The dream of a tech house

Here is my vision:
I want to have a fully integrated whole-house network that integrates music, video, lighting, HVAC, and home surveillance into a user-friendly, energy-efficient, and affordable package. It's a lot to ask for, but I'm patient and I'm not afraid of DIY projects.

I plan to be thorough in my research so I get the best hardware for the best price.
I plan to take time with my coding so that I have as robust a system as possible.
I plan to do as much of this project myself as I can, both to save money and to learn more about home improvement.

I hope to complete this project within the next five years. Here is an outline of my plan as it now stands.

• Network: Mostly in place, but I need to add networked storage and most likely a standalone media server. Until then I will continue using my primary PC in this capacity.
• Sound: Place speakers in every zone. I am still tossing around the idea of having a media player dock in every zone.
• Video: This has more to do with my home theater plan. I will write a separate post about that and link it here when it's done.
• UI Hardware: Each zone will have a Mobile Internet Device on an articulating or flexible mount. Contenders for the MID of choice include the SmartQ 5 and the Chumby, as long as the guts are still available when I'm at this step.
• UI Software: Primary contender in this spot is MisterHouse. It may not be quite as slick or as fully featured as some other options, but the fact that it is open source is what makes it the winner for me.
• Surveillance: I have not yet done much research into this category yet, but I want to monitor the exterior of the house and keep at least a few days worth of records. I want to keep internal surveillance to a minimum, only putting up cameras inside the house during vacations, for example.
• HVAC: I plan on having room-to-room weather monitors as well as an external weather station. I also plan on implementing remote thermostat control.
• Lighting: This one is pretty far down the list, partially because I don't think it's that crucial, and partially because I have not yet come up with an elegant control scheme. However, I'd like to switch entirely to CFL and LED lighting as soon as possible.

I am also keeping tabs on the state of alternative energy sources. I would like to use solar power for at least a portion of this project, but will likely hold out until the efficiency improves somewhat. I still have research to do on this front.

So there's the basic outline. Whether it is too ambitious remains to be seen, but you have to start somewhere.

I welcome helpful comments and suggestions!