Smart House

We have all heard about the smart house of the future. We will arrive home to a house that says "welcome home!" when we leave the house will remind us to take the garbage out and warn us that it might rain today. It will prepare our coffee, cook our dinner, and automatically notify a host of service professionals to perform maintenance and repairs.

I don't live in a smart house, but sometimes it feels like it. While most people are dropping their traditional land telephone lines and strictly using cell phones, we have taken a different approach. Each of us can be contacted directly via our cell phone number - a number provided only to close contacts. We have given our house a phone number too - the land line. That number is provided to everyone else. Most of those calls go directly to our answering machine.

The house's answer machine provides announcements loud enough to be heard throughout the house. "CVS Pharamacy is calling" followed by "This is CVS Pharmacy calling to tell you your prescription is ready for pick up." A few moments later the house announces "Doan Dodge is calling" followed by "This is Doan Dodge calling to remind you about your car appointment on Monday." Throughout the day the house tells us about doctor appointments, service status, reminders, and more.

I recently visited a Time Warner store and found a display for the Time Warner Security System. There is a door sensor that looks at the time of day to make different pre-recorded announcements. For example, when my son walks through the door after school the system could say "Welcome home Mark. Get started on your homework right away."

I don't live in the house of the future. But as I listen to my house throughout the day I believe the Smart House is within reach!