Smart Home Tech Every New Apartment Should Have
Decide the wiring before the plaster
Retrofitting is possible over Wi-Fi, but the things that matter — neutral wires at switch points, conduit to the door, network drops, camera power — are cheap now and expensive later.
Worth doing in every home
- Neutral wire at every switch box so any smart switch or dimmer can be fitted later.
- Structured cabling: at least one Cat6 drop to the TV wall, the study and the router location. Wi-Fi is convenience; cable is reliability.
- Video door phone with a smart doorbell provision and conduit from the door to the panel.
- Motorised curtain provisioning — a power point above the window in living room and master bedroom.
- Water-level and leak sensing at the overhead tank and under the sink; the cheapest damage prevention you can buy.
- A small UPS circuit for router, ONT and one light per room.
Useful, not essential
Smart locks (choose one with a mechanical key override), scene lighting on dimmable circuits, geyser control from your phone, and an energy monitor at the DB to actually see consumption.
Skip or delay
Voice assistants in every room, smart fridges, and proprietary ecosystems that lock you into one vendor's app. Prefer standards-based devices (Matter/Thread or plain Wi-Fi with local control) so a discontinued product does not orphan your home.
Security and privacy
Keep cameras off bedrooms, put IoT devices on a separate Wi-Fi network, change default passwords, and confirm which features still work when the internet is down.
We can provision it
Tell our interiors team at the design stage and the conduit, drops and neutral wires go in as part of the electrical layout.