Planning & infrastructure
E key to a successful smart home lies in getting the nitty gritty details behind the scenes right. Here’s what you need to know
Get the lowdown to ensure you end up with a successful, easy-to-use system
If you’re a regular Build It reader, you’ll already know we’re keen on the fabric-first approach. This means ensuring your building’s envelope is as high-quality as possible before you add any gadgets to make it more efficient. The same principle applies to smart homes – it’s crucial to lay the right foundations for your setup to be a success.
Early planning is key to achieving an easy-to-use house that will enhance your way of living. Start with a shopping list, separating your essentials from the nice-to-haves. For example, you might need to have control over your lights and heating, but perhaps motorised blinds and curtains aren’t a necessity. Armed with a strong brief, you can head to a smart home specialist to eke out your design and come up with a rough budget. Even if incorporating everything on your list proves cost-prohibitive initially, the right expert will be able to advise on the best solution to incorporate as much of what you want as possible, while futureproofing so that you can add those extras later on, without too much fuss.
“One of the key problems we run into is when electrics are considered as an afterthought. Get a smart home integrator on board as soon as possible – as early as your architect,” says Paul Foulkes from Theben. “If it’s not planned early enough, it can be harder to get all the different elements to communicate.” The sooner you develop the design and spec, the more value for money you can get from your smart home.
Choosing the right partner
Treat this as you would when bringing in any major supplier. Find out if anyone you know has had a smart home setup, and whether they’re happy with the way it works. Websites and brochures are lovely to look at, but there’s nothing like touching and trying out the controls in person. So, visit a finished project such as Build It’s Self Build Education House (www.buildit.co.uk/ourhouse), an exhibition like Build It Live (www.builditlive.co.uk) or a showroom, to explore all the bells and whistles that smart home tech can offer.
Another good port of call would be the CEDIA website – the leading global trade body for home technology. Here, you’ll find a wealth of suppliers and designers who have been vetted for membership, so you can be assured they’ll be able to take your scheme forward. You should still seek a variety of quotes from different brands, systems and suppliers to see what smart home will meet your needs.
At this stage, have an open conversation about what you’re looking for and how much budget you have available. Does the company understand what you’re trying to achieve? Have they successfully designed and delivered a similar kind of scheme to the one you’re after? Are they quoting for everything you need, or are there any hidden addons? Once you’ve narrowed down suppliers, ask them for references from happy customers and follow them up.
It’s really important that you choose someone that you can get along with. “Your smart home installer is usually one of the first people involved in your project, and one of the last to leave site,” says Andy Moss from Moss Technical. “If you have a poor relationship, you might find they’re reluctant to make adjustments for you. So work with someone you can trust.” Indeed, you may need your installer to keep maintaining the system over a number of years.
Design & installation
At the early planning stage, your house designer will probably put together a loose electrics scheme for you to share with the relevant trades. When it comes to developing this into something more detailed, you’ll want to bring in a specialist who can adjust and enhance this to meet your requirements. Be sure to bring other trades and suppliers into the mix, too, as your kitchen design or heating setup, for instance, will inform the infrastructure, outlets and fittings you’ll need. “The basic electrics might be really simple, with only a few lighting circuits etc,” says Andy from Moss Technical. “So, creating a detailed design early is key to deciding a realistic budget.”
The exact installation process will vary depending on your smart home provider, but broadly, there are three main
routes. You could go for a design, supply and install package by one company. This gives you a single point of contact, from the very first stages up until the handover, when the engineer leaves your site (and typically into post-install support). This isn’t a service offered by every supplier, and it’s not likely to come cheap, but the peace of mind you’ll gain can represent great value-for-money.
More commonly, you might choose a system and get it designed and configured by a particular company, who will then point you in the direction of partner installers in your area who can come in and set it up. They tend to be experts in a particular system, so should have no trouble cabling and connecting your smart home. Remember, it’s still worth doing your homework on a partner installer, like you would if you were employing a separate trade.
If you’re working with a main contractor’s electrician, or have sourced an individual trade yourself, it pays to make sure they have relevant experience. A good setup will be designed to be as easy to use and install as possible. For example, Baulogic’s fully wired system is marketed as plugand-play. “We’re trying to enable trades who aren’t smart home specialists to deliver these kinds of projects, as it will soon be the norm and the industry needs to catch up,” says Darren Palmer from Baulogic.
First & second fix work
Regardless of who is doing the install, there are some things that will apply across the board. At first fix stage, your electrician will run the cables, according to the schedule that’s been provided by your smart home designer. Ideally, you’ll have the stud walls up so that the electrician can install all the wires right to where they need to be. Ensure there’s good communication with the plasterers, so that you know who’s responsible for pulling wires through and there’s a clear programme of when the electrician can return to finish.
The beauty of smart home tech is that it’s (theoretically) scalable, so try to get the wiring put in now for things you might incorporate later. “The most expensive cable is the one you don’t put in, so plan for the future, too,” says Andy. If you don’t, you’ll either be looking at a tacked-on wireless solution or ripping through all that lovely decoration a few years later.
Once the final plaster (and potentially a mist coat of paint) has been applied and dried, the engineer comes back at second fix to complete the job. This is when your fixtures and fittings are installed, including any wall panels and controls, and the system is finally commissioned.
Ask for a quick walkthrough of the system before the specialist leaves site, but bear in mind that going into too much detail will be an information overload as your second fix involves lots of spinning plates. “Most systems are designed to be really intuitive, almost like when you get a new phone and just learn how to use it on the go,” says Andy. “We’ll get in touch after a month for any snagging issues, but it’s good to live in it and get a feel for how it all works before you start making changes.”
Control options
When you think of a smart home, images of devices managed via apps on your phone might come to mind. In reality, things have moved way beyond this. “Having too many different apps to open and control different elements results in a complicated home, not a smart one,” says Steve Itoje from Link It Solutions. “Your system should unite the core features into a single interface – like a wall panel.”
Tablets and phones are still popular, as everyone has one and they are useful for when you’re out but want to change a setting back home. “Apps can give you an extra layer of information, but phones can be mislaid or stolen, which means you lose control over your home,” says Steve.
Ultimately, we’re all used to having tactile light switches on the wall, and it’s no different with smart homes – but you’ll get a few more options, with pre-programmed moods and modes for each button. Touch-screen wall panels are another variation with an interface that’s easy to understand.
Most systems can be integrated with voice assistants like Google Nest and Amazon Alexa, which can offer the ultimate convenience and are fantastic for accessibility. The tech isn’t quite perfect yet, particularly with accents and dialects, but improvements are coming at a staggering rate.