Staying Connected Isn’t All Business (NAPSA)—Toting a laptop on vacation is nothing new for executives who want to stay connected with the office, but PDAs and smart cell phones have madeit easier for consumers to be wired with other aspects of their lives, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A recent survey by the Travel Industry Association found 86 percent take cell phones along on their vacations. Many use them to share their vacation with family and friends or for entertainment. In fact, the information and technology research firm Gartner, Inc. reported that camera phones accounted for 48 percent of total worldwide mobile phone sales in 2006 and mobile phone users have spent $18.7 billion to date on music for their cell phones. Beyond entertainment and work, homeowners use technology to control their homes while they are away—whetheron vacation or just out for the day. Smart home technology lets you monitor your home via Internet surveillance equipment or turn the lights on before you pull into the driveway. For even more remote home control, homeowners can turn to gadgets that let them manage appliances from a distance. There’s even technology that lets you control your washer and dryer via cell phone. A similar technol- ogy, the Evolution” System Control from Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems, lets you monitor and adjust your indoorclimate bycell phoneor the Internet. “Customers use it to keep an eye on a second home, monitor How Technology ImprovesLives Smart technology helps consumers do whateverit takes to stay connected Gadgets help control home from afar Save 10 percent a year by turning the thermostat back 10 to 15 percent for eight hours every day their home environment when they’re out and check on their home while on vacation,” said Liza Mathew, Bryant marketing manager for Controls. “Imagine if the temperature changed dramatically while you were away and you needed to make sure your home was still comfortable for your cat. The Evolution System Control allows you to do that.” Technology like that can have real value for homeowners, beyond simple convenience. For example, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that homeowners can save as much as 10 percent a year by simply turning the thermostat back by 10 to 15 percent for at least eight hours every day. Tools such as the Evolution System Control allow consumers to manage home energy efficiency effectively. “One of my customers has a lake house,” said Bryant dealer Rick Pallardy of Pallardy Heating. “If something happens, their system can text message, e-mail or call the homeowner and alert me of major system malfunctions.” Convenient smart hometechnology can help consumers do whatever it takes to stay connected when they’re on the go.
