THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 12, 1994 TAG: 9411100575
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY MARY ELLEN MILES, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Long : 146 lines
Early morning when you're tripping over toys and felines, sprinting for the door, do you ever worry if the curling iron or coffee maker is turned off?
Late evening. You're attempting to get through at least two pages from the novel you've been reading for three months, before your eyes get too droopy, and isn't that the downstairs TV you hear? Do you suppose the den lights are on too?
Have no fear: The age of home automation is here.
Two systems available locally take different approaches.
Both ``Smart House'' and ``TotalHome'' enable a homeowner to disconnect the above mentioned electrical appliances through different means, allowing the homeowner to experience peace of mind.
Behind a lot of this innovation is Honeywell Inc., the manufacturer behind the TotalHome concept.
According to Peggy Vollant, branch general manager of Honeywell's home and building control division in Norfolk, the company provided funding, research and development for the Smart House, but later decided to develop its own product to market it more quickly.
``It's been extremely well received. We've installed approximately 35 to 40 systems and have had excellent response from the customers. TotalHome is really meant as a convenience to the customer. It's practical, affordable and easy to use.''
Vollant predicts that home automation is the ``mode of the future. Ten years from now it will be much more of a standard feature in homes,'' she says.
Vince Thomas II, vice president of Johns Brothers, a Hampton Roads heating/cooling and security system company, says he plans on installing Smart Houses in the near future, using products manufactured by Molex. Thomas says the ``TotalHome is a basic form of the Smart House.''
Some major differences between the Smart Home and the TotalHome are as follows, according to Vollant:
TotalHome is extremely user-friendly. The homeowner does not have the option of interfacing the system with a personal computer; thereby eliminating programming difficulties.
The Smart House can interface with a PC, thereby allowing computer literate users to program their home to their unique specifications.
TotalHome is professionally installed, using existing wiring, therefore allowing installation to be done at any time. A Smart House is installed during construction.
According to Vollant, an average TotalHome costs approximately $4,500; according to Thomas, an average Smart House costs $12,000 to 15,000. But if a homeowner would like to wire for a Smart House and add the components later, the wiring would cost about $3,000.
Home automation allows the homeowner to control any home electrical device through key pads, a telephone or a PC. This is accomplished by the use of specially designed remote controlled modules. The modules include light switches, electrical outlets and thermostat controls. Through the modules, electrical devices can be programmed to turned on or off; dim or brighten, or slow or speed up, depending on the design of the module and what is wired into that module.
``TotalHome customers are high tech, very busy, retired and people who just want life to be more convenient,'' Vollant says. Homeowners convey their requirements for a home automation system to the company.
The installer then programs the system with the family's specific schedules (e.g., morning routine, work routine, night routine, weekend routine, vacation routine, etc.)
A typical workday morning routine might include being awakened at a specified time by music, with lights slowly brightening, and coffee brewing.
The system can programmed with up to 15 different routines, with Honeywell recommending eight being used, to keep it simple. These routines are then referred to as ``modes'' by the home automation system.
If a homeowner wants to override a routine, it can be done manually through any menu driven keypad in the home, or remotely, via the telephone's voice automation system.
With this optional telephone system, homeowners can call into the system to check the current security system of the house (a key component in a home automation system), adjust the household temperature, turn on lights or activate any preprogramed mode from anywhere in the world.
The house can actually ``talk'' to the owner. ``People love the voice automation,'' says Vollant, ``we rarely install a system without it. People love the idea of calling and making changes.''
Other possibilities include turning on the hot tub, stereo and porch light through your car phone. As you sit in expressway gridlock, you can eagerly anticipate your arrival home.
But sorry, you'll still have to pour your own wine (for now). [The following article appeared as a side bar to this article.] AN EASY WAY TO ORDER YOUR HOUSE AROUND
David Hansberry, computer technologist at KIS Business Computer Center in Virginia Beach, began a journey in 1990.
With the help of Radio Shack's Plug-N-Power components (also known as X-10), he started exploring a road of sight, sound and imagination - a journey that would ultimately lead him to the . . . ``Home Automation Zone.''
What began with 4 modules and a controller, has now mutated into a myriad of monstrous modules. These modules in themselves are chunks of circuit board and solder. But, in the hands of Hansberry, they become ``Alfred.''
Alfred is more than solder, more than circuitry, and more than the sum of its parts. He is a DX-266 computer with an attached voice recognition and speech synthesizer.
Hansberry has replaced most of the light switches and electrical outlets in his home with Plug-N-Power modules, which are linked through existing wiring to his PC.
With simple voice commands directed to Alfred, David is able to turn on his lights and slow or speed up electrical devices throughout his townhouse.
Mark A. Davis, director of information systems at Lake Taylor Hospital, who has used X-10 components in his home for 10 years, cautions that voice automation systems can be unreliable, expensive and time consuming to program.
Each voice command must be pre-defined by the user. The user issues a command, and the computer searches its memory for a match. If a match is found, the computer will execute the pre-defined command such as turning on the Jacuzzi, lights, or heating up the water bed.
If the computer fails to find a match, or falsely identifies the verbal command, the command will have to be reissued or aborted. Mark compares the process to looking through a dictionary to find a word. If the word is not there, then it cannot complete the issued command.
A manager at a local Radio Shack stated that in the last few months there has been an increase in the requests for Plug-N-Power modules, although they have always sold well since their introduction at least 10 years ago.
``It's excellent,'' he says. ``A lot of people are just realizing what the system can do. It's extremely simple to install, even the alarm system. The security items sell best.''
Hansberry believes that voice automation systems would be great for handicapped people, allowing them to have greater control of their environment. Another advantage of the system is that it can be easily installed and removed.
Hansberry estimates the price range for a complete basic system (without Alfred or the PC) from $750 to 1,200.
For now, if you wish to journey to the Home Automation Zone, find the nearest computer store, and be prepared to have your mind expanded, wallet flattened, patience tested and imagination explored. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by GARY C. KNAPP
On the Cover
Smart Living: How computers can run your house
Ricky Brand installs a Honeywell ``TotalHome'' computer system,
which hooks up to existing electrical wiring. But it doesn't attach
to your personal computer.
by CNB