Avoiding nightmares

The ‘Smart House’ is more of a reality than ever, although there is still much to be done. A ubiquitous internet and an abundance of high tech gadgets are fuelling consumer demand for integration and automation in the home. For these consumers, the watchwords are convenience and automation. Advances in electronics have increased the desire to integrate consumer electronics and increase automation in the home. However, the initial smart houses will be automated, rather than capable of interactive intelligence The home automation market is projected to reach $85billion by 2011, up from $14bn in 2005 (ABI Research, May 2006). More and more companies are announcing products that range from lamp modules to remote car starters to garage door openers to wireless routers, and these products are an endorsement of a variety of home automation interface standards such as X10, Insteon and Z-Wave. The convergence of these products and their interface standards will be a key factor if the home automation market is to meet the its projected steep growth.