Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 20, 1994 TAG: 9404140297
SECTION: TOEAY'S HOME PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DONNA MUSSELWHITE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Don't blink. They may be moving into your house.
At least that's how it may feel over the next few years. You may well have the option to partially or completely computerize your home.
Stan Cross, general manager of Holdren's, says some of the changes are coming in the next two years, while some may take five to 10 years, but every aspect of the home will be touched by the computer revolution.
Many homes already feature home theatre, complete with stereo system, big-screen TV, laser disc player and in-wall speakers. Soon, Cross says, you'll be able to have video in all rooms, with a central VCR or laser disc that can be programmed to play movies in any room of the house. Cross also says he believes that in the near future, satellite technology will make it possible for people to pull in any movie they care to see directly into their homes. An 18-inch satellite dish will be available this fall.
Cross says he thinks the same availability will be true for music in two to three years. For a rental fee, people will be able to access any music they could possibly want. Cross says it may be by satellite, by telephone system or by cable.
And computerization is not just for entertainment. At some point "in the not too distant future," Cross says, you'll be able to coordinate the heating, air-conditioning, lighting and security systems of your home.
"That means you'll be able to have things like zoned control of heating your home. You'll be able to heat or cool different areas of the home at different levels at different times of the day. You'll program it and not have to worry about it again."
Heating and cooling systems will even be able to be connected with security systems, so that your computer can sense when a room is being used and needs more heat.
"The beauty of it is that your home becomes an efficient, well-run system. And you won't have to be a computer expert to take advantage of this. You won't have to know computers. The idea is to make all this easy, a no-brainer. So there may be things like touch control on a screen, or very simple remote controls."
Obviously, this kind of technology is easily built into new homes, but Cross says it will also be able to be retro-fit into older homes. "Not everyone will want to take advantage of all the technology, but that's the whole idea - to custom fit technology to individual homes."
by CNB