By JEFF BETSILL
President, Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia

I can save you energy, time and worry.

I 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.

A 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.

A 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.