Hi, I am building a 4K sqft home and have done all the automation in my last house (by myself). During that time I worked for a company that owned a division that sold home and industrial automation and I could get anything for 50% below cost. Having said that we just broke ground on our second home and I am doing all the design install and automation for this home and here is what I am putting in from what I have learned in the past. #1 - Lighting System. It was my favorite thing in the last house (a Leviton system). This time I am using Insteon for many reasons but it can be programed by a small box you instruct - plug into an outlet and let it do it's thing. Custom printed buttons, complex scenes - timers whatever. It is the most flexible system out there and goes from standard configuration to super complex and everything in between. It is also cost effective. #2. You can get Insteon Thermostats that do a lot of goofy stuff - but I am going with 2 Nest units for each zone. Easy Simple. #3. A Cat6 Camera system from Samsung (16 cameras - only putting in 8 to start). I really like the fact that I can see the house and the sump pump etc. when I am out of state. #4. An ELK alarm system. This is the "brain" of the house and it talks to the lighting system and Insteon thermostats. You can hit the "Vacation" button and it will set the HVAC and even turn on and off random lights at night if you want. #5. I am wiring for Somfy drapes and shades. Simply putting in the 16/2 DC wires in locations for now. The bedroom will be all blackout shades. Roll over and hit a switch and you are in a 1000 a night hotel. I am not putting in any music systems. Never used them. I had a fancy Russsound AV distribution system as well and won't be doing that either. Simply doing Cat 6 everywhere, DirecTv, and will use wireless Apple products for music at patries. You will NEVER use a computer to control these devices. You will never get up and use a wall touch screen. That being said this is a hobby and should be treated as such. You won't get your money out of it. Your friends won't understand it. Friends at parties won't understand it. But if it is something you like then go for it. It takes 10,000 times more effort, time, frustration, and money to do these things with an automation system than it is to get up and hit the light switch or pull the drape cord. But to me it is something I can't seem to live without. Wife hates it - can't seem to understand how it all works - or the need for any of it. Even with custom labeled buttons that say "party" or "clean up" on the lights she still uses the switch instead of the scene button. It is nice to turn off every light in the house from your bedside - and then to have the alarm to arm automatically at 11:00 at night with no need to do anything. To have the lights come on and light the house when it detects motion etc. That being said it is a very slippery slope. Don't listen to the salesmen - they want to sell you what they want to sell. Best advice is to do as much as you can and bring in a pro for the things you don't understand (alarm for me)... Good luck!

Lutron HomeWorks excels in lighting control which includes Sivoia QED window shades and to many has the most cosmetically pleasing SeeTouch keypads. The keypad style and color can be carried through out the home with matching recetpacles and telecommunication outlets. Vantage is a strong competitor but Lutron is a notch above in engineering and customer support. Crestron is best at integrating systems together with a highly customizable user interface. The skills of the designer, intaller and programmer all have a huge effect on the final outcome of any system. Crestron is the leader in integration, Lutron is the best at lighting control. Crestron and Lutron talk to each other via RS232.

I would probably recommend going with a wireless system since running wires from the equipment pad to a panel inside the house can be quite expensive. Wireless systems simply have a transmitter out at the equipment pad and the control panel inside the house looks very similar to the wired pad. There are many makers of such systems (jandy, pentair, etc) so choosing one probably comes down to which features you need and which control pad you like. I'm in process of a pool build myself and have chosen a Pentair EasyTouch system.

the thing is, there are about a million factors to consider, and each brand has pros and cons. we have a ton of devices (my husband is a programmer and loves them), so I have a ton of opinions about this stuff. the one smart device we're avoiding is anything that can unlock the house doors. (but we do have amazon key to open our garage for package delivery -- our garage is detached so that feels safe enough for us.) my favorite thing? Amazon Echo. I love it for music and streaming NPR. the sound quality is great. it takes up almost no space and looks really good. we have a Nest thermostat and smoke detector. honestly? mixed. it's really bad at sensing when we're both gone, so I have to remember to turn the heat down manually whenever I leave. also, it doesn't run our heat pump the way it's supposed to (as in low, slow and constant). it just turns it on and off all day like how a gas furnace is run. that drives me bonkers. the good: we can have temperature sensors in multiple rooms, set schedules, and control the temp with the app, so that alone makes it worth it. as for the Nest smoke alarm -- whenever we're about to set it off while cooking, the app is too slow to disarm it. you have to get on a chair and push the button, just like with a cheap alarm. but if there's smoke and we're not home? we'll get an alert. handy! we have an Amazon Cloud Cam and love it. it has rarely messed up in the years we've had it. it's really good at turning on as soon as we leave. seems pretty reliable - but we don't have pets so I don't know what that would be like. we have a Ring doorbell and I HATE it. the app is slow to load the camera feed. when I'm at home and it rings, I run for my phone first and then run to the door. (if I don't answer the ring app, then it'll keep buzzing both our phones, so that's annoying.) I want to get rid of it.