Raise Your Home's IQ

Raise Your Home's IQ

It's 7:30 in the morning, and you're sleeping peacefully. Soft music begins to play in your bedroom, as the coffeemaker goes on in the kitchen. Your window blinds slowly open as the furnace gently heats the house. You glance at a video monitor and see that the baby is still asleep, so you reach for the remote control to disarm the security system and turn on the lights in the kitchen.

Later in the day, you call home from work and use your cell phone to turn on the oven, and at night your home shuts off the lights, turns on the alarm and lowers the heat for another good night's rest.

Too far-fetched? We may not have the Jetson's flying cars and "food-o-matics" yet, but home sweet home is quickly becoming home smart home. Today's technology can increase your enjoyment of your home, while providing security, comfort and energy savings.

How it all works

Home technology depends on a central computer, receiving information from the various systems of your home. Special enhanced wiring delivers this information and allows the computer to make necessary decisions and adjustments. You can program the computer to perform functions on a regular basis, or use a keypad, a handheld remote, a cell phone or other device to control settings whenever you like.

What it can do

The possibilities are endless and amazing. Your home technology system can control:

• Electronic door locks
• A home theater system
• Your home phone and intercom system
• Lights and appliances
• Climate and ventilation
• Window blinds
• Your home security system
• Child tracking/monitoring devices

Your home can become a tool to help support and maintain your lifestyle, with unprecedented efficiency and convenience.

Some things to consider

As we all know, technology is a wonderful thing when it works the way we expect it to. Integrated home technology is still a fairly new field, and glitches are certainly possible. What if you returned home at the end of the day to find your television blaring, your lights shining and your furnace heating your home to a toasty 85 degrees?

An integrated system takes research, planning and -- of course -- money. Most components can be added to an existing home, but it's easier and less expensive to install a system as your house is being built. You'll want to carefully check out the credentials of your installer, and once your system is in place, you will need to take the time to educate yourself on how to use it.

If you enjoy fiddling with the latest electronic gadgets and you love the idea of dazzling your friends with your home's amazing intelligence, check out the possibilities of today's home technology. If you're not quite ready to jump on board, keep an eye out for new developments. The possibilities will become even greater and the cost lower in the years to come.

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