Automation Tops the List in 2006 |
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Mike Carrozzo Editor February 2006 Home technologies, once an afterthought for many homebuilders, had a profound impact on the sale of new homes in 2005; a trend experts believe is just beginning to hit its stride. Increased adoption typically starts at the top with market-leading homebuilders championing the charge. Pulte Homes, www.pulte.com, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., for example, recently announced built-in digital home entertainment systems will be included as an optional upgrade in approximately 1,600 development homes in Broomfield, Colo. The Leviton Entertainment & Applications Platform from The Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc., www.leviton.com, Little Neck, N.Y., which will be showcased in certain model homes as well as showrooms throughout Denver, allows Pulte to offer customers a convenient way to share Internet access and digital media at a low cost. Other builders offer automated options to enhance the exterior of the homes built. Shea Homes, www.sheahomes.com, Brea, Calif., implemented irrigation controllers in approximately 3,000 homes in multiple states during 2005. The controllers, from HydroPoint Data Systems Inc., www.hydropoint.com, Petaluma, Calif., adjust water schedules based on weather patterns and irrigation needs, ultimately maintaining cost-efficient watering cycles for homeowners while reducing expenses in the process. "There aren't too many homeowners that will come out and say they want (an intelligent irrigation control system). What they do say is they want to conserve water and reduce (water bills)," says Robb Pigg, vice president of operations with Shea Homes. As automated irrigation systems and digital entertainment controllers permeate the higher end of the market, multiroom audio is one option making an impact at all levels. This becomes especially true as more newly constructed homes come equipped with structured wiring, the backbone for these systems. "What gets interesting is when you take the trend of distributed audio versus CAT5 audio," says Dave Hanchette, vice president of marketing, OnQ/Legrand, www.onqlegrand.com, Middletown, Pa. "As a piece of structured wiring all the builder needs to do is drop one more piece of CAT5 in order to create significant value. This ultimately provides the biggest upsell opportunity with the least upsell cost for a builder." Patented A-BUS technology, www.a-bus.com, which transmits audio signal, system power, and infrared data and status to amplified modules in multiple rooms via a single CAT5 cable, is steadily gaining prominence in the market and has more than 15 audio and structured wiring manufacturers building product on its specifications. "The cost of A-BUS prewire is low both in materials and labor," says Andrew Goldfinch, co-inventor of A-BUS. "However, this does not limit the flexibility of the solutions that the builder can offer right up to the time of handover.it has taken the confusion out of multiroom audio, opening up opportunities to get a real benefit out of adding home entertainment." John Sexton, new business development with Russound, www.russound.com, Newmarket, N.H., says multiroom audio options are outpacing most other manufactured item options offered by production builders in various markets. Builder education programs, such as the one offered by Russound, which aligns builders with qualified installers and products, are attributed to this success as well. According to Sexton, Russound has seen considerable success for its programs in such markets as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Atlanta. Easing the process of offering any type of home technology, D-Tools, www.d-tools.com, Concord, Calif., which provides system integration software for custom installers, is coming to market with technology to help builders and installers test and validate the wiring infrastructure of a home. "The technology will allow installers to document, validate, and run tests on wires throughout the home, allowing them to then print out these reports and (attach) them to the wires," says Adam Stone, president and CEO of D-Tools. "Builders can then provide owners with a complete structured wiring (map) that outlines all wires in the home with complete performance testing data. "The liability of wire is a big issue, figuring out who (on the project team) is responsible for the wires," adds Stone. "Our software solves this issue, so as an installer is laying out a job they are getting all of the information. When they are ready to do the trim work they can view all of the relevant information on a wire label (and provide a report to the homeowner)." |
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