Buyers value light and space more than technological garnish, says Jonathan Seal, but Howard Porter says if you look beyond the gimmickry, technology can deliver big benefits
The smart home is something that swings in and out of fashion. Two to three years ago every developer wanted to build them and any number of gimmicks and gadgets were going into new homes. Over the past year, however, the industry has become a lot more realistic.

I'm carrying out a project on my own home and have been thinking about whether I want smart technology. My answer is no, because I don't want something to go wrong. I want space and light, things that are simple and work. The discerning UK buyer now wants quality and is not as attracted by fancy gimmicks as they might have been in the past.

Technology is evolving rapidly. Housebuilders are fitting Category 5 cabling, but that could soon become outdated. The price of technology is coming down all the time, and as it becomes cheaper it becomes less exclusive – but do we all need it?

For the younger market, smart technology may hold some appeal. At the West End Quay development in Paddington, central London, about 60% of the homebuyers took up some of the smart optional extras on offer. Those homes were predominantly bought by investors and are destined to be occupied by young professionals. Penthouse buyers might want to have technology in their homes, too.

More middle-aged buyers, who will probably expect to be in their homes for a while, will be far more concerned with how well their houses are built. Homes at the King's Chelsea development, on the King's Road in Kensington, central London, have Category 5 cabling, lighting and audio – but the developer has not gone overboard, and I think that was the right decision to take. The homes have attracted buyers who wanted to hold onto their homes in the longer term, and that development stands out for its inherent quality – for example, its fantastic wood architraves.

Housebuilders need to think of the target market and what it really wants. They need to offer choice, to cater for the buyer who needs 20 telephone lines, but also for the buyer who is technologically illiterate and who would sooner have space, light and quality than a TV in every room.

Motorised loo seat? no thanks, says Jonathan Seal, managing director of Hamptons International's residential development division

Smart homes can be made to do anything you want them to do – the limiting factor is not particularly the technology. In fact, the technology is there to do pretty much anything you want. The challenges are how you get it into homes, who will pay for it, and who is going to deliver the service. There are cost implications, and the consumer has to be convinced that the improved service is worth having.

The smart home, however, is not just about gimmicks such as home entertainment. Technology could be helping home occupants to minimise their energy bills or minimise the amount of damage they cause to the environment. There is the potential to link your washing machine to your electricity meter to recognise a supplier's economy tariff and start the washing at three o'clock in the morning or tap into electricity from green energy producers, giving consumers a much more sophisticated version of the old Economy 7.

That same principle can then be applied to a range of products. There is an enthusiasm for photovoltaic roof panels, which is all well and good, but the best way to use the energy from that is not to sell excess electricity back to the grid, but to run your appliances when solar gain is greatest. You could turn the washing machine on yourself when the sun shines, but would you? A fairly simple bit of smartness would switch the machine on for you.

Centrica has developed a boiler that has its own internal diagnostic system that can tell a repair centre what is wrong with it when it breaks down so that the service engineer can turn up with the right piece of equipment. That can apply to a whole range of appliances, and all it takes to make it happen is a small amount of electronics and a communications link.

The major utilities firms such as Centrica and NPower recognise the potential of the market and are eagerly looking at how they can deliver extra services, such as "talking" boilers. These and other technologies will be discussed in a series of DTI-backed Smart Homes seminars supported by BEAMAenergy and intelligent buildings consultant I&I this autumn. In terms of technology, what we can bring to the home is all fairly basic stuff, but it is deliverable and it is focused on services that it is believed people will pay for.

Well, How about talking boilers? responds Howard Porter, director of BEAMAenergy, part of the British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers Association