Smart home technology offers potential benefits for safety and energy efficiency, but buyers and homeowners alike must weigh the costs.
KIRO 7’s Ranji Sinha recently toured a smart home and spoke with a builder to explore these benefits and considerations for homeowners in Western Washington.
Smart tech, with features like automated lighting and temperature control, aims to save energy and money while also enhancing home security through smart locks. Energy Star, a U.S. government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, supports smart products that manage homes efficiently, noting that initial investment is required for future savings.
Derek Richardson, a smart home developer, walked us through his smart home, which includes smart light technology developed by his company in Western Washington. Richardson also uses smart locks and other devices in his home. His wife, the primary user of the technology, noted the convenience, saying she often does not “even think about it” while rushing to get groceries or to get the kids out of the house.
Smart lighting systems can be configured with a “vacation mode” to simulate occupancy by mimicking normal patterns, creating the impression that someone is home. Richardson explained that this feature “is pretending that you’re here at night.” Smart lights can also turn off automatically to help manage energy budgets.
For power outages, Richardson confirmed that smart locks are designed to function as normal manual locks. He stated that “the smart lock still works as a normal manual lock, so there’s a key you can still unlock the door.” He also noted that “when the lights come back on, all the lights know the previous state of what they were in.”
Ryan Lurie, who works in construction and with the Builders Association of King and Snohomish counties, advises homeowners to prioritize low-tech upgrades first. These upgrades include new windows, improved insulation, and updated heating or water systems, before integrating smart technology. Lurie explained that homeowners will “realize more bang for your buck than you are by putting smart tech into a home that’s not energy efficient with high load systems.”
The cost for retrofitting smart light switches is approximately $45 to $55 per switch, in addition to an initial $80 fee. The overall cost for smart home upgrades can range from several hundred to $1,000, depending on the size of the home and the number of lights being upgraded. Lurie suggests adding smart tech during general home upgrades, as it can be less expensive and easier to install at that time rather than transforming an entire home later.