Technology can be intimidating. And trying to keep pace with how quickly it evolves can seem downright impossible at times, especially in areas such as smart home technology that are just beginning to come to the forefront with advances and improvements being made at an exponential rate.
As such, many builders have made the determination to forgo adding smart technology to their homes and, instead, leave it up to the homeowners to incorporate whatever they desire after the home has been purchased. However, as Jimi Gonzalez, VP of Business Development at Airhome, writes, if builders integrate technology into their homes before market, it can be a key differentiator in a competitive marketplace.
This doesn’t necessarily mean builders need to create cutting-edge, futuristic smart homes. Instead, what builders can do is simply provide the necessary foundations for technology to be integrated and added at a later date. Adding these foundations and creating a home that is ready for the future can be done without significant costs, time, effort, or overhead, and it can have a big payoff.
So what exactly are these foundations for smart home technology that should be added? They are the elements of any connected home than can be used by everyone regardless of just how much education they plan to provide their house with. Things like wireless access points, device-friendly power outlets, and smart thermostats all act as starting points for builders to enter into the world of the Internet of Things.
Builders don’t need to be making specific decisions about what smart products and devices to include in a home, but they should be embracing technology and have an understanding that it is here to stay; shunning it will only hurt the builders themselves.
