Now that structured wiring is going into new homes — thanks largely to demand for fast access to the Internet and the desire to work at home — home automation can't be far behind.  "You've got to have the infrastructure in the home to even think of [home automation]," says Kurt Scherf, an analyst for Parks Associates, a Dallas firm that researches emerging home technologies. Scherf predicts that five years from mow about 40 percent of American homes will be built with some sort of structured wiring.   Rising energy costs and the demand for quality indoor air could give the trend a shot in the arm.  In the short term, the practical applications of home automation will be the important selling points.  "It will start with the HVAC and security," predicts Scherf. "The benefits of automation need to be explained in terms of dollars off the energy bill and feeling safer and more secure.'

From the article, "The Home as the Computer," by Peter Bodensteiner.

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