Last night I asked my five year old son what a Smart Home was. He took his time before answering that in a Smart Home you can close the curtains using the light switch, doors open automatically without you using the handles and you can listen to music wherever you sit down. An impressive answer from someone so young but he knows what Customised does and lives in a home which has some Smart Home features. He proceeded to tell me that in some houses you can speak to the house to get it to do things. I’m always astounded by the tech savviness of kids but have to remind myself that they're growing up surrounded by touch screens, smartphones, digital signage and on-demand content and don't have memories of only a handful of television channels and waiting your turn to use the house phone. 

I often wonder what technology will be available in my sons’ home when he gets on the property ladder. Based on what housing developers are building today, if he was to buy a home built in 2016 it will be highly insulated, utilise renewable energy and have triple glazed windows. Excellent features that will help him run an efficient home but where are the connections for his tech? It’s difficult for home builders to keep up to date on the latest home technology developments, new products and trends are launched everyday. One way for them to keep abreast of the future home is to buddy up with their local CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) member. Your local CEDIA members are home technology professionals who can support the home builder to design, install and maintain the future ready home.

CEDIA recently announced their insights and predictions for the home technology which will be commonplace in 2020, less than four years from now. Here are a few to look forward to:

• Home broadband speeds will continue to double roughly every 12 months, with speeds possibly reaching as high as 16 times what they are today.
• Input technologies will mature to include voice and gesture recognition, location, and personal preferences. In 2020, talk will be less about the ‘networked home’ and more about the ‘personalised home.’
• Lighting solutions will change dramatically. An increasing number of lighting control and fixtures will be internet based and have the potential to run on extra low-voltage wiring such as Cat6 or Cat6A cable.
• The intelligent kitchen will ensure you never burn another burger. Robotic arms will stir your sauce. Your worktops will become touch screens and sensors will shut off burners the moment internal meat temperatures hit the desired cooking preference.
• Fibre optic will be the cable type to deliver your on-demand content as copper wiring struggles with 8K and 16K video resolutions. There will simply be too much data coming down the line for telephone and coaxial cabling.

Customised are your Norfolk based CEDIA members and can support you in your move to building smarter homes, get in touch to arrange your RIBA approved presentation on Designing Future Ready Homes.