DIY projects can be rewarding, but smart home technology installation is not for the average handyman. You wouldn’t guess it from the products you see advertised every day at Home Depot and even Ikea, but it’s true. It was hard enough to put together that Kallax with those wordless instructions — how do you think it’s going to go with their smart home system? Will it be made of particle board?

DIY for smart homes comes with two major problems: the task is difficult, and mixing and matching components can be asking for trouble.

 

Smart vs. Average

If you buy a smart home in a box, you get all the sophisticated technology available for $199, and setting it up is as simple as plugging it into your router and downloading apps. Like a bed in a bag, it’s the Hyundai of smart home technology. If you’re looking more for a Buick or even a Jaguar, you will want hard wiring and more advanced technology. Homeowners have had the ability to turn lights and TVs on and off via remote control for years, so the beauty of smart home technology lies deeper than that. For instance, streaming music into different rooms is a popular feature, and without speakers, this is an impossibility. Without good speakers, it’s merely undesirable.

Some homeowners want to jump into smart home technology with both feet, but more want to just dip a big toe in first to test the waters. They may want to automate just a few features, like lights and door locks, and see how they like that before adding on anything else. That’s why it’s good to start with a system like Savant, so you can expand to automate other functions in your home as you become more comfortable with the ones you have.

 

Trust the Leaders

Going with an established, professional-grade, platform like Savant is also handy because you can get everything you need in one place, and there’s no need for shopping around comparing functions and prices. Remember when you had four or more remote controls on every coffee and end table? You want to avoid that kind of setup in the future.

And time is on your side when you stay with the same company, because if you wait to get a particular feature, you may end up with an updated version of it, and you won’t have to worry about whether it’s compatible with what you already have. And if you ever need support or help of any kind, you’ll have more than an 800 number on the back of a cardboard box to turn to.

Theatron Home Theater and Smart Homes transforms regular homes into smart homes all over Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. Don’t risk a DIY installation with your smart home technology — trust the professionals at Theatron Home Theater and Smart Homes to do the job for you.