The Internet-Enabled Home

The audio/video receiver is charged with connecting and powering a host of entertainment devices, including the television, a multitude of speakers, satellite radio and iPods. The list of essential tasks performed by these black boxes grows even as the unit itself remains compact and sleek. Expect surround A wireless music system, such as Sonos, can allow you to listen to any kind of music anywhere in your home. processing, HDMI switching and room correction to be among the responsibilities quickly and quietly attended to by these powerful products. Want that movie to come alive? Fill the room with surround sound speakers. Many receivers can accommodate up to 8.1 (or more) surround sound scenarios. For the wire-phobic homeowner, there are wireless speaker options for those rear speakers that can reduce clutter and eliminate long wiring runs. For whole-home audio-in existing homes, wireless solutions offered by companies like Sonos put speakers and a wireless bridge in any room, connecting back to source devices—a CD player, iPod or digital library, for example—all controlled by a color-screen, wireless remote. The 100-disc changer is yesterday’s toy. Today’s music libraries are digital and usually stored on a PC or laptop. The wireless music networking device bridges the gap between the home stereo receiver and the music library. Products like Slim Devices’ Squeezebox uses 802.11g wireless technology to access the digitally stored music from the laptop, PC or storage device and send it directly to the audio/video receiver. The media server has also taken a center stage role in the home’s entertainment dance, bringing massive storage space (think terabytes, not gigabytes), DVD burning and DVR functionality for recording, storing and archiving HD programs. (For more on wireless home entertainment, see "Creating Your Ideal Home Theater.") Automation for All Home automation continues to make inroads in the modern home. From simple remotely controlled dimmers and lighting switches to the fully integrated, remotely monitored and accessed “smart home,” new automation devices and products promise convenience, control and important energy savings to the savvy homeowner. Wireless “mesh network” solutions by Z-Wave Alliance and ZigBee Alliance member companies bring wireless, two-way communication and interoperability to all of the home’s subsystems, including the lighting, heating and cooling, ventilation and security systems. Easily installed plug-and-play starter kits allow the curious to affordably start implementing home automation solutions replacing a few light switches and outlets with remotely controlled dimmers and devices for immediate lighting control. By staying within an Alliance family of products, the homeowner can just as easily expand the system incrementally, according to budget and needs. New initiatives by utility companies, telephone companies and MSOs (multi system operators) promise integration of home automation into the standard cable/phone/Internet Triple Play bundle. By bringing the technology into the home via trusted names, homeowners countrywide can have no-hassle installation of home control devices and easy monthly billing for the access and services provided. (Read more about home automation solutions for smart homes here.) Easy Energy Management Energy costs and energy savings are primary concerns for homeowners. Adoption of remotely accessed and controllable technology in the home allows homeowners to adjust energy-consuming systems, shut off lights and monitor in real-time the home’s usage of energy as well as the energy’s cost. Smart metering systems are being integrated into the home, part of a number of pilot programs undertaken by utility companies and energy-related organizations to permit two-way communication between the utility and the home itself. As energy costs fluctuate throughout the day, the utility company can send a message to the home’s smart meter to alert the homeowner—and the home—that energy costs are peaking. That alert can prompt the homeowner to make adjustments to the AC, heating, and lighting systems to cut back on usage. Widespread implementation of smart meters will reduce the load on a grid, prevent brownouts and ultimately save each household on its energy bills. Taken one step further, the integration of the smart meter into the home’s automation system will enable homeowners to program the house to take action on its own should an alert come through that energy costs are going to spike. When the message comes in from the utility company, the house goes into action, re-setting the thermostat, dropping the shades and sending a message to the homeowner’s cell phone detailing what has transpired. (For more on energy-saving home control options, see "Home Controls.") The Internet is both the driving and connecting force for technology in the home’s many subsystems. Home entertainment, control, security, and energy management all depend on a high-speed, reliable Internet connection for integration and full capability.

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