What a smart home installer checks on a home survey

A smart home survey turns a vague wish — "make the house smart" — into a plan you can price. Start with what the household wants to happen day to day, then check the network coverage in every room, the wiring behind switches and at the consumer unit, the devices already in place and the platform the family uses on their phones. Note privacy and security concerns, agree a budget and a first phase, and write a proposal that lists each device, where it goes and what it will do.

Ask what annoys them today and what they would like the house to do: lights that come on when they arrive, heating that follows their timetable, blinds that close in the afternoon sun, a doorbell they can answer from work, an alert if a pipe leaks. Ask who lives there, their ages and their comfort with technology. A system the whole family can use beats one only the keenest member understands.

Walk every room, the garden and the garage with a phone or a meter and note where the signal drops. Thick walls, long houses and outbuildings may need extra access points or a mesh system before anything else. Check the router's position and whether the client's internet connection is reliable; a smart home that depends on the cloud stops working when the connection does.

List what is already there: smart speakers, a thermostat, cameras, a video doorbell, the TV, the alarm. Ask which phone platform the family uses and whether they want voice control. Choosing devices that work with what they already own avoids a drawer full of incompatible gadgets. Explain the trade-off between one brand's ecosystem and an open hub that mixes several.

Cameras and microphones raise questions. Ask where cameras may point and where they may not, who will have access, and whether recordings stay at home or go to the cloud. Plan strong passwords, updates and a separate network for devices if the router allows it.

Note the boiler or heat pump and its controls, the radiator valves, motorised blinds or shutters, and the appliances that could be scheduled. Check model numbers on site: compatibility depends on them. If the heating installer or the blind fitter must be involved, say so early.

Tenants may need the landlord's agreement for wiring changes. Suggest plug-in or battery devices that leave no trace, and agree in writing who keeps the devices when they move out.

Group the work into rooms or functions, list each device with its location and purpose, and separate devices, labour, network work and any electrical work done by another trade. Suggest a first phase the client can live with before adding more. Include the handover and training session, so the client knows it's part of the job.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Create a "Smart home survey" service and open slots at times when the household is home, including some evenings or Saturdays. Clients book with their name, email and phone and can describe what they want and what they already own in the optional note, which you read in your new-booking email. Once the proposal is accepted, book the installation days and the handover session yourself from your calendar.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. If you need to move a survey, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the client yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.