Houses can’t think yet, but some have mastered electronics.
Residences equipped with digital brains are on duty 24 hours a day, making life easier and more enjoyable for their owners.
While tech stocks may have tanked, technology is alive and well and moving into new houses. For those who can afford it, the home of the future is here today.
One new residence loaded with the latest state-of-the-art electronic wonders is the Renaissancedot.com House in north suburban Glencoe.
On the outside, it looks a bit old-fashioned with a mix of Italian Renaissance and Beaux Arts architectural styles. Just a typical North Shore mansion.
Inside, though, it is totally wired for the 21st Century.
The $3.5 million price tag includes $300,000 in high-tech bells and whistles.
All systems–lighting, heating, cooling, audio, video, locking and security surveillance cameras–can be operated from virtually every room or, via the Internet, from anywhere in the world. That is because the Renaissancedot.com House has its own secure Web site.
Here’s how it works:
Suppose a repairman is scheduled for 11 a.m. but you have to be downtown. The solution is simple. From downtown, you go onto the Internet via your laptop and log on to the house’s Web site.
Because eight video cameras are mounted inside and outside, you can see on your computer when the repairman approaches. You then hit keys to electronically open the garage door, disarm the security system and turn on the lights. You can watch him work and, when he’s finished, you repeat the process.
The video system also can be used to check up on the kids–or the babysitter–when you’re away.
If you’re home and watching television and the doorbell rings, you don’t have to get up. You just switch on the front door video to see who’s there.
Or, let’s say you’re on vacation and torrential rains hit the Chicago area. Not to worry. If the electricity goes off, a gas-powered backup generator will kick in and supply power to all critical systems, including the sump pump.
What happens if someone tries to break in?
Like a car alarm, the house suddenly draws attention to itself. In this crisis mode, all the lights start flashing and the 911 police emergency number is called automatically.
House open to the public
This latest concept house of Orren Pickell Designers & Builders, based in Bannockburn, will be open to the public on weekends through January. A $3 donation is suggested, which will benefit breast cancer research at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare.
Located at 156 Maple Hill Rd., just to the west of Sheridan Road, it fits in with the affluent neighborhood. Though an old house on the site had to be torn down to make way for the new, the replacement looks like it could have been there for years.
But the electronic wizardry inside could not have been imagined years ago. Plus, it doesn’t take a computer nerd to operate all the gadgets.
“It’s friendly to non-techies, and people love the electronic toys,” said builder Orren Pickell.
David Kapov, president of Paul Heath Audio, the Chicago-based firm that designed and installed the electronics in the Renaissancedot.com House, said he can teach anyone how to control the residence in five minutes.
“If it’s too complicated, people won’t use it. Then it would be a waste of money,” he said. The main control center is located at a desk in the kitchen. Just turn on the computer monitor built into the wall. It can be used for Internet access, recipe retrieval, household budgeting and touch-pad control of all electronic systems.
Call up a floor plan of the house on the screen. Then touch any of the picture icons in the various rooms. For example, touch the lamp icon and the lights go on or off in that room; touch the padlock icon to lock or unlock exterior doors.
The kitchen command desk is equipped with a camera and microphone mounted on the wall below the monitor to allow for Internet teleconferencing with family and friends.
Though there’s no home theater, the breakfast room could serve that function; a big-screen television set is built into the wall.
The 42-inch, $12,000 plasma screen is not just for TV viewing. Because it is framed, it can be programmed to look like a work of art by displaying, at timed intervals, your favorite paintings. Or family photos.
Another option is to use the TV as a giant computer monitor. With a wireless keyboard and mouse, you could sit across the room and surf the Net or send e-mail.
The adjoining great room can double as an entertainment center because it is wired with a surround-sound system.
The whole house has an interconnected audio/video distribution system that allows family members to tune into different entertainment options simultaneously. Compact disks are catalogued in a database that can be accessed by song name, album or artist’s name.
Even the lighting is special. An astronomical timer provides exact sunrise and sunset timing year-around to control outside lighting automatically.
An old idea–hot-water heating–has been updated. The radiant heating system, which is claimed to be more efficient and helpful in reducing allergies, includes hot water flowing through tubing in Warmboard panels in the floors.
Room temperatures are set by computer and are monitored by heat sensors on the walls. The house has no thermostats.
Pickell pointed out that the heating and cooling are two of nine preset functions that can be controlled by calling the house’s computer on a cell phone.
State-of-the-art technology, like that showcased in the Renaissancedot.com House, is purchased most often for high-end homes–$700,000 and up–according to Kapov of Paul Heath Audio.
But less comprehensive installations are gaining popularity in moderate-priced production housing.
– Zale Homes offers an electronic package that includes infrastructure wiring that allows buyers to upgrade to electronic and home automation systems as they become available.
– Seventy percent of buyers at Lakewood Homes are opting for additional phone lines and TV outlets, and 20 percent are selecting a pipe that extends from the basement to the attic for future tech installations.
– Every room at the new Ravines Condominium at the Town of Fort Sheridan in Highland Park will be wired for installing satellite television, broadband cable, DSL (digital subscriber line) Internet and multiple telephones. Nearing completion is the first of two nine-story condos by Golub & Co. Every one of the residences will have 10 jack locations, each capable of supporting four separate lines.
– Tech products will be installed into the new Concept House to be built at the Reserve at the Merit Club in Gurnee/Libertyville. Sponsored by the Chicagoland Housing Foundation, it will be built by Bushman Homes and be open to the public next May and June.
– Mark Bushman, vice president of Bushman Homes, said 25 percent of buyers at his firm’s Cedar Crossings subdivision in Lake Villa are selecting the $2,500 audio/visual option.
– Six out of 10 recent buyers at Clover Ridge, a U.S. Shelter Group subdivision in Itasca, selected the home theater option and prewiring for a home office. “People definitely know what they want, mainly on the entertainment side, followed by home offices,” said Jack Sorenson, president of U.S. Shelter.
– Cambridge Homes is offering an Advanced Home Wiring system as standard at Cambridge at the Glen in Glenview and in all future developments. “It will ensure that buyers will be able to take advantage of the newest technologies and any future technologies as they become available,” said Richard J. Brown, chief executive officer at Cambridge.
– Pulte Homes has introduced its Structured Media System that will manage a residence’s information, entertainment and security systems. It will support high-speed Internet access for whole-house audio and video networks and home video monitoring systems. The basic package is standard, but three optional upgrades are available.
– Reese Classic Residences’ new design center in Long Grove is showcasing the latest in technology, including security, central vacuum, home office and home theater systems. Especially hot now, according to Reese, is the Doorbell FON, which enables the homeowner to answer the doorbell from any telephone in the house.
Some builders are installing Category 5 wiring for the new technologies. But some experts think wireless will be the wave of the future, especially for existing residences which are expensive to retrofit with high-tech wiring.
Kapov of Paul Heath Audio warned, though, that wireless signals are subject to interference and are not entirely secure.
However, Chris Gilbert, a vice president with Motorola, sees wireless starting a tech revolution.
Called wireless local area network (LAN), it will bring broadband Internet access into the home from DSL lines or cable. Then any number of computers or telephones can be connected to the Internet through wireless signals.
One downside is that your microwave oven may cause interference.
“A new version, which is five times faster, will not be affected by the microwave,” said Gilbert.
