VOL. 11.11. SUMMERSUMMER 2019 2019

Summer On the Coast

30A MARKET TRENDS

TICKETS, MUSIC, & Old Seagrove

GRAYTON BEACH A Florida Town WITH GREAT ROOTS

LUXURY HOME OFFERINGS

SUMMER 2019 Cover-front 050619.indd 1 5/17/19 3:28 PM Get Smarter on Smart Homes by Chris Burch

pplications doors), window blinds/shades, fireplaces, What You Should in the home for and so on. These components can be Know If Building a “Self-Monitoring Analysis and managed separately through individual New Home. R T SMART apps or by a master smart home hub. eporting echnology” ( ), Currently, for many people having been in development Examples of Smart building new homes, over the past 20 years, have now Home Technology: pre-wiring is an afterthought reached a stage of exponential instead of a foremost growth. Technology for the • Your wake-up alarm automatically consideration. According to home is finally catching up with John Fields, principal of Emerald signals your to start technology in other sectors of the Coast Com-Tech (based in Santa brewing. Your watch, which was also economy. Companies such as Rosa Beach, Florida), all homes monitoring your sleep, signals to your Amazon (Alexa), Google (Home), not currently wired for SMART coffeemaker that you need a little and Apple (Home Kit) are creating will have to be retrofitted at extra caffeine because you had a rough smart home hubs and investing some future point. Given the night’s sleep. heavily to create next-generation prediction that almost every major electronic device/appliance products for homeowners. • Your smart alerts you in the home will become (through scanned bar codes) that your “smarter” in the days ahead, there milk is about to expire and you are What Smart Homes Do: will be an ever-growing demand running low on eggs. for bandwidth. The existing Smart homes provide homeowners wireless systems will be heavily with peace of mind, security, comfort, • As you get out of the shower, your taxed to handle the new loads. convenience, and energy savings. These smart mirror gives you the weather Fields recommends homebuilders objectives can be achieved by connecting report and suggests what types of hardwire in as many devices and controlling everything in your clothing you should wear. as possible. The key is to have home, including , computers, • As you walk out the door, your home the wires (Cat 6 or 6a that can printers, cable boxes, gaming consoles, support 10 Gbps and frequencies sound systems, doorbells, lighting, automatically adjusts the thermostat to of up to 250 MHz) for things to robotic vacuum cleaners, swimming pool save energy, shuts off all the lights, and run properly. Avoid bundling equipment, irrigation systems, security locks all the doors. with the home’s regular electrical cameras, appliances (major and minor), wiring, a common error which thermostats, door locks (including garage You get the picture… leads to electrical interference. 10 | SUMMER 2019 the possibilities are endless. Install at least one access point on each floor to eliminate choke points or congestion from multiple streaming devices. All major internet service providers are working to keep up with the demand and eventually fiber-optic cabling will be the standard.

Even if you are not a tech-savvy person or one concerned with potential privacy or security issues, you should not overlook the benefits of pre-wiring your home. Property appraisers are beginning to factor in allowances for SMART. According to Consumer Reports, there is a potential value increase of up to 5% on resale value. According to Fields, the estimated cost to wire a smart home is about 1% of the overall construction budget…a wise investment.

Another potential benefit of smart home technology is a reduction in insurance rates. For example, if you have an in-home that can detect a water leak, shut off the water supply, and alert you by phone, you lower the risk of extensive damage.

If you are considering building a new home, you will be well-advised to make it a smart home specifically wired to accommodate current and future technology offerings. This investment will immediately add value to your home and enhance resale value down the road. Schedule a consultation with a tech professional to discuss and design your smart home system.

Chris Burch, MBA, owns Grand Bay Construction, LLC, and has been building on the Emerald Coast since 2005. Grand Bay Construction seeks to not only set the standard in the Gulf Coast's construction Chris Burch industry, but also surpass customers' expectations.

www.grandbayconstruction.com Photos by Jack Gardner Photography