House-o-matic: Semaphoric Smart Homes brings luxury technology to the suburbs.

WHEN Ben Salisbury and his wife moved into their Sherman Oaks town home last year, the building came prewired with Internet access, satellite TV in every room and the capacity to add an elaborate entertainment center.

But Salisbury wanted more, so he asked Matt McKenna, owner of Moorpark-based

"There's a lot of other stuff he can do," said 29-year-old Salisbury. "I love all that stuff."

It's that kind of attitude McKenna is counting on.

Unlike most home automation companies, which target the owners of multimillion-dollar mansions, Semaphoric offers additional perks such as automated lighting controls, fiber installation and drapes that open automatically.

McKenna is piggybacking on new hardware and software suppliers who are taking advantage of cheap Asian manufacturing and advances in wireless technology to lower prices. He plans to have 120 homes pre-wired this year, with a handful coming back for more technology gadgets.

"A lot of people don't know this is affordable," he said. "How much would it cost to replace the carpet? $10,000 to $20,000. You can spend that to control a home theater, the Internet and turn the lights on and off."

Pre-wires

This year, 83 percent of homebuilders are expected to offer structured wiring in their new homes, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, up from 76 percent in 2004. Such wiring covers basics such as high-speed Internet access, McKenna said, but not more complex automation, such as lighting controls, automated blinds and remote access, which allows the homeowner to control lights and other features from a distant location via the Internet.

Those kinds of systems, often running over $100,000, have been generally targeted to large new homes and gut-and-build renovations in which thousands of feet of cabling could be installed.

Instead, McKenna said he can set up a system for $40,000 by purchasing his products from Control4, a Salt Lake City start up that sells lower-priced home automation systems using generic technology.

Control4's products, taking advantage of advances in Bluetooth and WiFi wireless communications, can be installed without wires in existing homes, creating a mass market for its products. McKenna said he can buy an automated lighting dimmer for $100 instead of more than $300 from other suppliers.