There is no question that smart homes are the cutting edge in today’s residential technology. According to Security.org, about 32% of U.S. households had smart home technology in 2020, and that is expected to hit 57% by 2025. Now the headliners have moved from devices to entire smart home ecosystems, like LG’s ThinQ Home (unveiled in 2020) with its smart wine cellar, voice-controlled moving walls, and all-in-one app that serves as a remote control for everything from HVAC to TV to washing machine.
Seventy years ago, cutting-edge home tech was central air conditioning, and the proving grounds for this innovation was a 22-home experiment in Allendale, a subdivision in the northwest suburbs near Austin, Texas: the Air Conditioned Village. Like the smart home systems of today, the goal was in-home comfort, made for the masses.