Is it good to live in these types of homes? The price of these home are not that bad. link High-Tech Homes Debut in Utah Tue Oct 4, 8:36 PM ET ST. GEORGE, Utah - A housing development of futuristic, digital homes went online and on sale this week in St. George. The homes are fiber optic-ready and let an owner control everything from heating and cooling to phone service and security through a home network. The homes are in a community called SunRiver for people 55 and older. Developer Darcy Stewart said the idea was to give residents the latest technology to help make living there fun and convenient. Some 850 of 1,800 planned homes have been completed. "There is an intelligent environment inside these homes," said Aaron Myer, co-founder of In2 Network, a hardware andsoftware firm in Murray providing the technology used to control the home's networked systems. "We've found people are very comfortable having a Web server environment inside the home," he said. A home's networks also let residents control lighting and entertainment system, access security systems from remote locations and be alerted by e-mail to any problems. A community Intranet also keeps residents informed of local news and events. Stewart says the homes are equipped to evolve to the next level of technology as it becomes available. Companies like Honeywell, Lutron Electronics and Utah-based TriAxis are major partners in the endeavor. "One thing we're seeing with builders and homeowners is that they want simple, easy to use, reasonably priced homes that they can control remotely with the touch of a button," said Phil Scheetz of Lutron, which supplies the lighting control system. "Darcy's solution is literally years ahead of the curve." To access their home network, residents can either use a touch screen mounted inside the home, or connect to it from any personal computer, laptop, personal digital assistant or other device that can display a Web page. "It's all about convenience," said Kevin Marquess, builder sales manager with Honeywell. "You have remote access to everything." About 90 percent of the homes were pre-sold, at prices between $186,000 and $400,000. "It's like the George Jetson cartoons, only it's here today," Marquess said, referring to the popular 1960s cartoon set 100 years in the future.
uh, no. i live in a 40 year old home with 40 year old plumbing and 40 year old problems. but i love my home! and i love the location even better.
They're only for people 55+? My parents couldn't even handle a Tivo, the thought of them in a digital house is down right scary. And personally I wouldn't want my home's security system to be accesable on the web, that's just asking for trouble.
I think for most seniors, the choice between a high-tech home and a high energy-efficient home is no brainer.
I proposed this idea to a friend of mine in the home automation business some 6 years ago. We never pursued the adventure, unfortunately.
You can, but the cost is the thing. The priority of these home builders is misplaced, IMO, if their targeted buyers are seniors.
It's just not a high tech home unless all of the windows have that new glass that turns from clear to frost with the flip of a switch...
We've done design work with Intuitive Homes , here in Houston. They do this kind of home automation. Mostly it's in River Oaks. We worked on a house here recently that had a hard drive library of movies that was accessed Like I-Control on cable.
Home automation has been around for a while, so this really isn't that new. When I had my house built, I had it wired with structured wiring where all my tv and phone cables come to one box in a closet. There are so many things you can do with your house when you have it done this way. Within the next year or two I'll be looking to do automated lighting in the house that's controlled by motion sensors and/or touchscreen panels. Whole-house audio is another option. Several installers/integrators already do this across the US.
I'm having a home built that has structured wiring. The neighborhood I'm going to be living in is big on it. I know that most Canyon Gate communities are offering this. I'm not too keen on all the options, but it sounds like you can do quite a bit, just as Dr. of D said
