Concept house has a flexible future

The absolute in flexible home entertainment and networking will be sampled by the family chosen to 'test drive' the David Wilson Homes Project:LIFE concept house in Sheffield.

The absolute in flexible home entertainment and networking will be sampled by the family chosen to 'test drive' the David Wilson Homes Project:LIFE concept house in Sheffield.

AST HomeNet has installed a Square D LexCom Home Network from Schneider Electric's Enhanced Living offer at the house, and the family's use of the system will be closely monitored over six months.

Project:LIFE, an experiment in house design, aims to provide insight into how the home of the future should be designed.

The traditional household is changing, and there is a growing consumer demand for a modern living environment.

"Increasingly homeowners want a more convergent, convenient and flexible home entertainment system," explains Derek Hulbert of AST HomeNet.

"At the Project:LIFE house, the LexCom Home Network provides this flexibility and accommodates the need for integrated multimedia, information technology and entertainment".

The Square D LexCom Home Network allows the easy distribution of digital television, the Internet, radio and CCTV security through wired outlets around the home, providing the family with flexible and future proofed living.

Fully controllable from anywhere in the home, the Project:LIFE house boasts SKY Plus and digital freeview distribution to any LexCom outlet the homeowner chooses, with the potential to add other devices, such as DVD players and media PCs.

The Project:LIFE house is built on four levels and includes several spaces, such as a basement room, that have been built with no predetermined function in mind.

The LexCom Home Network will give the family the flexibility to use each room as they see fit, and to change the purpose of each room as their needs change.

For example, wired outlets in the basement mean the space can be easily used for a variety of purposes.

It could become a teenagers' "parent no go zone" where 13 year old Hazel can play her drums, or a space where the father of the family can escape and play his guitar or computer games.

Alternatively, the basement could become a home office where the parents can gain easy access to the Internet in a quiet environment, while, at the same time, the teenage girls are working on Internet based school projects upstairs.

Square D technology brings flexibility and convenience to the Project:LIFE house.

As lifestyles and households change, so to do the demands placed on the home; the LexCom Home Network caters to these changing needs.

Back to top