Intro to smart tech
Adding automation has never been easier, or more affordable. In this extensive special section, Anamika Talwaria dives into how you can make the most of this modern technology and ensure your home works more intelligently
Discover the key benefits of home automation and how it can enhance your family’s lifestyle
The last 10 years have seen rapid innovation in the home automation sector, leading to more intuitive controls and lower prices – so this tech is now more accessible than ever. If you’re building a bespoke abode from scratch, it makes sense to specify it as a smart home from the very start. It’s far easier to plan and install from the beginning, rather than running out of budget or trying to add cabling once your home has been decorated. But the key benefit is that it brings simplicity to your lifestyle, even though the behind-the-scenes tech might seem complex.
No two smart homes are the same – there are myriad suppliers and systems on the market, as well as wireless options. Plus, as it is configured to your needs, how your dwelling works is tailored to the way you live. In this guide, we’ll be focusing on fully wired systems, but if you’re considering smart tech at a later stage in your project, we’ve highlighted a few retrofit and Wifi solutions.
The benefits
Broadly speaking, a smart home gives you centralised control over your home’s heating, lighting, ventilation, security, audio-visual and more. “One of the major benefits of a smart installation is convenience,” says Steve Itoje, director of Link It Solutions. For example, wouldn’t it be nice to leave the house, press a single button, and have all the lights turn off, the windows close, the heating set to eco-mode and your burglar alarm armed? “A well-designed smart home will unite all these and distil them into a single system, giving you a consistent experience and making life easier,” says Steve.
When you’re self building your forever home, you’re likely to want that higher standard of living; and an intelligent setup can deliver both better performance and improved comfort levels. “If you’ve spent all this money on a fantastic house, you’re not going to want to needlessly waste time and energy dealing with cold spots in the building, or having to manually turn on the light when you drive into the garage,” says Paul Foulkes, KNX business manager and UK president at Theben. “When these simple things happen automatically, you gain so much in terms of comfort.”
Getting this right is all about building in functionality at the initial planning stage, so that when you move in, it just works. For example, if you’re away on holiday, you can set your heating to low, but have your lights turning on and off to simulate occupancy, and the remote control offered by a smart home will allow you to ensure the house is toasty for your arrival. Or try a gentle wakeup call with soft lighting instead of an abrasive alarm, and watch your morning mood dramatically improve. “The smart bit is invisible,” says Paul.
“It’s all happening behind the scenes, so that the user doesn’t have to think about it and can just interact with their home as normal, but with an additional layer of intelligence.”
Many smart homes now offer some kind of energy management to help ensure your dwelling is working at its most efficient, too. With all that intelligent heating and lighting control, you avoid having systems running when they’re not needed. This could also save money on your bills, provided you’ve got a thermally efficient building fabric.
What can be automated?
Pretty much any function or activity can be streamlined and done for you. Turning down the heating? Switching off lights? Setting your house alarm? All of this can be achieved at the touch of the button – often the same one – or automated in the background. No more worrying that you’ve left the bathroom light on as you set off for a night on the town – your smart home knows you’ve gone out because you’ve hit the ‘goodbye’ button and has switched everything off accordingly. “The best-designed smart home is one that is simple and predictable, working in a way you’d expect,” says Darren Palmer, director of sales and marketing at Baulogic.
In this special section, we’ll look at intelligent lighting, heating, security and audio-visual ‘sub-systems’ in more depth and explore some of the hidden benefits you might not anticipate. “It’s up to us, as the smart home supplier, to explain what’s possible at the start of the process,” says Andy Moss, director at Moss Technical. “People are aware of Hive and Google Home to gain more control over their living spaces, but we can open up a new realm of possibilities.”
Is it expensive?
Just like with other fit-out options, such as kitchens and staircases, costs for a smart home can vary hugely; it all depends on the spec you go for. “At Moss Technical, we’ll give you a design spreadsheet, where you can plug in all your wants and needs, and we’ll come back with an accurate quote,” says Andy. Certain elements – like dimmer switches rather than simple on/off ones – will add to the price, while top-end audio-visual products in a home cinema can be very costly. “It’s worth opting for professional setup,” says Andy.
“If you go down the DIY route of buying dozens of different devices, you can end up with an expensive solution that doesn’t work as seamlessly as whole-house automation.”
It’s key to plan early and have a realistic budget in mind so that when you meet with a supplier, they can steer you in the right direction towards features you can afford. “Don’t fall into the trap of thinking a smart home needs to be excessively extravagant,” says Tyron Cosway, operations and marketing manager at Loxone. “You can include as little or as much functionality as needed to complement everyday living.”
It’s worth noting that it’s not the cabling infrastructure that pushes your prices up, but rather including features such as top-of-the-range TVS, speakers and the controls themselves. So, think about where your priorities lie – would you rather splurge on a high-tech media room, or is the whole-house lighting scheme more important to you?
As a rule, for a basic smart home install you can expect around a £5,000 uplift over standard electrics. Final costs can vary from £20,000 at the entry level to £50,000 for something more sophisticated, all the way up to hundreds of thousands of pounds for an all-singing, all-dancing system. “We try to offer different stepping stones, in terms of budget, so that we can achieve the right functionality available to your finances,” says Darren.