ARCHIVED June 1, 2005 12:00:00 am

Home is where the technology is

By Sue Lenthe

Technology is available that delivers audio and video to every room, or that remotely controls heating, air conditioning, lighting and security systems. There are even refrigerators that can contact the grocery store when the milk runs out.
There are some truly elaborate systems that show up in upper-end homes.
But in Northern Colorado, the most common home technology is used for HVAC systems, or integrated media, said Andy Carlson, IT director for McStain Homes.
Structural wiring ? in which a home is wired at construction for present and future home technologies ? has become standard, Carlson said. Other builders and real estate agents agree that consumers expect new homes to be prepared for high-speed Internet, home-networks, cable television and other media capabilities.
?We pre-wire our homes as a standard, for future technology applications,? Carlson said. ?So even though today we?re not including complete home automation, we?ve provided the foundation or the wiring that?s required to allow that to happen. In a way, we?re kind of future-proofing our homes.?
Fort Collins builder Dennis Sovick said he employs a similar type of ?future-proofing? in the homes he constructs.
?We make sure our houses are all wired so they can take advantage of all the fast Internet connections and so that you can have good computer access in the entire house,? said Sovick, owner of Sovick Design Builders.
Sovick said his company?s approach is usually to focus on keeping things simple. He said he doesn?t field much demand for highly automated houses.
?Generally, I think people are just kind of inundated with so much technology in their lives that the one computer workstation at home is enough.?
Affordability dictates, in part, how widespread applications of home technology are right now, said Robert Walkowicz, a broker with The Group, Inc. ?At the high-end you?re seeing touch screens mounted in the wall that control everything from thermostats to televisions.?
But that?s not the most affordable thing to do.
Whole-house wiring that allows multiple applications to be connected from one jack is increasingly common.
?What we?re seeing is the ability to put more wiring in more places,? Walkowicz said. ?In the standard jack box, for example, instead of it being just one phone line or one cable plug-in, now we?re starting to see the two together. What you?re seeing is the potential for up to six different things being used there. You see things like the ability to network.?
That reflects the emphasis of consumers, Walkowicz said. ?I think the main application right now for people is the ability to communicate … in the sense of video, watching movies, home theater, things like that, but also the ability to communicate with information.?
If it?s not yet commonplace here, potential home technology applications loom on several fronts, said Gary Koenig, vice president of sales and marketing for Aurora-based Web Mountain Technologies. Koenig?s company manufactures and markets home-lighting control systems as well as a PC device the company calls a home server.
Koenig lists five general areas where home technology can be applied: telephone, television, audio, home networking, home automation ? such as lighting, appliance and HVAC control ? and security.x09x09
Home entertainment and audio applications are most likely to be found in Northern Colorado homes right now, Koenig said.
Looking ahead, however, he said his company is trademarking the phrase ?killer applets,? a play on ?killer applications.? These smaller pieces of the home technology pie ?even though they are not completely universal, are powerful enough that people will pick out one or two that resonate,? Koenig said.
Some examples:
? Homeowners can use technology to install a warning or alert inside the house that the garage door is open.
? A secure entry system can be set up that will turn on all interior lighting when the garage door opener is used. ?This seems to resonate with women,? Koenig noted.
? An automatically controlled water main water valve can be tied to a home security system so that the main water feed to the home shuts off when the security system is activated. This keeps water damage at bay should a leak develop while the homeowner is away.
? Home technology can be used to set automated ?scenes? that might consist of combined audio, lighting and video settings.
Koenig expects increased consumer interest in home technology will likely come in the area of audio and video distribution via a home network. ?Some day, and it?s not that far away, you?re not really going go have CDs, you?re not going to have DVDs. Everything is going to be stored in a purely digital fashion and either come to you through the cable company or a broadband internet provider.?
This digital information will be stored on a dedicated server and then be distributed via a home network that is either wired or wireless.
Koenig and others in the industry note that one of the challenges as home technology becomes increasingly commonplace is to create systems that are user friendly ?so that it really is pretty easy, pretty idiot-proof and bug-proof.?