5 Key Smart Features When Building a Home

Building a new home is both exciting and a little intimidating. 

Since you will be the one living in it, you will feel compelled to perfect every detail. Although architecture, exterior, and interior design are essential, your Wisconsin home's overall functionality is equally important. 

The first step in building a smart home that complements rather than complicates your lifestyle is to identify your technology requirements. 

Knowing the right questions to ask after you've outlined your specifications will lead you to the most efficient and automated home for you and your family. 

Hiring a home automation expert, such as Evolved Habitat, to explain home automation topics and navigate you through technology choices will ensure that you have all the answers to questions you didn't know to ask, as well as assisting you in achieving your smart home goals. 

Our top picks for the most requested home technology features are listed below.

ALSO READ: How to Take Your Control4 Home Automation to the Next Level→

Creating a custom lighting scene in your home is an important part of increasing efficiency, comfort, and relaxation. 

While most people are concerned with the overall design and appearance of their lighting scheme, we take it a step further and focus on the control of the lights as well. 

The first of many automation controls in your new home is the ability to monitor your lights from your phone, a touch screen, a remote, or an old-fashioned switch on the wall. 

We suggest starting with the most used areas of your home in the early stages of planning: the family room, kitchen, hallways, and so on... You'll want the most control over the areas of your home that get the most traffic regularly.

Control switches from Lutron or a Control4 dealer enable you to turn connected lights on and off, as well as dim them to the desired level. 

Many clients, however, opt to link all of their lights in their homes to a single control device. We always hear from our clients how relieved they are to know that with the click of a single button on the way out the door, all lights are switched off, including the kids' closet!

Learn more about the components of a whole home automation system:

• Smart Lighting
• Motorized Shades & Blinds
• Private Voice Control
• Whole-home WiFi & Networking
• Multi-Room Audio
• Home Theater & Media Rooms
• Home Security & Surveillance
• Outdoor TV & Audio
• Outdoor Motorized Shades & Bug Screens

When it comes to audio, asking yourself, "How do I want my sound to look?" will help you determine which items to use in your system.

When integrating speakers into a home, there are a variety of options available, all of which are based on the experience you want to build.

We often start in the rooms where you imagine yourself listening to music the most, then match the quality and design to fit seamlessly into your environment, similar to lighting control. 

The family room, kitchen, patio, and master suite are all common choices for many clients. The speakers' quality and quantity can range from background noise to high-end, two-channel audio.

When deciding on the best choice for you, it's critical to first decide your habits, which will help you determine your requirements.

Often, clients combine options and install the highest-quality speakers in their family room while opting for a lower-quality speaker in their children's bedroom.