Smart Home & Automation Options to Consider for Your Custom Home.
Building a custom home is an excellent opportunity to integrate the latest home technology and add an extra bit of luxury to everyday living. Over the last two decades since we started building, custom homes have become high-tech havens that adapt to your family's routines and needs.
From a simple voice command to order and have your drink of choice ready for pick up, to complete routines that greet you with the perfect lighting, background music, and room temperature - smart home technology has come a long way in a short time.
Technology continues to move rapidly, and the custom design/build process means you can future-proof your smart home's design, allowing you to easily upgrade as technology continues to rapidly change the way we live.
With the proliferation of smart speakers and AI powered assistants, many homeowners have become more comfortable with after-market smart home technology. But you see more benefit if you build high-tech conveniences into your custom home's design. The tips in this guide will help you get the most convenience, energy efficiency features & peace of mind in your dream home.
Questions to Answer Before You Build a Smart Home
- Pick Your Tech: A very smart home (might we even call it a brilliant home) is built by connecting a variety of automated features and components to one central hub, creating a holistic system that can work together easily. Another benefit of whole house integration onto one system is the ease of keeping your entire home up to date and online. From Apple to Google to Amazon and more - creating one ecosystem of devices that are designed to work together is a matter of personal preference and brand loyalty.
- Take Inventory of Your Goals: Think about how you would like to use technology in your home. Do you want a personal assistant, an independent system, or maybe a combination of both? Everything from your lightbulbs to virus cleaning HVAC systems can work together seamlessly, creating the ultimate haven and luxury lifestyle that operates as you chose.
- Creating a Reliable Signal: Centrally locating your router is key to making sure your components will be able to talk to one another. But you may also want to consider placing ancillary hubs in key rooms where you'll have important components, such as home offices, home theaters, or close to spaces where the structure or materials of your home may dampen signal strength - think outdoors or specialty rooms.
Smart Home Controls
Managing your smart home with the touch of a button or using touchless voice technology gives you added convenience and control over your entire home.
Managing your home's comfort and daily operations via a set of easy to access controls can also be a parent's best friend - especially when several family members are working or attending classes from home. You can establish whole house parental controls to limit WiFi and content access and you can prioritize groups of devices during school or working hours to increase the speed of your connections when you need it most.
Using your smart home controls you can set scenes and routines that trigger preset conditions such as lighting, temperature, and audio levels for entertaining, home, and away.
You can also fold a number of additional technology options into your central smart home controls, including:
- Lock, Garage Door & Gate Control
- Lighting Controls
- Retractable/Adjustable Window Shades
- Connected Thermostats
- Security Alarms, Cameras & Doorbells
- Audio & Video for Entertainment
- Media & Network Access with Parent Controls
- Remote Monitoring & Access
Audio & Video Integration
Watch the game while using the outdoor kitchen. Switch between playlists while you're relaxing with a cup of coffee. Pull up a safe set of videos for the kids to watch in the basement rec room. Quick access to your favorite media such as movies, podcasts, and music in every living space in your home - inside and out - is one of the primary uses and conveniences that homeowners ask for in their smart homes.
With the latest designs and voice operations, smart home technology virtually disappears into your home's design. The Sound Room also offers hundreds of styles, shapes, sizes, and installation options for in-wall and in-ceiling speakers that will bring high-quality sound into any room of the house without disrupting your home's interior design.
Smart Home Security
Home or away, inside and out - the latest smart home security technology gives your family comfort and peace-of-mind of knowing you're protected. By building a robust system for monitoring and managing different security features of your home you can be more proactive about your family's safety. Smart home security features that can be tied together include:
- Integrated Motion & Fire Alarms
- Programmable & Remote Management of Lighting Indoors & Out
- Locks & Garage Doors
- Smoke, Temperature, Water & Motion Alarms
- Doorbells & Camera Systems
Managing security and utilities remotely with smart home automation is a great option for both primary and vacation homes. When building a vacation home there is a lot of extra security afforded by being able to remotely control access to your home and monitor the conditions inside.
Smart water shutoff features are a great option for protecting a custom-built vacation home and some luxury home communities are now requiring them. Installed during custom home construction, this technology will monitor and shuts down the main water line going into the house if there is an issue, saving homeowners a lot of time and expense.
Lighting is an often overlooked but very effective and important home security feature. When connected to smart home technology, homeowners can make it appear as if someone is home by running programmed light changes when they are away from your vacation home or primary residence. You can also remotely monitor and access landscape and outdoor security lighting through your smart home hub.
Many smart home security systems give homeowners access to 24/7 monitoring and technical support to make sure their system is up and running when they need it most.
Outdoor Smart Home Technology
Outdoor living is a top priority for many homeowners, and designing a custom floor plan that flows from the inside living spaces to the outdoors adds an extra touch of luxury to your home. Smart home technology gives you the opportunity to expand your entertainment, lighting, and even your workspace into the great outdoors.
Whether you're spending time in the pool, hot tub, patio, or an expansive lawn, smart home technology can add an extra layer of convenience and safety to your outdoor living spaces with the following features:
- Outdoor WiFi Expansion for Work & Play
- Landscape & Hardscape Lighting Controls
- Outdoor Televisions & Speakers
- Pool & Spa Controls
Smart Home Design Elements
While we all love to see what's on TV, the television itself isn't the first thing you always want to see when you walk into a room. Smart technology can help improve the aesthetics of your room by offering options for TVs that lower from the ceiling, music that plays from invisible speakers, or even televisions that show in the mirrors of your bathroom or home gym.
Blending technology and style is an art in itself, fusing functionality and beauty to create the perfect digital lifestyle. As technology has advanced, there are many options that now offer that artful balance in any room and for any component.
With pop up outlets and designer flush outlets and switches from brands like Trufig, there's no need for mundane wall plates and switches to diminish an otherwise gorgeous room. Flat power outlets enhance the design of your home, making those functional requirements as stylish as the rest of your home.
You'll have the opportunity to walk your home with your low-volt technology provider and electrician to place outlets, switches, and more. This is your chance to make sure you have power to where you want to place a television or place speakers in specific locations to achieve the best sound quality throughout the room.
Smart Home Technology to Watch
We expect to see the next rising smart home market to be smart kitchens. With the growing numbers of smart refrigerators in homes today, the next logical wave of popular integrations will likely be smart ovens.
As more people begin adding smart components to their homes, the demand for homes equipped for smart technology is increasing. Today, more than ever, it is important when choosing a custom home builder to ask about their ability to integrate smart technology and design approach for future-proofing their homes.