Lessons from an Adaptive Home

If time is money, then here's a definition of wealth for the 21st century: You're leaving the house for the day. You grab your things, hop into the car and back out of the garage. Then you pick up a device that looks like a four-button version of your car-lock remote control and punch a “goodbye” button. The garage door closes. Inside the house, all the exterior doors are bolted shut, all windows close and lock, drapes swing closed over west-facing windows, the temperature control adjusts to a more frugal level, and the lights are turned off. (San Diego Union Tribune, 8/4/03, ‘Smart home’ technology creates true digital domain, p. C1)