CEDIA has collaborated with the NHBC (National House Building Council) to produce a new report, entitled ‘The Connected Home: Designing and building technology into today’s new homes’.
This new NHBC report is an important step forward for CEDIA and its members, as it will educate house builders and property developers about the fundamentals of smart home technology and will provide them with information, advice and clarity.
The report helps define the connected home. It outlines the full spectrum of home technology sub-systems that can be professionally installed to provide home entertainment, security, heating, lighting, energy management, voice and video telecommunications and assisted living benefits to homebuyers. It explains how these can be integrated to provide maximum convenience to the occupants in operating the home, and enables both the home and the residents to access a wide variety of external digital services.
In addition to talking about what these terms actually mean, the report also provides information on opportunities provided by the technology revolution for the forward-thinking developer. It looks at the expectation from homeowners seeking to be connected, and the attraction and extra value that a property wired for technology can demand.
The concept that, with the right wiring infrastructure in place, a home can be fitted with a relatively simple system, then expanded at a later point is an important one that the industry needs to communicate to this audience. At the simplest level, house builders can enhance the value of their product by incorporating sufficient wiring that provides the basic infrastructure for a smart home.
This premise is covered under a list of ‘essential requirements’ within the report and underpins the need for CEDIA professionals to be involved with house builders from an early stage on their schemes. This practical advice embodies requirements and special considerations for designers and house builders who are aiming to provide the electronic infrastructure for tomorrow’s connected homes. It shows how even simple measures at construction stage such as the installation of a couple of wired data outlets can reap rewards for residents now and in the future.
“It is now more important than ever for the housing industry to tap into this new and expanding ‘connected home’ market,” comments Wendy Griffiths, Executive Director of CEDIA EMEA. “CEDIA collaborated with the NHBC Foundation to develop this essential report to help educate house builders on how to enter the connected home market and understand the opportunity to maximise the value of new homes by ensuring that they are ready for today’s technologies as well as what is on the horizon.
This guide describes the spectrum of connected homes, from present technology to future applications. It gives guidance to designers and house builders on what they need to do to make their homes ready for the future as well as fit for today. It’s an education that’s also going to help CEDIA members in their dealings with this sector of the market.
To access the NHBC Foundation’s full report, in association with CEDIA, visit https://www.nhbcfoundation.org/Publications/Guide/The-connected-home-NF67