One of the questions that always comes up when we meet with a potential smart home client is: How much does a fully integrated smart home cost, for everything? Although this is a very difficult question to answer because there are so many factors to consider, we will try our best to explain some general pricing and best practice guidelines here. An easy way to understand the way pricing works in smart home projects is to use the analogy of building a house. This is a convenient analogy because you are probably in the process of building your house right now so you will find it quite easy to relate to the procedure and the way pricing can change drastically depending on your ultimate goals. As you know, if you are building an architecturally designed 4-bedroom+ house the build price can start at around 3 million, but then quickly jump up to 5 million+ when you start upgrading permanent features such as designer kitchens, specialty roofing, flooring, and luxury tiles etc. On top of this initial jump, you can easily spend another $500k on finishings and fixtures such as feature chandeliers, high-end faucets, and general décor. These jumps in pricing based on preferences also apply to smart homes systems. When you look at a basic system, the start price is around 30-50k, but this can quickly jump up to $100-$200k+ when you start adding lighting control, motorized blinds and climate control to all the rooms. On top of that, you can easily spend an extra $50-250k + on a cinema. Consider your landscaping and joinery costs, these are similar costs to what you can expect to spend on a professionally designed smart home. When allocating budget in a smart home project we give the same advice to our clients that good architects, builders, and interior designers give theirs. Focus your budget on the more ‘permanent’ fixtures and aspects first because they are the most difficult and expensive to change later down the road. The last thing you want is to rip up that wooden floor in the kitchen because you always wanted polished concrete or to realize that you really needed underfloor heating in lounge. Likewise, if you think you need a bigger 4K TV or a better set of speakers all you have to do is buy new ones but when you get the permanent infrastructure wrong, i.e. The wiring, switcher or controller can’t support the highest current, resolution or speeds required; it can be costly to try upgrade that key component. Unaware of this, some people focus on finding the “cheapest” permanent infrastructure then try to layer expensive finished products such as 4K TV’s and high-end stereo equipment on top of it. This approach is penny wise but pound foolish, and sacrifices low-maintenance, quality, warranty, and aesthetics. Cheaper systems almost always compromise on quality components and wiring and will inevitably lead to regret. This is what differentiates the DIY, Common Cowboy and ‘Done by the Electrician’ installations from

At what stage does Real IT get involved in your smart home project?

For a moment, think about all the steps you take every night before you go to sleep. You lock the doors, turn off the lights, adjust the climate control and lower the window shades. In fact, you probably have many different routines of basic tasks that you go through every time you have friends over, leave for work, or go on vacation. These routine tasks in and of themselves are not difficult but can become tedious and take longer to accomplish if you are in a rush or live in a large house. When a smart home is set up correctly by a professional integrator, it can do in seconds, what may have taken you several minutes to do manually. All you need to do is touch one button. By touching one button you can activate a sequence of commands sometimes referred to as a scene. These scenes can impact the entire house or one particular room, they can serve a practical purpose or just do something cool that impresses your friends and family. Scenes are probably one of the most revered parts of a smart home system. You can save time and always be ready for any change in environment or mood. The ability to set scenes is not limited and offers the opportunity to tailor your smart home system around each family member’s habits, personal preferences, and daily routines. Professional Integrators will often suggest scenes to incorporate into your smart home system but that doesn’t mean you are stuck with them. With some systems like Crestron Pyng, you can build out your scenes easily without having to call up the smart home company that installed your system. We hope that this list from the book Home Automation: A Complete Guide to Buying, Owning and Enjoying a Home helps inspire the perfect scenes to add to your smart home. GOOD NIGHT: Turns off the lights, but leaves some dimly lit so you can see your way to the bathroom. Also, arms the security system closes the motorized window shades and sets back the thermostats to a comfortable sleeping temperature. GOOD MORNING: Gradually brightens the lights in the bedrooms and bathrooms, opens the shades and readjusts the thermostats. Can also turn on the kitchen lights, activate the coffee pot and turn on any and all TVs to the morning news. MIDNIGHT SNACK: Illuminates a pathway to the kitchen. The lights are kept at a low-intensity level—enough light to see your way down the hall, but still gentle on sleepy eyes. HOME: Readies the house for your return home by activating select lights—like the fixtures that lead from the garage to the kitchen. The security system disarms and your favorite Internet music station streams to the speakers in the main living areas (assuming you have an audio system that supports this function). Unique Home settings can be created for every member of the family. For example, Kids Home could send you a text when they open the door, then keep the

At Real IT, we love lighting control,  after all,  lighting is a fundamental part of the luxury, convenience, comfort, efficiency, and safety of your home. When it’s integrated with your smart home system the possibilities for increased convenience, efficiency and fun are endless! 1. Enjoy Automatic Pathway & Orientation Lighting: Well-placed orientation and pathway lighting in hallways, bathrooms, and staircases increase safety inside your home, now you can activate the lights through movement sensors in the ceiling so there is no need to stumble in the dark for a switch or have your sleepy eyes blinded by bright lights in the middle of the night. 2. Get Functional With Task lighting: Allow automated focused light to illuminate your work spaces and make the completion of visual tasks easier. As an example in open plan kitchen dining areas, task lighting can ensure your kitchen work surfaces are well illuminated without compromising the soft ambient lighting being enjoyed by your dinner guests. 3. Increase Your Energy Efficiency: You can save money on your utility bills by having a smart home system turn off the lights at certain times of the day. If you forget, the system still remembers. 4. Add Incredible Convenience to Everyday: You can save time and manage your household better by pressing one button on an smart home keypad, touch panel or mobile device to turn multiple lights on and off at once. 5. Get Better at Highlighting Your Homes Best Features: Don’t remind yourself every night to turn on the accent lighting you placed to highlight your decor, artwork or architecture. Your smart home system can be programmed to do this for you, always coming on at the correct brightness based on the lighting levels in the room. 6. Deter Unwanted Guests: Make it appear that you are home when you are off on vacation. Lights can be set to switch on and off in a random pattern to make your house look occupied and discourage intruders. 7. Experience Lighting Scenes: One of the most exciting aspects of having lighting control in the home is creating ‘scenes’. These scenes control some or all of the lighting circuits in the home and create lighting environments to suit every mood at the touch of the button. E.g Relax scene, Home scene, All Off and Party scene. Of course, these scenes can mix in audio, video, HVAC, and other systems to further enhance the one-touch experience. 8. Dont Compromise On Interior Design: The conventional light switch is so 1995. Modern lighting keypads come in a broad array of styles and finishes to suit any need and environment, from discreet keypad options to dazzling touchscreen displays. The Engraved keypads can perform many functions with easy-to-use labeled buttons, replacing various unsightly switches with a single compact solution.   9. Get Expert Automation Assistance: Finally there is a company who takes lighting design seriously. At Real IT  we understand that the difference between a good lighting design and a great one is a process