[russell]

The short answer is no. This stuff has been around for 40-50 years and you dont see it in homes. The few things that homeowners do care about have special purpose controllers: heating, irrigation, perimeter lighting. I see no need to fire up my computer to turn on the furnace when I can walk over to the thermostat. If I want really fancy control, I buy a really fancy thermostat. My coffee maker has a timer, so if I want coffee at 7am, I can set it. At the same time I can check the coffee and the water level. Computer control would buy me nothing since I still have to check the coffee and water.

The one time I thought about controls was when I had to replace a leaking skylight in a cathedral ceiling. I could do it myself for $300-400 or I could get one with electrical controls plus a carpenter plus an electrician for $1500-2000. I went with DYI and a long pole to open and close it.