By Kelley J.P. Lindberg

At 5:45 a.m., Belle Vita's alarm goes off and music begins to play. The heating system whirs to life as the bedroom lights increase to fifty percent brightness. Soon she smells coffee brewing in the kitchen. As she walks into the bathroom, the light comes on and the mirror warms gently to remain fog-free during her shower.

In the late 1970s, most of us were trying to understand how cable television and programmable calculators worked. The idea that our houses could adjust lighting, appliances, temperature, security, and audio-visual components automatically to suit our individual lifestyles seemed very futuristic.

When Belle and her kids enter the kitchen, the lights and television come on automatically, and the motorized drapes in the living room slide open. A quiet click at the back door tells Belle the cat has come inside through the electronically coded pet door. The automatic pet feeder doles out the feline's breakfast, while the automatic fish feeder does the same for Belle's aquarium.

Two decades later, home automation is still a George Jetson scenario to most people. In reality, however, many of us are already using rudimentary forms of electronic home wizardry. If you've used a timer to turn on lights while you were on vacation or installed motion detector lights over your driveway, you've already taken the first steps toward automating your home.

In her home office, Belle brings up her home monitoring software and checks the data from her weather monitoring unit. She knows the sprinklers in the yard won't come on if their sensors detect rain.

True home automation happens when you integrate gadgets like motion detectors and timers with your appliances into a single, house-wide system. Then you can control that system, making it respond to set times or to your movements.

The interest in home automation is increasing, paralleled by (or possibly spurred by) a rapid growth in home theaters. According to Mike Pyle, General Manager at Audition, a Salt Lake City company specializing in home systems integration, "Home theater systems are the largest application for automation, because they are usually the most complex systems in a person's home." The variety of audio formats, screen formats, and player devices make theaters complicated to manage manually, so many homeowners turn to automation to simplify the process of watching a movie in a state-of-the-art environment.

People also look to home automation to add convenience to their lives. Multi-room audio systems and lighting control are popular forms of "convenience-oriented" home automation. Security systems are another popular manifestation of home automation technology.

While Belle is working, a mailbox sensor alerts her when the mail arrives. Another alarm tells her a vehicle has entered the driveway. She glances at her TV and sees that it is a client. From her office phone, Belle talks to the client on the porch, then pushes a button on the phone to unlock the door and let her in.

Home automation encompasses a variety of different technologies. Some products available today are based on X10 technology, which lets devices communicate over the regular 110V electrical wiring in your home.

Any devices, such as lamps or coffee pots, that plug into your home's electrical outlets can be controlled by X10 technology. You can operate those devices by using X10 switches (instead of regular light switches), wireless remotes, or automation software on your computer. You can even call in and change the programming from a telephone.

X10 technology is ideal for do-it-yourselfers creating simple lighting applications, because the products are easy to install and relatively inexpensive. They are also readily available from home improvement stores and on the Internet.

Britt Hawley used X10 technology to automate the interior and exterior lights at his home in Utah County. By doing it himself, it cost him less than $500 to automate his whole house. "I got into it when my wife bought me a simple home automation kit. Little did she know where it would lead!" he laughs.

Tomorrow, Belle and the kids will leave for the weekend, so she checks the "vacation" settings, which will feed the fish and cat, clean the litterbox, and water the plants. Lights and TVs will turn on and off, simulating routine activity. The security system will be armed and prepared to call Belle's cell phone and the security company. Across town, her father wears his personal assistance unit, so Belle won't have to worry about him. If he has a problem, he can push a button on his pendant that will send a prerecorded message to Belle's cell phone, her brother's phone, and 911. Belle will take her laptop along, so she can check in with the house on the road.

More complicated home automation systems, such as those involving theaters and multi-room audio systems, often require different technologies that provide more flexibility. They may also require the help of professionals.

At Audition, Mike Pyle recommends that interested homeowners start by deciding what they really want out of a home automation system. There are a variety of systems you can employ, but not all of them may suit your needs. "Make sure the home automation systems you choose will enhance your lifestyle. If you're installing it just to show off, it can make your life hell," he advises.

If you are building a new house, Pyle strongly recommends pre-wiring your house for automation. Retrofitting an existing house is possible, but more expensive, so plan ahead for future needs.

After dinner, it's time to watch a movie. Belle pushes a button, and the home theater system closes the drapes, dims the lights, turns on the DVD player, and begins the movie. Belle's son decides to watch the movie in his own room--no problem. The movie displays on his television, as well.

Using a systems integrator isn't cheap. Systems can run between $10,000 and $300,000 to design and install. Doing it yourself can reduce the costs, but may increase the hassle factor. Our fictional heroine Belle's setup, which runs the gamut of automation from surveillance cameras to aquarium feeder, would be on the high side of the scale. For people like Belle, the expense is worth the savings in time and peace of mind.

After the movie, Belle feels like a dip in the hot tub, which turns on and warms up with the push of a button. The outside lights dim and quiet jazz plays. At bedtime, the windows and doors automatically lock, the lights go out, and Belle goes to sleep knowing her security system is on guard, watching over her and her children.

 

To learn more about home automation, visit these Web sites:

www.X10.com--X10 Corporation is the company that invented X10 technology. They offer X10 home automation devices, often at discounted prices or in combination with free incentives or promotions.

www.smarthome.com--Offers a wide variety of home automation products, including X10-compatible products from several different manufacturers and educational products such as books and videos.

www.homeauto.com--Another good Web site for X10-compatible and other home automation products.

www.homeautomation.com--Caters to customers who already have the technical savvy to know what they want and how to assemble it.