U.S. Home Builders Adopting Home Networking, Advanced Technology For New Residences

6-Dec-00

Recent results from a groundbreaking survey of the housing industry reveal a growing acceptance of advanced standards in residential infrastructure, as home builders are responding to the new technological demands of their customers. According to this nationwide survey conducted by Parks Associates and BUILDER Magazine, more than one-half of the U.S. home builders sampled indicate that their firms currently offer advanced whole-house networking in the form of structured wiring. In total, 12 percent of U.S. home builders are already offering structured wiring as a standard feature. ""As buyers of newly built homes become more savvy regarding technology, they are requesting features such as pre-wired home offices, entertainment centers and home networks,"" said Kurt Scherf, Vice President of Research. ""Home builders who recognize this growing trend and implement solutions to address current and future needs will have a competitive advantage."" The survey of 696 U.S. home builders (a nationally projected sample providing a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percent) features data on application wiring, structured wiring, home controls and value-added services. Solutions such as structured wiring enable the provision of advanced services, including high-speed Internet, distributed audio and video, and extensive home controls, to and throughout the home. Scherf noted that this new research shows a strong link between structured wiring and the presence of these other residential technology solutions to supplement a builder's offerings.""Although the growth in consumer acceptance of home controls has been slow, this research provides a clue as to how wider deployment will occur,"" said Scherf. ""We believe that the installation of an appropriate network infrastructure will be critical in order for advanced solutions to flourish. From this study, we find that, across the board, home builders who are installing structured wiring are more likely to offer their buyers additional solutions, such as lighting control, HVAC and monitored security.""""U.S. Builders And Emerging Technologies"" is a research study that examines how home builders are adopting technologies for the home. Topics covered in this study include application wiring, whole-house wired networks, home controls and services provision. For more information on this study, contact Steve Harvey at 972 490 1113 or harvey@parksassociates.com. For more information about Parks Associates, visit www.parksassociates.com.

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