Half the houses being built today are equipped with some kind of home automation.
In the Feb 2005 issue of House Beautiful, designer Kim Alexandriuk took a look
at the leading trends in tasteful home automation. Home security barely made the
list (and then only briefly mentioned as the option to add an
Outdoor Security Camera
at the front door so you can see who's knocking without getting up), but maybe she was just thinking comfort. Here's a
summary of what topped the list:
Networking all your home's computers for file sharing and printer sharing. Using
a wireless router like the Linksys WRT54GS
means you don't necessarily have to run cables all
over the house.
Second on the list was installing a sound system with speakers in various rooms
so you can hear your tunes playing all over the house. Depending on the system
you get, you can have different songs playing in different rooms or the same music
wherever you go, and you can control everything via a remote or a control panel
with access points in multiple rooms. The article recommends the Sonos
Digital Music System.
In-Wall Speakers
are a good choice if you don't want
to clutter up your rooms with bulky speakers. Similar to networking your music
collection, a home media server lets you play DVDs in a central location while
allowing every TV in the
house to see them.
Rain sensors at the windows seem like a good idea; their purpose is to
automatically detect moisture and close to keep the carpet or sill from getting
soaked. The article didn't mentioned it, but you can also get water sensors for
the basement that warn you if there is any flooding.
One of the last things the article mentioned is networked appliances, which are
just now starting to show up on the market. If you get an oven that can be
hooked up to the Internet, you can email or text message ahead of time to tell
it to start cooking the meal (refrigeration keeps the food from spoiling while
it's sitting in the oven ahead of time). The Beyond Microwave Oven
reads barcodes and automatically knows how long and at what temperature to cook
things. Even bread makers and coffee machines are becoming automated these days.
Related articles: Home
Automation Costs and PC-based
Home Automation Options. On other sites: Home Control Automation Starter Kits.