The best decisions are made while the architecture is still taking shape. This guide covers five choices that influence performance, aesthetics and long-term serviceability, followed by a private questionnaire to help define the right scope.
Begin by defining the experience you want from the home: lighting and shades, music and cinema, networking, security, climate, outdoor systems and resilient power. Early scope gives the design team room to plan wiring, equipment space, panel capacity and architectural details before the home is closed in.
For window-treatment planning specifically, see our Lutron motorized shades and drapery design guide, including Palladiom, Sivoia, Roman, skylight, outdoor and specialty-shade coordination.
The control platform affects interface design, keypad strategy, panel layouts and the way subsystems are coordinated. Savant, Control4 and Crestron can each be excellent choices when matched to the project. Lutron HomeWorks typically anchors lighting and shading at estate scale. The right decision is the architecture that best suits the residence, its users and its service expectations.
Structured cabling, fiber and conduit are inexpensive to install while framing is open and costly to add later. A carefully planned wired backbone supports access points, cameras, displays, audio zones, controls and future upgrades while keeping the finished architecture clean.
Lighting circuits, shade power, equipment rooms, panel schedules, backup power and controls should be coordinated as one technical system. Regent5 combines C10 electrical and C7 low-voltage capability so these decisions can be developed together with the architect, builder and design team instead of resolved trade by trade in the field.
Investment follows scope, scale and finish level. Rather than force a generic price onto a custom residence, establish a realistic project range early, then refine the design as lighting, shades, audio video, security and energy selections become more specific. The questionnaire below helps us understand the level of system you are planning.
Regent5 works with homeowners, architects, builders and owner representatives throughout Northern California, with select Southern California projects. Complete the questionnaire below and we can begin with a more informed discussion about system architecture, priorities and next steps.
Investment varies with the scale of the residence, the number of integrated systems and the finish and performance level selected. A meaningful budget is best established from the drawings, fixture schedules and project priorities rather than from a generic per-square-foot figure. The questionnaire on this page includes the project ranges we commonly design within so the initial conversation can begin at the appropriate level.
During design, before framing. The least expensive moment to route conduit, place equipment rooms, and plan lighting circuits is while the home is still on paper. Once drywall is up, the same decisions cost more and constrain the design. If construction has already started, the priority is completing the low voltage rough-in before the walls close.
A complete plan covers lighting control and motorized shades, whole home audio video, any dedicated theater or media room, networking and WiFi, security, surveillance, and access control, climate integration, and energy systems including battery backup and generator power. Just as important are the items you never see: structured wiring, conduit pathways, panel and rack locations, and a hardwired network backbone.
Finished homes are retrofitted every week. Wireless systems such as Lutron RadioRA 3 bring scene based lighting control to existing switch locations without opening walls, and panelized systems can be phased in during a remodel. New construction simply lowers the cost of the infrastructure, because the wiring is installed while the framing is open.
Each can run a whole home well. The better decision is system architecture, not brand popularity: the interface you prefer, depth of customization, integration requirements, service model, and the lighting, shades, audio video, security and energy systems being coordinated. For a custom home, a unified control layer for daily functions usually creates a cleaner experience than a collection of unrelated apps, while still allowing best-of-breed subsystems underneath. Regent5 installs Savant, Control4 and Crestron, and clients can compare systems side by side at the Regent5 Showroom & Design Center.
Yes. Reliable wireless is built on wire. Access points, cameras, displays, audio zones and automation equipment perform best with a planned hardwired backbone, and every wireless device ultimately depends on the network behind it. During construction, structured cabling and conduit are inexpensive compared with opening finished walls later. For security, a managed network can also separate IoT, camera, guest and personal-device traffic where appropriate, while keeping firmware, credentials and network equipment actively maintained.
Budget the project in layers: design and engineering, infrastructure, devices and fixtures, programming and commissioning, and long-term support. In a custom home, the hidden infrastructure—conduit, structured cabling, equipment racks, network hardware, dedicated circuits, shade power, cooling and backup power—often determines reliability and future upgradeability. Establish the scope during design, carry a technology allowance in the construction budget, and refine it as lighting, shades, audio video, security and energy selections become final.
Not simply because the home is automated. Automation processors, keypads, network equipment and sensors are relatively modest electrical loads. The larger issue is whole-home electrification: EV charging, heat pumps, electric cooking, pool equipment, large audio video systems, batteries and other high-demand loads. California energy guidance notes that many homes can electrify without automatically upsizing service when load calculations and load management are done early. Start with a whole-home load calculation, then determine whether the existing service is adequate or an upgrade is justified.
For permit applications submitted on or after January 1, 2026, California's 2025 Energy Code applies. Residential projects have mandatory lighting-control requirements, including dimming in habitable spaces, automatic-off controls in certain rooms, and qualifying outdoor controls. Centralized, multi-scene and energy-management control systems can be used when they provide the required functions and physical controls. Coordinate the lighting-control design with the architect, electrical drawings and local permitting authority early rather than trying to solve compliance after fixtures and keypads are selected.
Automation can improve energy use, although results depend on the utility rate plan, HVAC design, electrical loads and household patterns. Coordinated lighting, shades, HVAC, EV charging, pool equipment, water heating, batteries and load management can reduce unnecessary consumption and shift selected loads away from peak periods. The strongest strategy is designed around the home's actual loads and utility requirements.
Potentially, especially for battery storage, heat pumps, heat-pump water heating and other electrification measures, but funding and eligibility change frequently. As of August 2026, TECH Clean California reports that its single-family HEEHRA and general single-family heat-pump incentive funding is fully reserved or waitlisted. PG&E's Self-Generation Incentive Program may support qualifying battery-storage projects subject to program eligibility and available funding. Check current programs before equipment is selected, and do not build a project budget around an incentive that has not been confirmed.
Decide during design which systems must remain operational during an outage: the network core, automation controller, security, gates and access control, selected lighting, refrigeration, pumps and other critical loads. Short-duration electronics should have UPS protection, while critical circuits can be coordinated with battery storage or a properly designed generator system. The home should also be planned for graceful operation when internet service is unavailable and for controlled restart after power returns. Backup-power scope must be coordinated with the electrical design and installed with proper safety and transfer equipment.
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