Last week, DIGITAL HOME's sister publication CUSTOM HOME held what was by all accounts a successful Directions Conference in Key Biscayne, Fla. (you can read about it here). The scuttlebutt I heard was that custom builders were glad to get away from the challenges of their current business environment and spend time talking about things they've been too busy to focus on: relationship building, negotiation, and other management tactics.

What about digital homes? I had a source at Directions asking just that question of several custom home builders and the responses he received were less than enthusiastic. It's not that these builders were shunning technology, nor that customers weren't interested. But rather that technology continues to burn them, to the point where they'd rather avoid it altogether. And these are the builders who supposedly understand the role of technology best—customer builders as opposed to production builders. Their points are well taken, but they also offer a glimmer of the old hope for digital homes.

So I asked my source to sum up a few of his conversations after Directions. He picked out three custom builders he spoke to about technology, one of whom was a former electronics installer. In short, said my source, "All have had so many bad experiences they don't even offer more than very basic technology unless demanded by the customer."

The builder/former installer was from the Raleigh, N.C., area and said he couldn't get the technology in his own home to work properly, constantly frustrating him and his wife. According to my source, "He said the last thing he needs is customer calling at 3 a.m. because he can't turn his lights off, or calling on Saturday night because his theater projector won't turn on."

But then the builder/installer started getting at something: simplicity. He said he'd never connect an HVAC unit to a centralized control system so that he doesn't have to worry about a customer freezing or boiling because the HVAC controls have gone haywire. Despite the fact that HVAC controls may be all the rage to the green building movement, integrating them into a single system may not, understandably, be the way to go. Doesn't mean programmable thermostats are a deal-breaker.

According to my source, the builder/installer won't put anything too complex into any home right now, but he hasn't sworn off technology.

Builder Two sells homes in southern Florida starting at $7 million. He runs a family-owned business and has done everything from complete control to no technology at all. If he had his choice, he said, they'd opt for no technology every time.  His company has been in its market for 50+ years and sells solely based on its reputation. The company can't afford to risk a bad customer experience. Thus technology only upon request.

Builder Three builds very high-end estate homes in southern California and also installs technology only on request. His typical problem? Well on a  house he's currently building, he said he's now on his third different installer and still can't get everything to work right. The latest installer reportedly told him that a previous installer he sold him all sorts of equipment he didn't need. Yikes.

As my source put it afterwards, "The point all these guys make is that in the high-end custom market, the builder is married to the customer for life and often called back for repairs, upgrades, additions, etc. The technology stuff presents more problems than solutions at this point."

Apparently many of the builders also remain confused about the best ways of finding qualified installers. They said a lack of licensing standards makes it more difficult for them to find installers with appropriate levels of experience and knowledge.

Now when I first begin to digest this feedback, it's cause for concern. But it really just reflects ongoing issues that DIGITAL HOME, the NAHB's Home Technology Alliance, and others exist to address:

But I still can't envision a future where new homes don't include a certain level of installed technology. The current housing market certainly isn't helping the adoption of digital systems, but it won't completely derail it either.

We just need to keep the lines of communication open. Work through groups like the HTA. I mean, how often do builders, installers, and manufacturers really get together to hash things out? A couple panel discussions and a lunch at IBS or CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles won't ever be enough. They're informative, but if the three legs of the digital home stool are to stand strong, they need to stand together. Manufacturers should be bringing in builders to consult on products; installers should be out listening to builders, not just selling to them; and builders should be living with technology to understand why customers want it and why builders are in a great position to give it to them. I've met several of each who really get it; they've exciting to talk to and many are involved with the HTA, so consider it yourself.

If a builder says he only installs technology when a customer asks for it, and then customers keep asking for it (which was my take on Builders One, Two, and Three), he's always in this grudgingly reactive mode. So chances are he hasn't done his homework, found installers he trusts, etc.

My kids are that way with certain school subjects; they'll do a worksheet if the teacher's going to collect it in class (which apparently they don't always do), which often means last-minute hair-pulling and Googling. But if they were just doing all the worksheets all the time, knowing full well the teacher's going to want some of them, they'd be prepared; they'd know what they needed to know; and they'd have a satisfied customers (er, teachers).

But enough about me and my kids. Please sound off on the state of the digital home market. How have we progressed?