Might as well admit it: Your house is dumb. You can dress it up with a slick, big-screen TV or a killer sound system and toss in some avant-garde furniture. But underneath all the makeup, you've still got a structure that can't think for itself.
In the new millennium, your house's resale value will be as much about its IQ as the choice piece of real estate it occupies. After all, if your house has a brain it can save you money by automatically adjusting heating, cooling, and power to your personal living patterns. The lights will switch off when you leave for work, and the heater will spring to life five minutes before you get home.
The smart home can also improve the quality of your life. It'll alert you when the mail is delivered, draw the curtains when it's time to go to sleep, and even feed the cat when you're out of town. And on your next vacation in Fiji? You'll finally be able to relax, knowing that your house has the know-how to ward off intruders on its own.
In this final chapter of our 21st-century home series, we'll show you how to add digital smarts to your house today.
