Lights, camera, action: Mexico catches the automated home wave.

Imagine you are on your way to your ski lodge in Aspen from Mexico City, sitting comfortably on your private jet, sipping a vodka and tonic to take the edge off a hectic work week. You think, "I wonder how much snow has piled in front of my driveway since last season?" You flip open your laptop, access your automated home system via the Internet and up pops a visual of your property. Noticing a snow-blocked driveway, you scroll your mouse to a button onscreen and choose "heat."

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By the time your plane lands and you drive from the airport to your beautiful vacation home, your driveway is melted, all snow and ice safely out of your vehicle's way. Further; your lights are on, favorite CD activated, Disney DVD playing for the kids and the house is warm and cozy.

No, this scenario is not a Jetsons-inspired fantasy, but the reality of today's automated or "custom electronic" home industry. More importantly, you do not have to be Bill Gates or Carlos Slim to install an automated system into your apartment or house. As technology advances, prices drop, making such home accessories as motorized curtains and home theaters more attainable to consumers than 10 years ago.

According to Manuel Suero, president of NTX, based in Mexico City, a basic audio and lighting control system that set a homeowner back US$50,000 a decade ago, now averages US$5,000. Although still expensive for the average person, clients get more and better technology for their money than ever before.

"The industry is definitely growing in Mexico because of the constant technologic advances, the decreasing cost of products and the popularity these systems are getting, making these solutions more accessible to more potential clients," says Sergio Enrique Gaitan Serrano, sales coordinator for Foto Niza.

The typical customer in Mexico who initially requests a fully automated home is a family man. But authorities on the subject quickly point out that the wives of such men soon adopt the new technology as their own and run the show, especially when designing their second or third home. Since a homeowner can access her home system through her laptop, remote control, PDA, cell phone, touch panel or touch screen, today's automated home is user-friendly and addictive.

The audio and home theater elements of a custom electronic home lure the most clients. Suero says, "All of the entertainment in the home starts to draw attention and people start to say, 'I want all of these things in my house.' Then you explain that with the same system, they can control their lighting, heating & cooling, alarm system and closed circuit television system, which widens their vision and leads them to ask about prices."

After entertainment, lighting and security are the most popular elements of an automated home, although Suero says the security portion only costs 5-10 percent of the overall system in Mexico City. Most homeowners spend their money on entertainment gadgets. But sometimes security and entertainment blend together.

"One of the solutions of an integrated automated home in Mexico City is having a home theater," says Federico Bausone, president of Multimedia, whose clients reside in Monterrey and Mexico City." Considering all of the security issues in Mexico City and parents not wanting their children to go out to the theater, these homes become the center of entertainment for their kids and their friends' kids."

COSTS AND BENEFITS

Prices of home theater systems and full custom electronic houses may be dropping over the long-term, but the cost of luxury is not cheap. Raul Granados, president of InteliKsa, says a fully automated system in a Mexico City apartment averages US$60,000 and in a large four or five-bedroom house costs US$90,000. Bausone says the cost of a fully automated system is 4-8 percent of the total cost of a fully furnished home, generally between US$30,000 and a couple of million, yet most of his residential projects average US$100,000. Gaitan uses yet a higher range in his estimate: 5-10 percent the total cost of a home is realistic for an integrated system in his opinion.

Although still expensive, experts agree that a homeowner saves money if he designs his home using an architect knowledgeable about automated systems rather than install a system in an older home, which proves difficult due to the construction issues Mexico faces.

If you have the money to spend and the resources to design and build a new house, Bausone lists the benefits to the homeowner of a custom-tailored automated system. It helps a large home function, saves money on labor, conserves energy, gives the client more control over his home and provides a greater level of security since a homeowner can control the lighting, cameras and alarm from his bedroom.

Although the industry originated in the United States during the 1980's, many architects and designers need training to learn about the technological advances in the custom electronic home industry, a field that Suero estimates is growing around 20 percent per year.

For the company that wants to know more, an excellent resource for training is the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), www.cedia.net. As members, companies can send their architects, designers, accountants, sales representatives, distributors and anyone else needing extra information regarding electronic systems for the home to CEDIA's conferences. Homeowners, too, can use CEDIA's web site to learn more about the industry and find a certified CEDIA member company to install their custom-tailored packages. Automated home industry leaders, New Jersey-based Crestron and Dallas-based AMX, are additional resources for homeowners interested in the field.

Although the United States is at the forefront of electronic home systems, Mexico is only a few years behind. Word of mouth--rather than extensive advertising campaigns--drives the market locally. Differences do not stop there: Mexican customers request different services than Americans or Europeans. In the United States, automated systems minimize the number of domestic employees needed to maintain a large household. In Mexico, access to affordable service including gardeners and security guards prevents customers from requesting as many automated services as they might in the United States.

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Suero says his Mexican clients enjoy the status of owning a home audio and theater system to impress their dinner party guests, but are more practical in how they choose their overall package compared to their counterparts in the United States.

"Even the people who have a lot of money in Mexico will be very cautious on how they spend it probably because they lack the confidence in all of the systems. People here stick to the basic scenario and say, 'I want good sound here and good sound there,' but they will not spend money like in Los Angeles where someone will have a US$50,000 pair of speakers because they look good."

Granted, there are exceptions. Bausone knows one man who owns a telescope system in San Luis with a high-end data line allowing him to see the stars from his bedroom in Mexico City. The sky is literally the limit for such clients.

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A PROMISING FUTURE

In time, customers will request a wider range of services as Mexican families learn that their automated homes are reliable, save energy and may even be repaired through the Internet. Currently, a customer cannot purchase equipment through a general retailer, but as contractors and architects learn more about the technology and offer it to new homeowners, the business continues to grow.

"The majority of homes in Mexico were wired with little more than the main electrical circuits, some phone lines and a few TV cables. Times are changing and electrical and security system contractors are starting to install communication network cables for 'smart home' systems. MCM Telecom supplies Internet access and help users implement WiFi Networks and incorporated Bluetooth along with popular services such as surveillance cameras over the Internet, home theater and high definition entertainment systems, videophones, driveway vehicle sensors, etc.," says Manuel Matus Trejo, Solutions Engineer manager for MCM Telecomunicaciones.

Though the technology is available at lower prices and more people know about the exciting trend than ten years ago, consumers still worry about protecting their high-tech residential systems in case of power surges, low voltage and thunderstorms, all common in Mexico City. Luckily, custom electronic companies offer back-up protection in the form of black boxes and a full UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to keep the system running until a generator kicks in to supply power. The backup option is important to intercept a power surge so that it does not fry your equipment.

Technicians are also readily available in the instance that a system experiences a programming malfunction, but packages are tested several times before installed in a client's home, making failures rare. A user-friendly system is key to maintaining happy customers and luring new ones.

"With multimedia, you do not have to be technically savvy at all. The client pushes a button, and everything starts. The magic happens because everything is pre-programmed. For instance, you can have a 'goodnight' function on your touch screen with a simple icon you press, which will turn off the lights, turn on the alarm, turn on the air conditioning in certain areas or whatever you want 'goodnight' to mean," says Bausone.

Back-up systems and simple instructions are important, but so are aesthetics, which is why a lot of the entertainment equipment such as speakers and screens are recessed into walls, disguised as rocks in a garden or hidden within furniture.

The luxury market in Mexico is growing more technologically advanced each year. Custom electronic homes are increasingly trendy, as consumers who can afford them recognize the time, energy and stress such systems save them. Most importantly, a fully automated house with state-of-the-art theater and audio gadgets makes us all feel a little closer to James Bond.

For Future Reference:

NTX

www.ntx.com.mx, (55) 5358-3600

InteliKsa

www.inteliksa.com, (55) 5290-5500/01

Multimedia

www.multimedia.com.mx

(55) 5093-2222 and (81) 8221-2122

Soon to publish 10,000 copies of their book, Espacios Multimedia.

Centro de Audio, Video y Comunicaciones

www.cavc.com.mx, (55) 5373-4456/5123

Foto Niza

www.gruponiza.com, (55) 5207-0888

Photographs by Carla Haselbarth