ADVANCED HOUSEHOLD TECHNOLOGY

You can initially integrate your whole house with an exciting system anywhere from $300-$600...

...to much more for something out of a James Bond movie.

However, a "true" home automation system, simply combines separately operated subsystems such as: alarm and/or security camera images, general interior and exterior lighting, climate control, window blinds, and so on into one integrated hard-wire or wireless system panel.

The majority of today’s systems share an alliance with a group of companies which agree to support a particular technology chip or “standard” as a common denominator. (Similar to the way computer software is compatible with other software that uses the same operating system)

Some key alliances are: INSTEON, Zensys Z-Wave (wire-less), ZigBee, X10, and UPB.

The downfall, an alliance system means non-participating companies and their components may not be able to be integrated completely at a later time, so choosing the more complete alliance up front is important if future technology is appealing to you.

These type of alliances, in part, have made total home-automation systems more practical and attainable.

MINOR TECH

So it seems that integration of these high tech systems may help to create a more efficient futuristic approach to home-monitoring. Overall, allowing your power usage to be better managed and monitored for potential problems.

As more advancements come about,

you may not be able to justify electronic sliding doors within your home like the starship Enterprise, but could be reasonably attained as a useful convenience for a handicapped guest!

So with the benefit of managed power usage alongside the betterment of one’s health, accessibility, and quality of life, one could genuinely justify this expenditure, at least attempt to...  

LINKS for further interest:
http://www.automatedsolutions.net/product_lines.html
http://www.homeheartbeat.com/HomeHeartBeat/index.htm
http://www.customautomationtech.com/
http://www.tsicolumbus.com/index.html
http://www.homeauto.com/
http://www.z-wave.com/modules/Z-Wave-Start/ (cool video)

http://www.lutron.com/

*Check back for more solutions as technology expands and this information becomes more customized from an environmental approach.