IQ test

Despite the interest in intelligent homes generated by one-off demonstration projects such as Integer’s Millennium House, most developers do not regard the integration of smart technology into the home as a priority.

“As far as I’m concerned a home is smart if the roof doesn’t leak” is still a typical view from the Luddite wing of the homebuilding industry.

Thankfully, not all developers are technophobes, and an increasing number are recognising that building intelligence into homes can add value to the end product.

“You wouldn’t buy a car if it didn’t have a decent stereo, air conditioning and electric windows. It’s the same with a house and its ability to interact with smart new technology,” says Paul Slater, research and development manager at Wilcon Homes.

TV turn-off

Some of the current interest in smart home technology is being driven by digital TV - with the Government proposing to turn off analogue TV signals in 2006. Homebuilders have recognised the twin advantages of offering digital satellite TV as part of the new build package. Digital signals and satellite channels can be a powerful sales sweetener.

Sky Homes was set up by BSkyB to market its integrated reception system (IRS) to homebuilders. This system offers digital satellite TV, FM radio, terrestrial TV and CCTV to residents. Open, Sky’s interactive TV channel also offers email and online shopping, games and information. Sky Homes claims it helps make housing developments more marketable. “Installing Sky is an easy way to add value - it’s a no-brainer for housebuilders,” says Sky Homes operations manager Lee Mercer.

Homebuilders have to make the decision whether to have an IRS installed by Sky at build stage or leave the homebuyer to plug an ONdigital set-top box into an ordinary terrestrial TV aerial socket and have digital TV delivered that way.

Preferred partner

Sky is the preferred digital TV partner for Wilcon Homes. “ONdigital was only offering to put in half the number of sockets and as it’s not a proper distribution system you don’t get sockets in every room.” says Slater. He also sees in Sky the opportunity to add value. “With a TV distribution system you could offer the homebuyer the option to buy a CCTV camera for £150.”

This perception is spreading among homebuilders. “Now they’re coming to us for advice,” says Sky’s Mercer “We are helping them manage the digital revolution.” By the end of the year Sky Homes will have agreements with 75% of homebuilders to take homes digital.

In a bid to win more subscribers ONdigital announced last month that users would be able to use the internet over its set-top boxes by the end of the year. Switched-on homebuilders realise the home will increasingly be the place from where people will go online. Internet activities taking place from the home could range from shopping, banking, working, to learning, entertainment and healthcare support.

InHome Innovations is one of a number of companies that is now marketing a TV set-top box that enables users to surf the internet. “It’s more sociable for a family to use a TV for the internet rather than huddling around a PC in a room built as an office,” says Wilcon Homes’ Slater.

Simon Hill, business development and marketing director at InHome Innovations, says that the HomePilot set-top box does more than just surf the Net. It has a range of features that brings smart home technology within reach of the typical homeowner. From July, the company will offer video telephony through the HomePilot. By plugging a camera and microphone into HomePilot users will be able to talk over the internet, and see themselves as well as the person they are talking to.

The HomePilot contains Citrix software that can turn the TV into a PC. It can remotely connect to a server and use Windows 95 and applications such as Word and Excel. It also utilises X10 technology - a low-cost protocol that allows home automation over power lines - which allows users to control electric appliances such as ovens and light switches from their TVs.

Permanent connection

The same technology also enables the alarm system to be controlled via the TV and InHome Innovations is planning to use the internet to automatically contact a user by mobile phone if alarm sensors are triggered. This will require users to be permanently connected to the internet and will happen when ‘always on’ high-speed internet access becomes more available and affordable in the next two to three years through ADSL services.

InHome Innovations is planning to give away 160 000 HomePilots to homebuilders in the next two years. For this act of apparent generosity InHome Innovations will gain access to a huge database of new homebuyers. It then aims to target residents with e-commerce advertising via an offline page, which users will see every time they switch on their TVs.

Virtual ISPs

InHome Innovations intends to sell advertising on the offline page and expects to receive a proportion of any resultant e-commerce sales. If the user repeatedly buys online, say from a large supermarket, returns could be lucrative. In effect the company is operating as an internet service provider (ISP) and Hill says there is no reason why HomePilot couldn’t provide a long-term revenue stream for homebuilders too.

“Developers aren’t getting any money from e-commerce. It’s a shame because they have a ready-made community. Once the keys have been handed over to the homeowner, the sale is gone and no more value can be added,” says Hill.

The other technology trend being adopted by forward-thinking homebuilders is structured cabling. Also known as CAT 5 cabling, it is installed to create local area networks (midiLANs), which enable high-speed transfer of data around the home.

For now, data points in each room can link up with personal computers. In the future it will be possible to link and control smart devices such as online fridges and intelligent washing machines.

Wireless technology such as Bluetooth will also have a role controlling technology in the home but Peter Colebrook, director of IT consultant i&i, believes wireless networks won’t be able to carry smart devices. “The only time wireless seriously comes up is as an excuse for not putting structured cabling into a new home,” he says.

Buyer beware

Wilcon’s Slater believes installing a midiLAN system into a new house can be cheap if you shop around and are big enough to benefit from economies of scale. “You could end up spending £1000 installing a midiLAN, but we’ve managed to source it for a fraction of that price. A 24-point midiLAN can cost only £200.”

Developers should be wary before embracing new technology, says Slater who claims that he was offered a lighting system for £2000 per unit, which should have cost £200.

“There’s a lot of slick stuff out there you can pay a lot of money for. Don’t take everything as read otherwise you will be forking out for something you don’t really want,” he says. The problem is that homebuilders’ buying departments don’t have time to look at technology, says Slater.

Sky Homes’ Mercer says some homebuilders are sitting targets for unscrupulous integrators who overcharge and don’t necessarily offer the best systems. “Homebuilders have heard of digital TV and the internet, but they don’t understand it. Up until now they have been choosing between different types of roof tile. Now they have to make decisions on IT. If they don’t choose the right solutions their homes could be out of date within two years.”

In this confusing new market Mercer suggests off-the-peg solutions are the answer for homebuilders. Laing Homes showed system integrator ITC three standard house layouts and asked the company to come up with a solution for each. “It’s like mobile phones. You only need to know what three options are best for you,” says Mercer.