IRVINE, CA—As compared to existing homes with after-market technology added, new homes with leading-edge technology will be viewed as a step up and a distinct advantage for developers, Brookfield Residential's COO Adrian Foley tells GlobeSt.com. Apple is partnering with Brookfield to offer HomeKit smart home technology in all homes in Brookfield's new Eastwood Village community here, representing the first time a national homebuilder is offering smart-home conveniences on such a massive scale

With the new technology, residents can control temperature, window shades, lighting and gadgets from their iPhone or iPad. All new homes at Brookfield's Delano neighborhood in Eastwood Village, which start in the high $600,000s—will offer this technology.

Brookfield is the first national homebuilder to offer Apple HomeKit technology as standard in new communities, according to officials of both companies. Starting with Delano, all new Southern California homes by Brookfield Residential will be Connected Homes, interfacing with Apple's Home app and integrating with HomeKit-enabled accessories including lighting, thermostats, locks and Wi-Fi.

We spoke with Foley about the introduction of this technology on such a broad scale and where this type of technology is going.

GlobeSt.com: Why it is now feasible to offer this type of home technology on a massive scale?

Foley: First, the Apple iPhone has been out since about 2007, and in the last five years, we have seen a much greater acceptance of technology in our lives and the potential advantages that technology brings to one's life. Second, in the last few years, a series of businesses have begun investing in home technology specifically, and while I can go back to the late '90s and talk about home-automation systems or automation in homes, the reality is it's only possible to be installed in higher-end housing at great cost. With the advent of smart-home technologies, businesses are investing in the platforms or products themselves, and the cost of that technology is coming down dramatically. You can attract an interested audience and offer it in all different price points.

GlobeSt.com: How is the home-technology market changing to allow for more homes to carry it at an affordable rate?

Foley: The cost of technology is just dropping significantly. It's like the car industry: the chances of installing 12 cameras in a $30,000 car were not high a few years ago, but these days it's not very expensive to install them and add a ton of advantages for users. There's been a shift down in the cost of technology, and we're riding that wave; it will continue to come down.

GlobeSt.com: Where is this type of technology going?

Foley: I think we're on rung 1 on a 100-rung ladder, maybe more than 100. Where it goes in the short run I think is a series of products available to be integrated into the platform that can provide convenience, ease of living and immediate habit-changing processes. Your routines will change according to the conveniences that this offers you. Your comfort, if you like, that things are the way they're supposed to be will be a part of your everyday acceptance, whereas before, you might have carried those anxieties around all day. In the short term, which is how technology works, it changes your habits and your approach and generally for the good.

There are some concerns that some of the technologies that fill our lives aren't good. In the mid-term, there are a series of technologies introduced into the home that provide you with longer-term benefits. Short-term habits produce mid-term value and long-term benefits—for example, energy consumption. Being able to operate your home's energy system efficiently produces mid-term value in that those energy uses are reduced, and therefore, this is of long-term value to you. Those products last longer and require less replacement. Some will provide early detection, warning or the need for potential repair or replacement that will bring about longer-term benefits for the home. There's less maintenance and more-efficient longer-term operating costs.

The loop of information that comes back to us informs us what choices to make at the start to improve performance. Car companies do this, and the cost of maintenance is improved by technologies. Soon, we will be able to walk up to the home of the future and have a diagnostics software system that immediately tells us how the house is behaving and what we need to tweak to make the home behave better. some of this is future thinking and some is real. I can put leak detectors and cameras into homes today that monitor performance standards for insulation and heat transfer. I can put sensors on products, and we will get to the point where these sensors are integrated into the product. It allow us to choose the right products and monitor them better for the future.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about home technology?

Foley: In and of itself, smart-home-connected features are fairly basic. They're not where it's going. What we just talked about is more the focus. We will immerse ourselves in this opportunity, but it's less about the immediate impact and more about the long-term journey—how products become integrated into the home and looking and being open to that and receptive to this change. This will distinguish ourselves from the used-home market by providing us with a step up in value. The used home has either no smart-home technology or after-sales, so it's not fully integrated, and this is seen as a negative feature. It's like looking at a new car: how does the driving experience change? How does the living experience change as a result of these technologies?

We spoke with Foley about the introduction of this technology on such a broad scale and where this type of technology is going.

GlobeSt.com: Why it is now feasible to offer this type of home technology on a massive scale?

GlobeSt.com: How is the home-technology market changing to allow for more homes to carry it at an affordable rate?

GlobeSt.com: Where is this type of technology going?

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about home technology?

Instant Insights /

Integrated Home Tech Will Give New Homes an Edge

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