How to Help Clients Navigate the Latest Smart Tech
As connected homes become more mainstream, pros can help incorporate the high-tech features their clients want
In decades past, high-tech home systems required pricey equipment, a web of wires and valuable wall or cabinet space. Today, cutting-edge homes are outfitted with features that are far sleeker, and often wireless. But for homeowners looking for a truly integrated smart home, there’s still plenty of design planning to do — and plenty of guidance for informed home design professionals to offer.
Automated home and security systems continue to gain in popularity among homeowners. Of the U.S. renovators surveyed for the 2018 Houzz and Home Renovation Trends Study, 23 percent reported that they’d upgraded an automation system, like thermostats or lights, as part of their 2017 projects, while 15 percent said they’d integrated a home security system (a 50 percent increase from 2015).
Those numbers echo trends that experts like Alex Capecelatro, founder and chief executive of smart-home automation system Josh.ai, say they’ve also been seeing nationwide. Smart-home features and systems, Capecelatro says, are likely getting more users because they can provide energy savings, convenience and style. “The average home used to be sort of a dumb home from a technology perspective,” he says. “It’s all shifting very quickly to being more of a smart home, and part of that is because of just the ease of use.”
Automated home and security systems continue to gain in popularity among homeowners. Of the U.S. renovators surveyed for the 2018 Houzz and Home Renovation Trends Study, 23 percent reported that they’d upgraded an automation system, like thermostats or lights, as part of their 2017 projects, while 15 percent said they’d integrated a home security system (a 50 percent increase from 2015).
Those numbers echo trends that experts like Alex Capecelatro, founder and chief executive of smart-home automation system Josh.ai, say they’ve also been seeing nationwide. Smart-home features and systems, Capecelatro says, are likely getting more users because they can provide energy savings, convenience and style. “The average home used to be sort of a dumb home from a technology perspective,” he says. “It’s all shifting very quickly to being more of a smart home, and part of that is because of just the ease of use.”
How to Keep Up
With the rise of lower-cost, user-friendly devices like smart thermostats and lightbulbs, automated home systems are no longer limited to tech super-fans exclusively. As such, experts say home design pros should educate themselves on what’s out there in case it’s something their clients want to explore.
Christopher Koziarski of Pittsburgh-based Kozi Media Design recommends that pros follow tech industry publications and familiarize themselves with reputable local integrators and showrooms so they can talk through options with their clients. Koziarski encourages potential clients (and designers) to visit past tech clients’ homes, if they’re able to, to see the systems in action.
With the rise of lower-cost, user-friendly devices like smart thermostats and lightbulbs, automated home systems are no longer limited to tech super-fans exclusively. As such, experts say home design pros should educate themselves on what’s out there in case it’s something their clients want to explore.
Christopher Koziarski of Pittsburgh-based Kozi Media Design recommends that pros follow tech industry publications and familiarize themselves with reputable local integrators and showrooms so they can talk through options with their clients. Koziarski encourages potential clients (and designers) to visit past tech clients’ homes, if they’re able to, to see the systems in action.
Capecelatro advises pros to extend their online research into at least a few in-person showroom visits as well.
“Try to visit these integrators, visit their showroom, have them show you what they do,” he says, “because I can tell you all day about circadian lighting and the benefits of human-centric lighting, but when you see it and you experience it, that’s when you really get it.”
“Try to visit these integrators, visit their showroom, have them show you what they do,” he says, “because I can tell you all day about circadian lighting and the benefits of human-centric lighting, but when you see it and you experience it, that’s when you really get it.”
Part of the appeal of some of today’s most popular smart-home features like thermostats and speakers is their piecemeal accessibility. A homeowner can buy and set up a digital assistant, for instance, without the hassle and cost of having an entire smart system in place. But as advances in tech like voice activation make fully integrated automation more mainstream, homeowners will probably need more help making sure everything works together, particularly as features evolve over time. Most renovating homeowners surveyed in the the 2016 Houzz U.S. Smart Home Trends Study relied on professional help to install their smart-home security, climate control and lighting gadgets.
“Customers sometimes want to buy their own product and even install their own product, but maintaining and supporting tends to be a big challenge,” Capecelatro says. “We’ve all dealt with the printer that we can’t seem to connect to the computer. That is super frustrating when it’s your lights, it’s your music, it’s your refrigerator.”
Renovating homeowners who were surveyed also listed educating themselves about options, finding the right products and staying on budget as their top three challenges in adopting smart features, creating a chance for educated design pros to act as a much-needed resource for their clients — a timely service that can also reflect positively on the pro’s own brand.
Read the results of Houzz’s 2016 U.S. Smart Home Trends Study
“Customers sometimes want to buy their own product and even install their own product, but maintaining and supporting tends to be a big challenge,” Capecelatro says. “We’ve all dealt with the printer that we can’t seem to connect to the computer. That is super frustrating when it’s your lights, it’s your music, it’s your refrigerator.”
Renovating homeowners who were surveyed also listed educating themselves about options, finding the right products and staying on budget as their top three challenges in adopting smart features, creating a chance for educated design pros to act as a much-needed resource for their clients — a timely service that can also reflect positively on the pro’s own brand.
Read the results of Houzz’s 2016 U.S. Smart Home Trends Study
How to Find an Integrator
Media design and AV integration firms may also be great resources for home design pros to connect with to ensure their clients’ tech wish list can be checked off.
“What we’re seeing is the professional integrator is really becoming more of a professional technology adviser where they might be installing technology and they might be setting it up, but what they’re really doing is they’re maintaining, they’re supporting, they’re making sure that as new things come out, the home is equipped for it,” Capecelatro says. “So these are the guys that are sort of like your IT guy you have in the office, they’re doing it in the home.”
Media design and AV integration firms may also be great resources for home design pros to connect with to ensure their clients’ tech wish list can be checked off.
“What we’re seeing is the professional integrator is really becoming more of a professional technology adviser where they might be installing technology and they might be setting it up, but what they’re really doing is they’re maintaining, they’re supporting, they’re making sure that as new things come out, the home is equipped for it,” Capecelatro says. “So these are the guys that are sort of like your IT guy you have in the office, they’re doing it in the home.”
Trustworthiness, always an important quality to look for in a home contractor, looms especially large when you’re directing clients to an integrator who will be installing or maintaining security and other highly personal systems. Koziarski and his team advise homeowners and design pros to get recommendations and references from general contractors they trust and to check that integrators they’re considering working with are certified in installing the systems they specialize in installing. Affiliations with industry groups like the Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) and the newer Home Technology Association (HTA) are good signs as well.
Lastly, having a conversation with the potential integrator and getting a sense of whether personalities will mesh can be revealing. A good integrator, Koziarski says, will be interested in discussing basic information like project scope, budget and dates, whereas a great integrator will also want to know details about a client’s lifestyle, likes and dislikes before building a smart system that will work best for them.
Lastly, having a conversation with the potential integrator and getting a sense of whether personalities will mesh can be revealing. A good integrator, Koziarski says, will be interested in discussing basic information like project scope, budget and dates, whereas a great integrator will also want to know details about a client’s lifestyle, likes and dislikes before building a smart system that will work best for them.
How to Incorporate Tech Into Your Design
Figuring out what role, if any, smart tech will play in a client’s home design will shift with every project, but Capecelatro, Koziarski and others agree that the essential foundation for any smart tech-capable home is a solid wireless network.
“That’s probably the No. 1 issue that we see,” Capecelatro says. “An amazing home with beautiful furniture and beautiful appliances but their Wi-Fi is a … router that is just not built to support all of these devices.”
Once that reliable network is established, designers will have a lot more flexibility to help homeowners incorporate popular features like automated shades and lighting (the two features Capecelatro says he hears requested most often) and other connected components. Choosing which smart elements will drive the design decisions for each client will depend on what’s important to that homeowner: Music? Automated lighting? Security features?
Today’s connected devices are smaller and generally more gracefully designed than past home technology systems, making it easier to add each piece into a clean overall design. Without as many unsightly wires and cables, the screens and speakers are typically easier to move and reconfigure in a space. Capecelatro generally suggests that designers avoid including fully built-in screens or other built-in features in their plans, as this type of technology is evolving so quickly. By the time a project is complete, the control panel in the wall may already be outdated and that opening would need to be redone to fit the latest version. Instead, using adjustable stands and flexible designated areas for each device allows for the home to keep up with the speed of technological progress.
“It starts with the homeowner thinking about what’s important to them, communicating that with their designer, but really the sky’s the limit,” Capecelatro says. “Anything that can be connected in your imagination, someone out there is able to pull it off for you.”
Have you helped a tech-loving client update their home? Share your tips for fellow pros in the Comments.
More Resources on Houzz
Wi-Fi: What It Is and How to Make It Work Better
Find a smart home integrator on Houzz
Browse smart lighting on Houzz
Figuring out what role, if any, smart tech will play in a client’s home design will shift with every project, but Capecelatro, Koziarski and others agree that the essential foundation for any smart tech-capable home is a solid wireless network.
“That’s probably the No. 1 issue that we see,” Capecelatro says. “An amazing home with beautiful furniture and beautiful appliances but their Wi-Fi is a … router that is just not built to support all of these devices.”
Once that reliable network is established, designers will have a lot more flexibility to help homeowners incorporate popular features like automated shades and lighting (the two features Capecelatro says he hears requested most often) and other connected components. Choosing which smart elements will drive the design decisions for each client will depend on what’s important to that homeowner: Music? Automated lighting? Security features?
Today’s connected devices are smaller and generally more gracefully designed than past home technology systems, making it easier to add each piece into a clean overall design. Without as many unsightly wires and cables, the screens and speakers are typically easier to move and reconfigure in a space. Capecelatro generally suggests that designers avoid including fully built-in screens or other built-in features in their plans, as this type of technology is evolving so quickly. By the time a project is complete, the control panel in the wall may already be outdated and that opening would need to be redone to fit the latest version. Instead, using adjustable stands and flexible designated areas for each device allows for the home to keep up with the speed of technological progress.
“It starts with the homeowner thinking about what’s important to them, communicating that with their designer, but really the sky’s the limit,” Capecelatro says. “Anything that can be connected in your imagination, someone out there is able to pull it off for you.”
Have you helped a tech-loving client update their home? Share your tips for fellow pros in the Comments.
More Resources on Houzz
Wi-Fi: What It Is and How to Make It Work Better
Find a smart home integrator on Houzz
Browse smart lighting on Houzz
Find a smart-home integration specialist near you