This brief article details 3 Smarthome essentials for Australia property developers who are spoilt for choice in the Australian home automation market in 2020.

Smarthome technology is becoming an essential inclusion for Australian property developers, whether as an option or inclusive in the basic offering to attract customers and provide value for money beyond the 4 walls and luxury inclusions in kitchens and bathrooms.

With so many choices, and technology discussions for property developers, we have provided a short- list of 3 smarthome essentials for property developers building apartments, townhouses and kits homes in Australia.

Smarthome Essential for Australia Property Developers #1:
HUB-LESS Control

The smart home system should be hub-less - no hub needed - for complete operation in the home.

One of the advantages of the new era of smarthome products is the ability for a far simpler installation process for electrical contractors compared to legacy solutions.

This saves time and money for the property developer too.

Often smart home lighting control is an entry level place to start with smarthome solutions, and installing smart dimmers into wall plates provides this lower-cost smarthome functionality.

Smarthome systems like SAL PIXIE allow homeowners to get started for less than the cost of a smartphone, providing property developers with a way to provide sophisticated smart home luxury for a fraction of the price.

However, if these systems need a system hub to operate, cross them off your list right away.

Homeowners should be able to walk in and operate their smarthome lighting control without ever having to install a wireless gateway or connect to the internet or become an I.T expert.

SAL PIXIE provides a smarthome experience from the moment you walk in, not after becoming an I.T expert.

Smarthome Essential for Australia Property Developers #2:
Homeowner Upgradeable

The homeowner should be able to expand the smarthome’s capability without having to call an electrician or an expert to ‘reprogram’ the system.

Whilst the smart home starter installation requires an electrician to be involved to install smart dimmers, smart timers and blind controllers - as a smart home starter pack -  expanding the system beyond that should NOT be limited to needing to call an electrician.

Systems like SAL PIXIE provide a wide range of plug-and-play consumer additions once the base installation of dimmers and switches is undertaken. This includes:

1. SAL PIXIE compatible LED Strip kits with RGB (red green blue) and white options
2. Smart plugs for table lamps, floor lamps and appliances
3. Smarthome remote controls which deliver the homeowner the power to control scenes and moods from the push of a simple, remote button.

As all these products are part of the same SAL PIXIE smarthome ecosystem, they work together seamlessly from the SAL PIXIE and SAL PIXIE Plus Apps, and the consumer can plug these in and set them up without any 3rd party intervention.

Property Developers Be Careful Not To Lock Your Home Buyers into Future Expenses
This provides freedom and choices to homeowners without locking them into expensive future costs unnecessarily like:

• Ongoing service fees
• Reprogramming service calls

Of course if electrical work is needed, such as installing a new smart dimmers, then an electrician is naturally needed.

Property Developers Consider Creating Smarthome Packages for Home Buyers
With good planning by property developers, who can offer a range of smart home packages - it's possible to ensure all the essential rooms are covered with the basics of smart dimming, smart switching and smart timing.

With the basics covered, the homeowner can then compliment these packages with their plug and play smarthome devices from systems like SAL PIXIE.

For example, an entry level package may include:

1. Dimmers for the lighting circuits in the kitchen and the lounge;
2. Timers for the exhaust fans in the bathroom/s

This keeps costs low and provides a level of comfort, convenience, energy savings and security immediately. The homeowners can add a number of smartplugs to control their floor and table lamps and even install some RGB LED strip on their TV cabinet themselves AND control it all from the same system too.

An upgraded smart home package would add:

1. Dimmers for the bedrooms
2. Smart switches for external lighting ( balconies )
3. Additional dimmers for Kitchen LED strips.

But be warned, not all systems are capable of delivering this staged or tiered approach to smarthome packages.

It's important to select a system that has the flexibility and ease of use to provide you AND your home buyer's options - now and in the future for the smallest cost possible.

Not all system are capable of achieving this outcome so look for systems that:

1. Don’t need specialised wiring - that is, they use the existing wiring practices and don't need special network cable runs.
2. Don’t need hubs or WiFi connections to operate in the home reliably.
3. Don’t need specialised programming and are easy to update with plug and play device and mobile app setup.

Systems like SAL PIXIE provide exactly this capability.

Smarthome Essential for Australia Property Developers #3:
Setup NOT Programming

If a computer is needed to program the smarthome system then forget it. The smarthome system should be able to be setup from a mobile App.

Needing to use a computer to program a smarthome system is a risk-laden task for property developers.

Whilst you do not have to do the programming yourself, you are creating an anchor for future homeowners, and hence apartment blocks full of potential headaches for you in the future:

• “The timers are wrong”
• “The dimming levels of the morning scene are too bright”
• “The blinds open all the way I just want them to open halfway”
• “When my internet is down I can’t control my home”

Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

This risk and headaches mean money out of your pocket to pay the company the with PC to come back to the site and sort these homeowners out.

If future setup or configuration of the system is necessary it should be simple enough to be done via an App to access all capabilities of the system.

...And be adjusted by the homeowner without having to ever call anyone back.

Where should property developers start with smart home technology?

This is simple.

3 technologies in key living areas with basic 4 functions.

1. Lights
2. Extractor fans
3. Blinds

Introducing these 3 core items creates a comprehensive smarthome for homebuyers for a relativley low cost for the lifestyle enhancement provided.

Ensure the selected smarthome system is capable of providing these 4 core functions without a HUB, without PROGRAMMING and with the ability to add plug and play devices with the same capabilities.

• Dimmers
• Switches
• Timers
• Schedules