Frequently asked questions
What people ask us before a project starts, answered straight. If your question is not here, there is somewhere to ask it at the foot of the page.
What exactly does Home Technology Designers do?
We design, install and maintain the technical systems that make a house work without anyone noticing them: multiroom sound, home cinema, automation and professional security. We do not sell equipment off the shelf. What we deliver is a system thought out for one particular house, built into what the architect designed, and one that stays ours after it is installed.
At what stage of the project should we talk to you?
The earlier the better, and the ideal moment is while the design is still open, before the infrastructure is closed up. That is when it is decided where the conduits run, where the sound points sit, which walls get acoustic treatment and where the equipment rack lives. Decided in time, none of it shows in the finished house. Decided later, it always means compromises.
Do you work directly with architects and interior designers?
Yes, and it is how we prefer to work. We come in as one of the specialities within the design team, alongside the architect and the interior designer, with our own drawings and schedules. The aim is not to impose equipment on the house, it is to make the technology fit the design that already exists.
Can you work on a house that is already built?
Yes, and a good part of what we do is exactly that. In a house that is already built or lived in there is less freedom to run cable, but there are now wireless solutions and equipment made for discreet installation that solve most situations. The first thing we do is visit: without seeing the house there is no serious proposal.
What happens once the installation is finished?
The installation is the start of the relationship, not the end. We leave the system set up and explained to whoever is going to use it, and we stay available to tune it as the house is lived in. The systems we install can be added to: a new room, a new music source or one more camera go in without redoing what is already there.
What does a system like this cost?
It depends on what the house asks for, so there is no price list. Ambient sound in three rooms and a complete system with cinema, automation and security in a large house are different orders of magnitude. What we do is start from what matters most to you and build in stages: the infrastructure is prepared in one go, and the equipment can come over time.
Can it all be done in stages?
Yes, and it is what we recommend when the budget does not allow everything at once. The rule is simple: all the infrastructure is done during the building work, because that is what means opening walls; the equipment comes when it makes sense. A house that is prepared can take a projector or another sound zone years later, with no building work at all.
Which brands do you work with?
We work with a small set of brands that we know well and that give us proper support, among them Bang & Olufsen, Steinway Lyngdorf, Barco, Kaleidescape, Control4, Ekinex, Revel, Lexicon, Origin Acoustics and C SEED. The choice always comes from the project and not from the catalogue. A brand only goes into a house if it is the right answer for that house.
Can we try it before deciding?
You can, and you should. We have our own showroom, where the systems are installed and running: you hear the sound, you see the cinema, you handle the controls. It is far easier to decide after trying than from a specification sheet. Visits are booked and we go through it with you.
What if something breaks?
We answer, with nobody in between. The systems we install stay under our support, and a good part of any problem is solved remotely, without anyone having to come to the house. When someone does need to come, we come. It is why we work with few brands: supporting something properly means knowing what you installed.
