Home Automation - Prepare to be Wowed if You Can Swallow the Cost

Last night, I took a tour of a house outfitted with many thousands of dollars worth of home automation. It had everything integrated including the security system, home audio system, whole house lighting, HVAC and sprinkler. I'll share a few of the highlights:

*When you set the alarm as away, the lights automatically all turn off and the HVAC turns down
*When you open the garage to come home, the garage lights and hallway lights automatically turn on to light the stairwell. The lights turn off after 15 minutes, or as soon as the door at the top of the stairs opens.
* The bathroom lights turn on to full brightness during the day, but at night, between 12 and 5, they default to very dim.
*Each morning at 10AM, the system checks to see if the garage doors are open. If they are, it automatically shuts them.
* Depending on what code is used to turn off the alarm (ie who just came in), the system can act differently. The HVAC can go to a different temp, different lights can automatically turn on, etc.
* If the alarm detects a fire, all lights turn on and the A/C turns off to prevent circulating smoke
* Everything is controllable via an iPhone app. You can even turn on your sprinklers from across the world.

The options are practically endless. Many of the systems now integrate with the major standards such as UPB, x10, Insteon, etc. Many other devices can connect via RS232.

I priced out a system for my house. Including the control board, light switches, HVAC thermostats, temperature sensors, keypads/touchscreens, etc, I was over $8500 before installation (and before negotiating discounts). Not bad considering this thing will do just about everything. But definitely not something many would buy on a whim.

The guy who set this all up told me that the difficulty is not installation. It's deciding how to configure it. Meaning, when you open this door, which lights do you want to come on? Does it depend on the time of the day? Day of the week? Should they turn off after a certain period of time? Are there any other exceptions? Like I said, the possibilities are endless.

I am told you can save some money with the system. Being able to turn all of your lights off with 1 push of a button will mean you're more likely to keep unnecessary lights off. Turning down the AC any time you're not home vs. a set schedule would save as well. But would it pay for itself? No. Will it give you something to tinker with any time you're bored? Definitely.

Good luck!