Smart Home for New Apartments | Falcon Security Systems

What to do while the walls are still open

If you are fitting out a new apartment, you have a window that closes permanently once the plastering is done. Very little smart home work is expensive during a renovation and almost all of it is expensive afterwards.

The single most valuable thing is a neutral wire at every switch box. It costs almost nothing while the conduit is being run, and its absence is the reason most existing apartments cannot use smart wall switches at all. Ask for it explicitly — it is not standard practice unless requested.

Second is a deeper back box behind the switches you expect to make smart. Smart modules sit behind the faceplate and a standard shallow box makes them difficult or impossible to fit tidily.

Third is a network point in the places that will need one: near the TV, near where a router will sit, and near the entrance if you plan a video door station. Wi-Fi covers most needs, but a wired point at the router location and the TV is worth having and impossible to add neatly later.

Everything beyond this — bulbs, sensors, cameras, locks — can wait. Do not buy devices during construction; buy the infrastructure that lets you buy devices whenever you want.

Ask the electrician for

• A neutral wire at every switch box
• Deeper back boxes where smart switches are planned
• Network points at the router position and behind the TV
• A conduit from the entrance to the flat for a future video door station
• A dedicated circuit for anything you will want to control and monitor