by Jemma Pearson Future proof your home with the newest in residential automation products.

High-tech home automation allows residents to remotely control equipment and appliances in and around the home. Once an expensive luxury, seen only in high-end residences, home automation is now really starting to come into its own. Products are always being developed, updated and improved, and the added security, convenience and energy savings that home automation provides is making it much more sought after. It’s no longer about being too lazy to pull down the blinds or vacuum your own floor – home automation helps increase your home’s value and future proof your most valuable asset.

But it is more than just clever light switches and video intercoms. Even before you arrive home, your automated house kicks into gear. As you turn into your street you can disarm your security system and activate the air-conditioning from your mobile phone. Drive into your property through keyless security gates as sensor lights illuminate the way to the garage. Unlock the front door by popping your finger on the waterproof fingerprint scanner and step inside as the hall lights flick on without you touching a switch.

Head into the bathroom where automatic lights and exhaust fans will 'sense' your presence and the rail will start heating up your towels

Once inside you can control the climate of the entire home – heaters, air-conditioners and fans – from one keypad. Manage the electric blinds and shutters in the bedrooms and living area and reset the water feature by the pool and sprinkler system in the garden from the same location. Head into the bathroom where automatic lights and exhaust fans will ‘sense’ your presence and the rail will start heating up your towels. Down in the media room, press play and the lights will dim as the projector screen slowly descends from the ceiling.

Toilets that monitor waste, garage doors that identify a car approaching and underwater speakers that let you listen to music while doing laps are all available, if you have the cash. Flat-screen plasmas that rise out of the floor and wardrobes that suggest clothes are also appearing in the homes of the well-heeled. While these seem like unattainable luxuries, it won’t be long before demand pushes down prices and technologies improve.

But automating your house is not only a matter of convenience. Home automation can save energy, money and the environment. Set up your lights and air-con to automatically switch off whenever anyone leaves the room and install motorised shutters that close when the sun hits the window and open as the light diminishes, and watch your electricity use go down. Some home automation systems even log and display energy consumption to help you adopt more energy-efficient practices.

A home that offers convenience, security and saves energy? It’s the way of the future.

But wait, there's more

Products and appliances that use voice recognition are being developed and tested and it won’t belong before we’ll be seeing these in the home. When we do you can simply ask your room to be heated or cooled or request the lights be turned off or on. And forget keys for the front door – face recognition is the way to go. But you may not even have to leave the home much in the coming years – fridges and pantries will be taking inventories of your food supplies and order more groceries when you need them so you’ll never have to pop out to Coles again. But even with a cupboard full of food, who has time to cook? In the future, you won’t need to stress about it, with smart kitchens that offer recipes. Just place your ingredients on the benchtop and a monitor will flash up meals that can be created with those items.