How much should I budget for a Smart Home?

Far more so than the intricate workings of the technology itself, the most confusing aspect of a smart home setup is often working out how much it might cost. CEDIA Marketing Chair Jane Scotland offers the following advice: “Think about what you are spending on your bathrooms and kitchen. You should allocate an equivalent portion of your budget to entertainment and home electronics technology.” Sounds like a good starting point, but then it depends on how much you are spending on your kitchen and bathrooms, and, more importantly, exactly what kind of level of smart technology you are looking to integrate.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that with smart homes, you don’t have to have anything. As Iain Gordon, president of intelligent building control standard KNX (knx.org) and owner of integrator GES Digital (gesdigital.com), says: “Generally speaking, smart homes are bespoke — what is someone’s dream setup is another’s waste of time.” He is also keen to point out that systems such as KNX’s are expandable. So, as long as you have the bare bones of the structure, you can add more features as and when you require in the future. He also agrees with every other installer that it is essential for self-builders to ‘future-proof’ their homes by at the very least installing Cat5 (or KNX’s own version, ‘bus’) cabling, which for a typical three to four bedroom home can be bought for around £3-400. An electrician can install this alongside the main cables.

There are companies emerging on the market offering basic packages of wiring and control panels at a very reasonable price for an electrician to then install. One such company is Digital Plumbers (digitalplumbers.com) who, for an average house, offers a core package including all cabling, wall sockets and data points, as well as the central distribution panel – facilitating multi-room audio and television, home computer and multiple phone lines – for around £1,200. Other companies offering more sophisticated packages include ABB (abb.co.uk), who offer a choice of Bronze, Silver and Gold packages, priced at £3,000, £7,000 and £11,000 respectively. This gives the option of choosing anything from a touch-control panel for centralised control of house functions through to a comprehensive system encompassing not only lighting and heating functions, but also audiovisual, security and blind and shutter controls.

Prices vary just as much for wireless systems, but consider that for just £50, Harmony’s Home Automation Server (idomus.eu) lets you control your home from your computer. The Wi-Fi devices are bought separately (and priced variously), meaning you can build your own system tailored to your needs.

All estimates correct as of May 2008.

Further reading:

• A Hi-tec Timber Frame Kit Home
• Can Smart Homes be Eco-friendly?
• A Complete Guide to Electrics