The hidden cost of putting off your smart tech install
Installing a smart system in your home can be costly.
Wiring is one cost, hardware is another, and we know it all starts to add up.
We’re not detached from the fact that when you’re building or renovating, you don’t often have an extra few thousand pounds in your pocket for some ‘nice-to-have’ technology.
But what if smart technology wasn’t seen as a ‘nice-to-have’? What if it was seen as an investment that saves you time, money, and energy in the immediate term and in the future?
We don’t believe in calling the installation of smart technology ‘future proofing’ because we don’t have a crystal ball to see into the future. What we do believe is that smart technology adds to the long-term value and resilience of your home, and is proven to rapidly reduce spend on energy. The return on investment is high almost immediately.
Our thoughts are the same for commercial spaces. Perhaps even more so, as the kind of systems we design, and the hardware we install, stand the test of staff turnovers, changing space uses, and increasing sustainability goals.
If you’re considering going all in with a smart system, but are put off by the price tag, don’t stall your project with thoughts of fitting it back into the plan at a later date. We’ve been around the block long enough to know that that only causes headaches later - for you and your installer.
So why should you invest in smart technology for your build or renovation at the beginning of your project? Why now?
1. A wired project is a better project
We explain why retrofit projects aren’t our favourite in this blog post.
The long and short of it is that a wired infrastructure for smart technology simplifies the system, leads to greater reliability, and leaves room for expanding the system in the future.
Because collaboration is at the heart of designing seamless systems, getting a technology installer involved early in the project means that everyone working on your build is working together from the very beginning.
Our recommended timeframe to contact us about a new build home is when your plans have been approved by the planning office.
At this stage, expectations can be set from the outset about how the space should look and feel. That means that architects, designers, electricians, plumbers, landscapers and anyone else working on the project know exactly how they fit into the project to meet those expectations.
You might be surprised to hear that smart building technology impacts all the trades listed above. When you think about it, heating automation means connecting the system to a boiler or heatpump, lighting automation means working with an electrician on wiring, and lighting a garden path may require ducting under your lawn to bring the vision for your outdoor space to life.
If you want your technology to be essentially invisible, wiring your system in is the way to go.
A surface mounted Loxone Touch Surface Tree - the hardware for controlling your entire home
2. The return on investment is high
Our client Mark McCall recently posted his 2025 home energy statistics for Automated Home.
Mark champions all electric living with his lifestyle. He combined a house battery, solar panels, and EV charging with a smart home system designed and installed by us. Since building the home, Mark has seen his energy costs fall year on year.
In 2025, Mark’s average monthly energy bill dropped from £199 in 2024 to £166.
That £166 paid for everything in his home - ‘heating and hot water, cooking and washing, lighting and entertainment, and charging an electric car’.
As Mark says, ‘Northern Ireland is still waiting for a smart meter rollout and agile tariffs. When they arrive, there’s real potential for even greater savings’.
In Poland, a hospitality venue saw return on investment in just one month after installing a Loxone energy management system. For an investment of €4,200 upfront, the restaurant immediately saw energy savings of €4,900. You can read more about the project here.
A church in London also saw significant energy savings when a smart energy management system was installed alongside lighting and boiler upgrades. And with the upgrades, the building not only became more sustainable, but more beautiful.
Epitome Living could have taken this project one step further with an audiovisual solution installation to match the elegance of the smart system.
Automated Home
3. Some savings can’t be measured in monetary value
Installing a smart system is as much about convenience as it is about energy savings. Don’t we often say that time is money?
Our client Ryan Daly shared with us recently that the automated shading around his home saves his family 20 minutes of time every day, as they don’t have to manually open and close the blinds.
In commercial spaces, automation makes the lives of facilities managers far easier, as they are not only spared from teaching several members of staff how to manually set up the look and feel of a space at the start of a shift, but can see if their connected systems are working optimally from a single glance.
When you have access to a single system that consolidates everything from everyday heat management, EV charging, and idiosyncratic uses like sauna temperature checks, you’re freed up to focus on other important things like guest experiences. Try putting a price on that.
The installation of smart technology isn’t free. Or as we’ve seen it communicated ‘progress is not free’. But if you invest wisely in systems that work as they should to create a connected building, the savings can be immense.
So whilst the cost of installing a smart system in the initial phase of your project might seem high, the hidden cost of putting off your smart technology install could be far greater.
For a quote or to start conversations about your smart system, contact us at info@epitomeliving.com.