Designing a Smart House

So I have been tasked with coming up with a smart house idea that is to be used to demonstrate the awesomeness of the Arduino to high school students.

The basic premise is that the house is supposed to be automated. It's supposed to have lights that turn on automatically when one walks into a room, lights that dim when the TV is on, an automated door that opens when it senses that someone is approaching, some kind of alarm system. So I have to figure out the logistics of how all these things work and how they can be managed by an Arduino.



It's not really all that difficult but it's going to be fun. The awesome part is I've gotten access to plenty of components and I can't wait to dig in and just go wild!