We can only imagine what the home of the future will look like – but we do know we want to
be able to take advantage of every new toy, gadget or advance that technology sends our way.
Buying a new home, or having one custom built gives the opportunity to plan ahead for as
much new technology as we can imagine. And it is possible to upgrade an older home so as not to lose out.
     Home automation today permits us to do so much. Technology permits us to turn lights on
and off all around the house, control the thermostat in different rooms, control a home
entertainment system – music and plasma television in several rooms, high speed internet
outlets, multiple telephones, internal intercom systems and provide home security – all from a
computer or a portable keypad.
     Planning for this technology while the home is being built is easiest. Wiring can be installed
before drywall goes up. Corinne Cleary of Cleary homes says the industry standard for new
homes is to instal l wiring for three telephones and three cable outlets. "Most people want to
be able to have phones and cable in each room." But when it comes to "future proofing" the
home, Cleary homes installed Category 5, or CAT-5, ethernet cable. "This is very common.
You have computer, cable and phone all in one jack." CAT-5 is for data communication,
including phone, security sensors, intercoms and infrared signals.
     Paul Stewart, network specialist at Nexicom, says "My wife and I were looking to build and I
was going to pull CAT-5 to every possible location in the house. It is worth the money to have
overkill because to get this later is always messy." Internal CAT-5 wiring permits a broad use
of computers to operate many functions in the home. "You can put it in the utility room and use
inside wiring to connect it wherever you want. It means you don’t have to drill holes for
telephones through the outside of a new home."
     Peter Lezar from Kawartha T V and Stereo has just finished wiring a new home on Stoney
Lake. "We completely wired it for security, utility room video, multi-room music, two-way
satellite internet and the whole house is computer networked . There is even a touch screen in
the wall that can operate the system throughout the house." Kawartha T V and Stereo will add
wiring to older homes as well.
     How does a family use this technology: "The most popular system is a multi-room, multi-
source music system. That’s where the wife can listen to a business report in the kitchen in
the morning and the husband can listen to a CD in the master bathroom. It is the same
system, with independent controls. We also do a lot of home theatre systems."
     New television systems may not necessarily need additional wiring, but hooking up the
surround sound speakers can be tricky in a renovation, Peter Stewart says. "People don’t want
wires around, they want them buried, or up in the attic or in the basement and coming through
the walls in behind." Nexicom has successfully completed a number of Fiber To The Home
(FTTH) installations in the second phase of the Baxter Creek Residential Development in
Millbrook.
     The FTTH connection provides "triple play" services of voice, data and video over a single,
optical fiber connected at each home. FTTH services increase network security and
dramatically reduce upload and download times. Other features will include the ability to
receive emerging two-way, video-based services such as interactive T V, distance learning,
video conferencing and videophones.
     Julie Stuart, from Nexicom’s marketing department, says traditionally if a homeowner
decided to open a home office and needed more phone lines, someone from the telephone
company would have to come in and install new cables. "This is time consuming and requires
a lot of planning. With FTTH the fiber has almost unlimited capacity, If you need to add more
lines, it is very quick and efficient to provide for it. In the old days, Bell would have to climb a
pole and bring new cables in when there was the demand. Now it is more of a programming
issue, rather than a physical one. In the long run it cuts down on the amount of time needed at
a customer’s site."
     Buying a new home, or having one custom built gives the opportunity to plan ahead for as
much new technology as we can imagine. And it is possible to upgrade an older home so as
not to lose out. Most of us have seen Vonage television commercials asking if we "VoIP".
That’s Voice Over Internet Protocol. Subscribers can make telephone calls using their
broadband internet connection without having to use a regular phone line. Through Nexicom’s
web-based interface, VoIP customers will be able to select such services as call waiting, call
forwarding, call return, call block and three-way calling.
     Vonage is "the key player in the field," but Bell, MCI and Cogeco also offer the service. Paul
Stewart notes that customers can buy an individualized package of services for a monthly fee.
"It is internet dependent – you have to have high speed internet service. You have an adapter
that plugs into the high speed internet and you plug the phone into it. When you pick up the
phone, you call out as usual, you won’t notice any difference.
     "What is different is that you can take this number wherever you go. Snowbirds, for example,
can pick it up and take it to their condo. They plug it in and people call them as usual, not
knowing where they are, using their Peterborough number. "
     Video over IP will deliver many more television channels much more clearly. "This is very
speculative. The trend is just developing."
     Questions families contemplating building a new home should begin with determining
needs. What is going into the house, and where. How many telephones are needed, and are
the one-line or multi-line? CAT-5 wiring connected to the phone will connect the back and front
doors. Technology is available to determine from a remote television or computer screen who
is at the door.
     Are computers to be networked together and where are they to be located in the home?
Where are the televisions going, and is there a plan to buy a plasma television some time
later? How many different television and music options will be going on in different parts of the
house? High definition TV with satellite needs more coaxial cable. It makes sense to install it
before it is needed when the home is under construction. Another trend is a multi-room, multi-
source LCD screen. A keypad sends a signal to a CD player or a television to change
channels.
      New appliances are coming into our lives. A new Samsung refrigerator builds grocery lists
by scanning bar codes as groceries are put away. A list of groceries that are needed can be
loaded onto a pocket PC and taken to the store. A media centre PC from Gateway, HP and
others, uses Windows and handled a DVD player,TV, CDs, MP3s, family photos and videos,
internet radio, e-mail and the web. It can also record shows on the hard drive. The monitor,
which is also TV, hangs on a wall.
      Some of these new technologies don't so much require additional wiring as they do
additional planning. What we will need our homes wired for in the future – who knows! But
none of us wants to miss out.