Smart Homes and Technology: What to Specify in a Luxury New Build (2026 Guide)

A smart home is not a product you buy. It is infrastructure you build. And the only time to build it properly is during construction, not after.

This is the most misunderstood thing about home technology in a new build. Clients spend months on kitchen specification, finishes, and glazing, then brief their technology consultant three weeks before second fix. By that point the walls are plastered, the cabling routes are set, and the decisions that determine whether the system works properly have already been made, usually incorrectly.

This guide covers what a properly specified smart home looks like in a luxury new build in 2026: the infrastructure that needs to go in during first fix, the platforms worth considering, what everything costs, and when each decision needs to be made in the build programme.

For context on where technology specification sits within the full build process, read our stage-by-stage luxury home build timeline. And for how technology costs sit within the total per square metre build budget, our guide to luxury home build costs per square metre gives the wider picture.

Why a New Build Is the Right Time to Do This Properly

Installing a smart home system into a finished property is possible. It is also more expensive, more disruptive, and always a compromise. Wireless systems can replicate some of what a hardwired installation does, but they are less reliable, more dependent on a stable WiFi network, and have product lifecycles measured in years rather than decades.

As Baulogic’s 2026 guide to specifying home automation for UK new builds explains, specifying late creates two concrete problems. The first is wiring. A hardwired system needs structured cabling pulled to every controlled point: lighting circuits, blinds, heating zones, door contacts, keypads. Adding that after first fix means chasing walls, disrupting finished surfaces, and accepting a partial system in areas where cabling could not be routed. The second is coordination. The technology consultant needs to be at the table during M and E design so that the electrical drawings reflect the system architecture. If they arrive after the drawings are issued, the coordination work has to be done twice.

The rule from Custom Controls, who have specified systems across hundreds of prime UK residential projects, is clear: the single most effective thing you can do to future-proof the investment is to specify proper cabling infrastructure at the outset. Even where wireless options exist today, a wired backbone for AV, networking, and control gives a system room to grow that a fully wireless installation cannot match.

The timing rule: Appoint your technology consultant before the M and E engineer issues electrical drawings for tender. That is the point of maximum leverage. After first fix begins, your options narrow and your costs rise.

The Infrastructure Layer: What Goes in During First Fix

Before any platform decision is made, there is a layer of physical infrastructure that needs to be specified and installed during first fix. This is the backbone on which everything else runs. Getting it right costs money. Getting it wrong costs more money later, with added disruption.

Structured network cabling

A luxury home in 2026 is a dense network environment. Every television, every in-ceiling speaker zone, every wireless access point, every CCTV camera, every door entry panel, and every control keypad depends on the network. WiFi alone is not sufficient. Finite Solutions’ smart home new build guide specifies Cat6A or fibre cabling to every room, every television position, every potential desk location, every wireless access point, and every CCTV camera position. Cat6A runs future-proof for 10 gigabit speeds. Do not install Cat6 when Cat6A costs marginally more per metre and will last the life of the building.

All runs terminate at a central patch panel in a dedicated plant room or AV cupboard. The network switch, router, firewall, and any media servers live here too. This room needs power, ventilation, and physical access. It is not the place to save space.

Wireless access points

Consumer wireless routers placed in hallways are not the right infrastructure for a luxury home. Enterprise-grade access points mounted in ceilings, one per major zone or floor, provide consistent coverage without dead spots and handle the density of devices a large home carries. Ubiquiti UniFi is the most commonly specified system at this level. Each access point connects back to the central switch via a Cat6A run installed at first fix. Budget £3,000 to £8,000 for the networking infrastructure across a four to six bedroom luxury home.

Speaker cabling

Every room that might ever have in-ceiling audio needs cabling at first fix. This is not the time to be conservative. Adding speaker cabling after plastering requires opening finished ceilings, with the associated cost and disruption. Finite Solutions recommend 14/4 or 12/2 cable for stereo zones and 16/4 for in-ceiling pairs, run to every room including bathrooms, utility spaces, and outdoor zones. Cabling every room during first fix adds a modest cost. Not cabling a room and then wanting audio in it later adds a much larger one.

Lighting circuit infrastructure

Lighting control systems do not work with standard switch wiring. In a conventional installation, the switch interrupts the live feed to the fitting. In a controlled system, the fitting is always live and the control signal tells a dimmer module in the plant room to adjust the output. This means the first fix electrician needs to wire lighting circuits differently, running cables back to the central location rather than to local switch drops. The technology consultant and the M and E electrician need to be coordinated from the outset, or the lighting wiring will be done conventionally and the whole thing will need to be redone.

Motorised shading and blind infrastructure

Motorised blinds and curtain tracks require power to the head of each window, and a control cable if they are part of a hardwired system. Both need to be in before plastering. The position of each motor needs to be coordinated with the interior designer, because the motor housing sits within the window reveal or ceiling void, and the space needs to be designed to accommodate it.

The plant room

The central nerve centre of the whole system. Finite Solutions specify a dedicated AV rack, typically 24U or 42U, with active cooling, and a separate network rack for switches, firewalls, fibre termination, and patching. Every cable in the house terminates here. The room needs to be sized properly, ventilated, and positioned so that maximum cable runs stay within 90 metres for Cat6A. On a large luxury home, you may need a secondary distribution point on an upper floor.

The Platforms: Crestron, Control4, KNX, Lutron and the Others

Once the infrastructure is in place, the platform decision determines what you can do with it. This is where most clients spend their research time, which is the wrong order. Infrastructure first, platform second.

The honest summary of the main options:

Crestron

Crestron is the highest-capability professional automation platform available for residential use. Intelligent Living Group describe it as suited to highly tailored behaviour across multiple rooms and systems, where the brief includes advanced lighting control, shading, distributed AV, and detailed custom programming. Every Crestron installation is programmed from scratch by a certified dealer. Nothing is pre-configured. That gives you unlimited flexibility and means the system does exactly what you ask it to do, but it also means every change you want to make later requires going back to the programmer.

Cost: Vertex AV put Crestron installation in prime London from £35,000 for a focused penthouse system to £175,000 or more for comprehensive multi-zone automation. This is hardware and programming, not including cabling or the underlying network.

Control4

Control4 is the most widely installed professional smart home platform in the UK. Custom Controls describe it as their recommendation for projects where Crestron’s depth is not required: more accessible in cost, with thousands of third-party device integrations and a capable whole-home interface. It handles lighting, AV, climate, security, and door entry through a single system and app. The interface is polished and the ecosystem is mature.

Cost: £15,000 to £80,000 for a luxury home depending on scope. More complex projects with extensive AV, cinema rooms, and multiple zones push toward the upper end. Control4 is the right choice for most luxury residential projects that do not require Crestron’s level of bespoke programming.

KNX

KNX is an open international standard for building automation. Devices from over 400 certified manufacturers all communicate on the same two-wire bus. Vertex AV explain the case for KNX plainly: choose KNX if you prioritise open standards, future-proofing, and architectural integration. It is the de facto choice for new-build properties where the technology infrastructure is designed alongside the architecture. A KNX installation completed today will still be fully maintainable and upgradeable in 2040, because the standard is open and no single manufacturer’s continued existence is required for it to work.

The practical reality is that KNX and Control4 are frequently combined on the same project. KNX handles the lighting and heating backbone. Control4 handles the AV, the user interface, and the day-to-day experience. This hybrid approach is increasingly common on prime UK residential projects and delivers the long-term reliability of KNX with the polished user experience of Control4.

Cost: £8,000 to £100,000 depending on scope, with most luxury residential installations in the £20,000 to £60,000 range for the KNX layer.

Lutron Homeworks QSX

Lutron is not a whole-home automation platform. It is a dedicated lighting and shading control system. It is also, as Custom Controls confirm, the best dedicated lighting control system available. Lutron Homeworks QSX is specified for new builds and major renovations, alongside Crestron or Control4 for whole-home automation, on the majority of significant prime residential projects. The two systems complement each other. Lutron controls the light output with precision. The automation platform controls when and how it does so.

If lighting is a central part of your brief, and in a well-designed luxury home it should be, Lutron belongs in the conversation before any other platform decision is made. Cost: £8,000 to £40,000 for the lighting and shading layer on a luxury home.

Savant

Savant sits alongside Crestron and Control4 as a third professional-grade whole-home platform. Custom Controls note it is distinguished by an exceptionally polished interface and deep Apple integration. The Savant app and hardware are genuinely beautiful products, and for households that live in the Apple ecosystem they feel like a natural extension of it. Cost is comparable to Control4 and upwards, and the installer base in the UK is smaller than either Control4 or Crestron.

Platform	Best for	Typical cost range	Requires specialist?
Crestron	Large, highly bespoke projects. Maximum flexibility and custom programming	£35,000 to £175,000+	Yes, certified dealer essential
Control4	Luxury homes wanting whole-home integration with polished interface	£15,000 to £80,000+	Yes, certified dealer required
KNX	Future-proof new builds, open standard, mix of manufacturers	£8,000 to £100,000+	Yes, ETS programmer required
Lutron Homeworks QSX	Lighting and shading specialist, typically paired with Crestron	£8,000 to £40,000+	Yes, certified installer
Loxone	New builds, wired architecture, strong heating and energy integration	£10,000 to £60,000	Yes, trained installer
Savant	Apple-centric households, ultra-polished interface	£20,000 to £100,000+	Yes, certified integrator

What the System Actually Controls

A well-specified smart home is not a collection of independent gadgets. It is one system with a single interface that controls everything. These are the domains it covers:

Lighting control

The highest-impact element of any luxury smart home. ASAAN London’s lighting control guide explains that lighting is the largest system in scope, covering circuit-level control of standard fixtures, dimmable LED, and any architectural lighting including DALI-2 tracks or feature pendants. The system allows lighting scenes throughout the house: morning, evening, entertaining, cinema, bedtime. Each scene sets multiple circuits to specific levels simultaneously with a single command, from a keypad, an app, or a voice prompt.

Good lighting design and a capable control system work together. Neither is much without the other. Your lighting designer and technology consultant need to be coordinating their work from the design stage, not meeting for the first time during second fix.

Motorised shading

Blinds and curtains controlled by the same system as lighting. Scenes that close the shading in a bedroom at sunset, open it at a programmed time each morning, and drop all living room shades when the cinema mode is activated. In a south-facing London home in summer, automated shading is also a meaningful contribution to thermal comfort and energy efficiency. Budget for motorised shading on every primary window. It adds significant cost but transforms how the home operates.

Heating, cooling, and ventilation

Integration between the automation platform and the home’s mechanical systems. Drawplan’s smart home guide for luxury builds covers the specifics: air source heat pumps work most efficiently when controlled by a smart system that optimises flow temperatures based on outdoor conditions. Integration with Control4 or Loxone allows the heat pump to respond to occupancy patterns and weather forecasts rather than running on fixed schedules. For homes with MVHR, smart integration allows monitoring of CO2 and humidity levels and automatic boost modes when cooking or showering. Underfloor heating zones are individually controlled with occupancy sensing so rooms that are unoccupied are not heated to comfort temperature. These integrations reduce running costs in a way that is meaningful over the life of the building.

Multi-room audio

In-ceiling and in-wall speakers throughout the home, driven by a central distribution system. Each zone independently controlled. The kitchen might be playing one thing, the study another, and the garden something else entirely. High-quality in-ceiling speakers from Sonance, Bowers and Wilkins, or Focal are invisible when installed correctly and produce sound quality that freestanding speakers cannot match in a distributed multi-room context.

Streaming integration means the system connects to Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and any other service the household uses. Sources and zones are managed through the main automation app or through dedicated in-wall keypads positioned at natural control points in each room.

Cinema and media rooms

A dedicated cinema room in a luxury basement or upper floor is one of the most technically demanding elements of the whole system. 4K projection, Dolby Atmos surround sound, acoustic treatment of the room, motorised seating, and a blackout blind system all need to be coordinated. The room needs to be designed for its acoustic and visual function from the structural stage. Concrete floors and hard walls need acoustic isolation. Projector position, throw distance, and screen size need to be fixed before the ceiling is built.

A well-executed cinema room at this level costs £60,000 to £250,000 depending on the size, specification, and quality of the AV equipment. That range is wide because the difference between a good cinema room and an exceptional one is almost entirely in the quality of the image, the sound, and the acoustic environment.

Security and access control

CCTV coverage, door entry, alarm systems, biometric or keypad access, and remote monitoring all integrate into the single platform. Every external camera feeds back to the central system and is viewable on any screen in the house, on the app, or on dedicated security monitors. Door entry panels link to the main automation system so the front door can be answered and unlocked from any room, from the app, or automatically when a recognised face or key fob is presented.

For a prime London property, external lighting triggered by motion and a clearly visible CCTV presence are also security measures. The system can be configured to illuminate specific zones and alert the homeowner simultaneously when motion is detected in sensitive areas outside normal hours.

Electric vehicle charging and energy management

Two EV charger circuits to the garage is the minimum for any luxury new build in 2026. Smart chargers that integrate with the home automation system and with the energy management platform allow charging to be scheduled off-peak, paused during periods of high home demand, and prioritised from solar generation where it is available. This is not a complexity. It is standard specification that pays for itself over a relatively short period in a household with two electric vehicles.

What It All Costs: Budget Ranges by System Category

The table below gives realistic 2026 budget ranges across the main system categories for a luxury new build. Three tiers are shown: entry level luxury, which represents a well-specified system without the full bespoke treatment; mid luxury, which is the most common specification for a prime London or Home Counties new build; and full bespoke luxury, which represents the comprehensive specification found in the most significant residences.

System category	Entry level	Mid luxury	Full bespoke luxury
Networking infrastructure (Cat6A, WiFi, rack)	£5,000 to £10,000	£10,000 to £25,000	£25,000 to £50,000+
Automation platform (hardware and programming)	£8,000 to £20,000	£20,000 to £60,000	£60,000 to £175,000+
Lighting control (circuits, keypads, scenes)	£5,000 to £15,000	£15,000 to £40,000	£40,000 to £100,000+
Motorised shading and blinds	£3,000 to £8,000	£8,000 to £25,000	£25,000 to £60,000+
Multi-room audio (in-ceiling speakers, amplifiers)	£5,000 to £15,000	£15,000 to £40,000	£40,000 to £100,000+
Cinema or media room	Not included	£20,000 to £60,000	£60,000 to £250,000+
Security (CCTV, access control, alarm)	£3,000 to £8,000	£8,000 to £20,000	£20,000 to £50,000+
First-fix cabling (labour only)	£8,000 to £15,000	£15,000 to £30,000	£30,000 to £60,000+
Total system budget (indicative)	£35,000 to £80,000	£80,000 to £180,000	£180,000 to £500,000+

All figures are for supply and installation. They exclude the structural cabling infrastructure, which is typically included in the main building contract as part of the first fix electrical package, though coordinated by the technology consultant.

The number most people miss: A four-bedroom luxury home with a full system lands in the £80,000 to £180,000 range according to Finite Solutions and Connected Home Systems’ 2026 data. This is a project cost that needs to appear in the budget from day one, not as a late addition when the build is nearly finished.

When Each Decision Needs to Be Made

Timing is the most important practical element of smart home specification in a new build. Here is the decision sequence tied to the build programme.

Before M and E design is issued for tender

Appoint your technology consultant. This is the point of maximum influence. The M and E drawings need to reflect your system architecture: how many lighting circuits per room, where the keypad positions are, where speaker cables go, where the plant room sits, and what additional power and data infrastructure is needed. If the M and E design goes to tender before the technology consultant is involved, the coordination work happens late, twice, or not at all.

Before first fix begins

The cable schedule must be agreed. This is the technology consultant’s most important deliverable on a new build. It lists every cable to be installed, its specification, its route, its origin and its termination point. The first fix electrician installs cables to this schedule. If the schedule is not ready when first fix starts, cables get left out and the installation is compromised.

The plant room location and dimensions need to be confirmed. Power and ventilation for the AV and network racks need to be built in. Conduit routes for any cable runs that pass through structural elements need to be coordinated with the structural engineer.

During first fix

Speaker back boxes, keypad positions, and projector back boxes are installed. In-ceiling speaker positions are cut before plasterboard goes on. Projector mounts are secured to the ceiling structure before it is enclosed. Cable runs are installed to the full schedule and checked against it before the walls are closed.

After plastering, before second fix

The AV and network racks are built in the plant room. Equipment is racked, cabled, and patched. The automation platform is configured and pre-tested before any visible devices are installed. Identifying and fixing any cabling issues is far easier before the visible installation work begins than after.

Second fix and commissioning

Keypads, speakers, touchpanels, cameras, and all visible devices are installed and connected. The system is then commissioned, which means programming the automation scenes, lighting levels, heating zones, and every other function to match what the client asked for. Commissioning for a full luxury system takes days, not hours. It is not a completion-day activity. Build it into the programme.

Watch out: Do not compress commissioning time to meet a handover deadline. A smart home that has not been properly commissioned is an expensive collection of hardware that does not work properly. The client moves in to frustration rather than the experience they paid for. Allow two to four weeks for commissioning and client training on a full luxury system.

Future-Proofing: What to Specify That You Cannot Easily Add Later

Beyond the core system, there are specific items that are dramatically cheaper or easier to install during construction than at any later point. These are the things worth spending money on during the build even if you do not have an immediate use for them.

Conduit rather than direct cable runs through structural elements. Conduit allows future cables to be pulled through without opening walls or floors
Spare capacity in the plant room rack. Leave 30% of rack space free at handover. Systems grow
Cabling to every external wall for future CCTV cameras, even those not being installed now
Power and data in the loft space for future equipment
Outdoor speaker cabling to every garden zone, terrace, and pool area
EV charging circuits to the garage and to any future outbuilding locations
Fibre runs between floors in addition to Cat6A, for future higher-bandwidth requirements
Cabling to gate and boundary positions for future access control or intercom

As Custom Controls summarise from nearly two decades of prime residential projects, the systems that age badly are almost always the ones built on consumer hardware with short product lifecycles, not the professional platforms specified for genuinely demanding projects. Specify professional-grade infrastructure, install it properly during first fix, and the system will serve the building for decades.

The Honest Assessment

A well-specified smart home in a luxury new build is not a gadget purchase. It is a fundamental part of how the building works. The lighting, the heating, the security, the audio, the shading, and the energy systems all function better when they are integrated, controlled coherently, and designed from the start rather than added later.

The cost is real. A full luxury smart home specification adds £80,000 to £250,000 or more to the project budget. But this is a cost that should appear in the budget at the brief stage, not emerge as a surprise after first fix. And it is a cost that is materially lower on a new build than on any retrofit, because the infrastructure is going in during construction rather than through finished walls.

The one decision that costs nothing and pays for itself many times over: appoint your technology consultant before the M and E engineer draws a single line. Everything that follows is better, cheaper, and easier for it.