MrsPete, I mostly agree with your concern (especially as I work in technology and get to see "new" technology becoming obsolete every day). However I've become convinced that some level of control may be essential in homes of a certain size. e.g. in our great room we have the following loads: - led cans, kitchen area - led cans, living room area - island pendants - eating area pendant - living room area pendant - under cabinet/in-cabinet lighting - various wall-spots/etc. There are also 4 key entries into this space and so the ME plan showed several 4-gang switchplates. 4 years ago I completed a smaller remodel with similar lighting load counts and my wife never really got the banks of switches, just figured out which one turned on the brightest lights and hit that. Made me feel like all the accent lighting was a waste of money. The beauty of these systems is that they have the ability to simplify a complex scene into a single button. There are a variety of ways to future-proof yourself: - lutron/vantage I think share the same infrastructure wiring (standard high voltage and cat6 low voltage) - wireless systems rely on conventional wiring anyway and just add extra keypads to make it easier. I think the app interfaces might date themselves a bit more. I went to an open house with a (still functioning) Lutron system from the late 1980s. There was a 10" CRT touch-screen (!) built into the wall by the kitchen. It was pretty funny. But most of the house had conventional keypads that were super simple to operate. I would be most concerned about systems that only have controllers compatible with certain brands of smartphone. What if you decide that you want an Android phone next year? $2000 is tight. The HomeWorks processor alone costs close to that. I think with that budget you are probably going to limit yourself to an area where you have the most complex lighting situation. Take a look at Lutron's GrafikEye.

I looked into control 4 for my house, because I liked the idea of the system and that they purport it's cheaper than some of the other integrated system. For me, it didn't work that way, and my quote was around 30k for the stuff I wanted. Another thing I really didn't like about control4 was that you needed a service call from a reseller technician every time you want to change something about the system. I ended up going with a Legrand Unity system which does very similar stuff, albeit the touchscreen remote stuff isn't as cool, but I still have an LCD screen that integrates cameras, thermostat, intercom, and whole house audio. Speaker wise, I would say 2 speakers is what I would do for that size room, but speakers don't have to be expensive. I bought a variety of types, and settled on Polk 620RT, which look and sound very nice. That being said I bought some cheap Micca speakers off amazon and I think they sound really good; excellent for the price. I'm very happy with my Netgear Nighthawk AC router for $200 (or less on sale). Have them run one of those many cat 6's to two distributed places in the house and you'll be good. If you have to go w/more than 1 router and want it more integrated, I'd suggest Ubiquiti UniFi AC Enterprise WiFi System (on amazon). Cheaper than Luxul and I've heard very good things. -adam

I've got one Yoshino cherry left that has a few blooms on it, mainly due to encroaching shade. We have been below freezing for over 24 hours so far, it will probably get above freezing this PM. Low this morning was 21F, it's been in the 20's for about 15 hours. Tonight's forecast low is 20F, I suspect it will go lower. We had flurries overnight so blooms have some ice on them, not as much as DC though. In the past my cherries have endured 16F while in full bloom and suffered minor damage, not enough to notice at a distance. The difference here this year is the numerous freezing events the past 7-10 days and the duration of this current event. I have a P.s. autumnalis that's been in full bloom for almost 2 weeks and is now past peak and "shedding". Yesterday I looked at the blossoms up close and they had no freeze damage. This AM they look fine from inside, I've not ventured out yet and my dog is getting antsy LOL.

In our latest build, I concentrated on: 1. Wiring, for now and the future. Upgraded as far as we could go-CAT6 (alas, residential fiber not yet affordable, 2 years ago) and made sure that we planned for things we wanted as well as what, perhaps, a future buyer might want. We are with Google Fiber, currently, but all fiber networks can work with this wiring. We'd lived through the "intercom" stage (early 80s) and wanted nothing like that. Control panels swerve all systems, are out of the way and except for an additional alarm system panel (panic room? :) ), none is in the master, nor is any of it visible. The whole house could be run by apps, for those who have the appetite for apps. I don't... Most importantly, we did the planning before the walls went in. 2. Concentrated on not putting in anything that might become obsolete, fast. At one point, our low voltage guy recommended a built-in iPad, to run the house. Lol- NO! 3. Put 240V in the car area. Electric cars are becoming more and more something people want, and are common in my city. HAH! We decided to test the technology, soon after move-in. Got an EV. Our public utility paid for half the costs of the station/install. We're having a blast with the car, and Federal credits made it stupidly affordable. Now- the Utility told us that if we sell too soon OR go solar, they "might" ask for their money back. Understandable because... 4. Made sure that solar is a reasonable option, without tearing our house apart. Go back to #1- it all matters, works. We're have a great rating for solar (because of design) and can easily do it. Didn't do it with the initial build, because that technology is rapidly changing. 5. Nest Thermostats- we have them. Took a minute for me to understand the programming, but it works great. 6. Made sure that our HVAC system had the best, cleanest and easiest to operate technology available. Without an app, it works with our windows, even, to prevent the "fogging" that happens when it's 100 degrees outside and 72 inside. Also works to control humidity in our really humid climate. 6. Not what you'd think of as "technology", but we have a very natural possibility of a third story rooftop deck. We don't want it (I HATE holes in roofs- problems abound, even in the best of cases), but somebody else might. So while the walls were open, we took the time to have a tiny bit of engineering, a bit of steel reinforcement installed, and presto! That space is ready to go, for anybody who wants to do it. All of this was done at really affordable prices, since it was planned for, installed in the beginning. All of it wrapped up in a really nice, long-term Builder's Warranty. Not nearly as affordable if you don't do it and then discover you want "more". That, then, becomes a type of a remodel remodel- hell on earth, for me! The only thing we installed that could become obsolete are ceiling speakers. We love music, and it plays through our home a lot. Can hook to the TV, so a football game (or movie) sounds like a home theater, without all the mess. Eh- the speakers could become out-of-date, but they're there, so a quick switch out and off you go.