What Is A Smart Home Integrator?
If you’ve read our guide to creating a luxury smart home, then you already know that home automation is a complex process. It can easily involve dozens of devices and systems, all of which must be woven together seamlessly. The infrastructure that powers these systems often needs to be hidden, and the hub that manages them needs to be both discreet and centrally located. Finally, every single device needs to be accessible for servicing without compromising on performance or aesthetics.
Creating a custom home automation system that meets all of these criteria requires years of technical expertise and a strong sense of design. That’s a highly specialized skill set, unique to the professionals who dedicate themselves to understanding, implementing, and refining smart home installations.
These pros are called smart home integrators.
In this article, we’ll summarize the role smart home integrators play in luxury home automation. We’ll talk about why it’s worthwhile to work with one. Finally, we’ll explain how Architechne does the job better than anyone else.
Defining a Smart Home Integrator
The work of a smart home integrator is part designer, part installer, and part expert liaison between you and the companies that manufacture smart home systems and products. Unlike an electrician who specializes, say in just home theater or home audio, an integrator has a strong foundation in all the systems that make up a smart home.
The Responsibilities of a Smart Home Integrator
The specific work of a home automation integration professional includes:
Designing a custom, comprehensive home automation system that satisfies your requirements.
Selecting and installing the best devices and systems to achieve your home automation goals.
Programming and configuring said devices, so you have easy access to your desired settings.
Providing ongoing one-on-one technical support and maintenance.
To do this work well, one must have a solid understanding of electronics, IT systems management, programming, and more. Without this diverse skillset, a person may be able to add any number of high-tech gadgets into your home. However, they would be unable to optimize that technology, or deftly turn it into a single, intuitive, cohesive system.
The Design Process
Ideally, your integrator should be included early in the design phase for your home. That way, all the smart home technology integration can be planned out in advance, ensuring all architectural and technological elements ultimately work together. Your architect, general contractor, electrician, and smart home integrator will collaborate to ensure sufficient pre-wiring is installed, all devices are accessible, and unique spaces like home theaters are designed with the correct specifications.
Device Selection
Once a plan is in place, your smart home integrator will move on to selecting your devices. Home automation technology vendors don’t typically work with homeowners or homebuilders directly, so finding an integrator with strong vendor relationships is key.
Be aware that some integrators work preferentially or exclusively with one vendor. To avoid unnecessary limitations in product selection, look for an integrator like Architechne that works with a wide selection of top brands.
Installation
Once it’s time to install, your smart home integrator will work closely with electricians to ensure every hard-wired component is set up correctly. The electrician may be a dedicated part of your smart home integration team or a third-party contractor.
Configuring Your System
After everything has been installed and wired up by the electrician, your smart home integrator will program each device. They will route the controls for all your technology through your home automation hub. Then, your integrator can program custom settings and patterns for you. These can be triggered by the time of day, environmental conditions, or selection by the user. The types of settings that are possible will vary somewhat depending on the specific home automation controller you choose.
Ongoing Maintenance
Once your systems are up and running a good integrator will stay readily available to answer questions, troubleshoot problems, and maintain your devices. This is a huge advantage over DIY pseudo-smart home solutions, where you’re largely SOL if a problem arises. Your integrator can also help you adapt your systems if your preferences change, as well as upgrade your devices over time.
What Makes Architechne an Industry-Leading Smart Home Integrator?
Whatever your vision for your home, Architechne will source, install, and configure the best home automation solutions on the market. We maintain strong relationships with all the very best home automation vendors, and we offer our clients the widest possible selection of cutting-edge technology for their homes. For top-of-the-line, completely custom, never cookie-cutter smart home integration, you can do no better than Architechne.
Contact us today to get started.
