My hubby and a colleague of his are looking into starting up a business wiring up smart homes for people. He asked if I could help him compile a list of things people might want a smart home to do. I've been thinking on it, reading up on what's available, and yikes, the possibilities seem endless. Here are some of the things I've come up with, and I'd love to hear what other people would like done as well...

-Alert when a car pulls in/out of the driveway. (A good friend in a rural area had this and it was really nice to get a notification on his cell when someone pulled in...because if we were out in the backyard we woudn't know someone was at the door.)
-Allow me to check remotely that doors were locked and appliances were off.
-Allow me to unlock doors remotely. (If, say, my pet-sitter lost their key)
-Remote climate control.
-Turn on the porch light when I'm coming home at night.
-Turn a home security system on or off remotely.
-Turn on a night light if I get up to use the bathroom at night.

My hubby is really into some of the more high-tech potential of a smart home, and I know that they sky is the limit really, but I think the average person is going to be more in the "Warm up the bedroom before I get out of bed" and "turn off lights when there's no motion in the room for five minutes" camp.

Anyways, I'd love any ideas or input...I know smart homes are definitely not everyone's thing, but we live in the Silicon Valley and they are HUGE here. People here love their gadgets.