can save you energy, time and worry.

may even have a better memory than you do. And

I'm environmentally conscious. What am I? The new

American home.

Opened

for tours during the 2000 International Builders

Show, the latest home is a present-day dream that

sets standards for future housing. This suburban

home displays everything today's upscale home

buyers want and what tomorrow's average home

buyers will have.

These

features include:

-

Technology. At

the end of a long day, the new home's owners will

come to a fully wired house that knows how to

pamper.

computer system can notify the homeowners when an

appliance needs repair and a resident can operate

every electrically powered household system while

sitting in the living room.

Lives

function in routines, and soon our homes will do

the same. In the new home, residents can program

their schedules into the computer system so that

when the alarm clock rings the coffee maker will

start brewing a fresh pot of joe.

-

Energy savers.

The new home features airtight windows, lots of

them. So owners can turn off every electrical

switch, open the blinds and enjoy a house filled

with natural light.

The

outside air cannot easily seep through these

windows and cause temperature inconsistencies

that lead to high heating and cooling bills.

house that does not require much use of

electricity saves money, too. In fact, its

builders claim that the total energy bill for the

4,500-sq. ft. new home will not exceed $190 a

month or $2,400 a year for the next 10 years.

Average utility bills for a house of this size

now are approximately $6,000.

-

Flexible space.

Homeowners can easily convert each room in the

house to fit their life-styles. Flexible space

will allow homeowners to stay in their homes

longer, as they can adjust the rooms to suit

their individual needs through different life

stages.

The

children's playroom, for example, can be

transformed into a home office. The homeowners

can easily retrofit the game room/entertainment

complex into an in-law suite.

The

new home can grow with the family.

With

these features, the new home creates an

environment in which its owners will want to live

24 hours a day and seven days a week. They won't

go out to dinner every night. Instead, they'll

invite their friends over to eat.

The

new American home brings the dream to life.

Jeff

Betsill is president of the Home Builders

Association of Midwest Georgia, which serves a

membership of approximately 395 builders and

associate members in Fayette, Coweta, Spalding,

Heard and Meriwether counties. He also owns Jeff

Betsill Homes.