Today's Home Automation Technology

Mention home automation to a gadget junkie and they'll start talking excitedly about how their bathroom floor heats up and their coffee maker starts brewing as soon as they get out of bed in the morning. But for the rest of us, home automation may sound like more of a hassle than a benefit. Before you discard the idea of using new technology, however, consider this: home automation--whether that means remotely controlling most of the electronics and appliances in your home or simply adding a timer to a lamp--can make your house more convenient, safer and more energy efficient.

Home automation systems work like this: a programmable keypad (or "console") is wired to sensors that are in turn hooked up to appliances or electronics. The sensors react to movement, temperature changes in the house, or a signal from the keypad, and activate the appliances or electronics to perform preprogrammed tasks. You can program simple tasks, like setting your bathroom light to turn on when you open your bedroom door in the middle of the night, shining at just 15 per cent of its regular brightness. Or you can involve several different pieces of equipment at the same time: tell your house it's time to "entertain" by punching a special code into the keypad which causes the lighting to dim, the temperature to adjust anti pre-selected music to play.

There are two ways to "automate" your home: either with relatively simple and inexpensive plug-in modules and keypads that work with your home's existing wiring, or by installing more costly "structured" wiring into existing walls.

Doing it yourself

If you just want to take an automation test-drive, try out an inexpensive do-it-yourself kit, available from on-line home automation retailers. Smarthome.com sells a single-room lighting kit for approximately $270, which controls one overhead light and two lamps. Lamp "modules" are plugged into regular wall sockets, and the lamps are plugged into the modules--it's like the ubiquitous timer we all use when we go on vacation, only better. A keypad that replaces your regular wall switch can be programmed for four different "scenarios," like reading--which might mean just one or two lights on at a bright setting--or movie watching, where the lights are dimmed. If you want to get a little fancier, still without breaking the bank, you could try SmartHome Live (from about $340, plus a monthly charge), a system that includes a video camera that connects to a home PC and allows the homeowner to monitor their house from a computer at work (or while on vacation), in addition to performing simpler daily tasks like warming up the oven before dinner and adjusting the thermostat. For additional cost, other components can be added, such as electronic door locks that can be activated remotely to let in service people or children returning from school early; and motion sensors that are programmed to notify the homeowner, by e-mail or cell phone, of movement around a swimming pool, for example.

Hiring a professional

If you're planning on staying in your house long term, and budget isn't a big concern, you may want to consider investing in a system that physically connects your appliances and electronics to control panels with structured wiring. The first step in installing a hardwired system should be to visit an automation showroom--like a high-tech model home--to see what's possible, then have a home automation professional visit your house (most will offer a free initial consultation). They'll work out costs based on factors such as the square footage of your house, its current state--if you have a few unfinished rooms, or are in the process of renovating, wiring will be easier and cheaper --as well as your wants and needs. The more lights, electronics, appliances and entrances in your house, the more equipment (motion detectors, speakers, video cameras, light control switches and surge protectors) you'll require.

Professional installation is considerably more expensive than do-it-yourself kits, but has the advantages of more reliable, permanent wiring, doesn't require (sometimes unsightly) modules to be plugged into every electrical outlet, and will leave you with fewer control panels throughout the house.

According to Blair Robin of Toronto's Automated Home Technologies, homeowners should expect to spend between 0.5 and 1.5 per cent of the cost of their house on structured wiring. After that, a basic control system consisting of door contacts that register a door being opened, a motion detector, some lamp modules, dimmable light switches and an outdoor temperature sensor and communicating thermostat, plus a keypad to control everything, might cost between $2,500 and $3,000.

Expect to pay anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 for a more complex system that includes a security system with two or three cameras connected to every TV in the house, a computer network, a phone system that allows you to page and transfer calls to different phones in the house, a sound system allowing for music distribution throughout the house, and a home theatre system that lets you play a DVD on several different TVs at once, with the ability to pause the action on one screen while continuing to watch it on another. The downside? Carrying the popcorn from the microwave to the sofa to lounge in front of that home theatre system may suddenly seem like a chore.