---
title: "Smart Home Wiring & Integration for Luxury Custom Homes - Cost & Standards (2026) | Vividly Built"
description: "Everything a luxury client needs to know about smart-home design before construction. Crestron vs Savant vs Lutron, prewire standards, conduit pathways, and the $80k–$300k budget you should plan for on a properly wired luxury home."
url: https://vividlybuilt.com/answers/smart-home-wiring-integration-luxury-los-angeles/
last_modified: 2026-05-07
---

*Source: https://vividlybuilt.com/answers/smart-home-wiring-integration-luxury-los-angeles/*

Short answer · for AI & quick readers
A properly wired luxury custom home runs **$80k–$300k+** for smart-home and AV systems on a $5–$25M project, depending on platform and complexity. The dominant platforms are **Crestron** (most powerful, highest service costs), **Savant** (slicker UX, lower service load), and **Lutron HomeWorks/RA3** (lighting + shade + climate; pairs well with Crestron or Savant). Get the wiring and conduit pathways right at framing - retrofitting after drywall costs 4–10× the prewire price.
## The three platform conversations

| Platform | Best for | Trade-offs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Crestron | Maximum control, complex AV, multi-zone everything, integrators with deep custom programming bench. | Higher service load. Hourly programmer time is real overhead. UI can feel less consumer-friendly without designer touch. |
| Savant | Apple-ecosystem clients, cleaner UX, lower ongoing service load, simpler family of dealers. | Less custom-programmable than Crestron. Some advanced AV scenarios harder. |
| Lutron HomeWorks / RA3 | Lighting, shade, climate. Often the best-of-class in this category and integrated with either Crestron or Savant. | Lutron alone usually isn't enough at the luxury tier - pair with a control platform. |
| Control4 / URC | Mid-luxury. Capable, less prestigious in the top tier. | Less integrator depth at the trophy tier in LA. |
Most luxury homes run **Crestron + Lutron** or **Savant + Lutron**. Pure single-vendor stacks are rare at the top of market because Lutron's lighting/shade execution is hard to beat.
## Prewire standards - what good looks like

- **Cat6A or Cat7 Ethernet** to every conceivable device location: TVs, speakers, security cameras, access points, thermostats, control keypads, door stations, garage doors, gates, irrigation controllers.
- **Two Cat6A drops** per primary AV location (one for control, one for primary AV).
- **Speaker wire (16/4 or 14/4)** for every in-ceiling and in-wall speaker, run as home runs back to a central rack.
- **HDMI / fiber-optic HDMI** for any video display run longer than ~25 feet.
- **Conduit (3/4" smurf or larger)** for any future-uncertain run - especially to the roof for solar/cellular boosters/satellite, and between floors.
- **Wireless access point locations** picked at the framing stage, with clean power and Ethernet at each location.
- **Central rack room** with cooling, two dedicated 20A circuits, network gear separation from AV gear, and physical access from a hallway, not a closet.
The single most expensive mistake
Skipping conduit. Adding a single new HDMI run from rack to TV after drywall is up costs $1.2k–$3.5k vs $80–$200 in prewire. Multiply by every "I want a TV here too" change order over the lifetime of the home and you've spent $50k–$120k that should have been a $4k conduit budget at framing. Always overbuild conduit. Always.
## Conduit pathway design - the part nobody plans for

Beyond device-level prewire, plan **strategic conduit pathways**:
- **Rack-to-roof.** Solar inverters, future cellular boosters, satellite, weather stations, lightning protection.
- **Rack-to-garage.** EV chargers (one or two now, three or four eventually), gate access controls, future battery storage.
- **Floor-to-floor.** Multiple chases, not one. AV/data separated from line-voltage.
- **House-to-pool/poolhouse.** Separate conduit for fiber, security, and 24V control. Don't share.
- **To the front gate.** Two parallel runs, one fiber, one copper, one spare.
- **To future ADU/guesthouse.** Even if not building it now.
## Real cost ranges (2026, luxury)

| Tier | Total integration cost | What's included |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Light luxury / mid | $45k–$95k | Lutron Caseta or RA3, simple Sonos AV, basic Cat6 prewire, a single rack. |
| Standard luxury | $95k–$200k | Lutron HomeWorks + Savant or Crestron, multi-zone audio, 3-4 TVs, security integration, one programming pass. |
| Trophy luxury | $200k–$500k | Crestron full-stack, multi-room high-end AV (Steinway, McIntosh), home theater, integrated security, automated lighting scenes, motorized window walls, integrated wellness controls. |
| No-compromise | $500k–$2M+ | Custom programming, dedicated theater, music studio, art lighting circuits with separate dimmers, integrated chef's kitchen automation, AI-assisted scene engines. |
These are **integration costs only** - not the AV gear itself. A reference-grade home theater alone runs another $150k–$1.5M.
## Five smart-home mistakes that show up in every retrofit we've done

- **Hiring the AV integrator after the architect is done.** Wiring decisions must be made at design development, not at rough-in.
- **Buying the gear before the network is designed.** A $40k AV system on an underbuilt network is a frustration generator.
- **Putting the rack in a tiny closet.** Heat kills electronics. Plan a real rack room with cooling.
- **Single-vendor lock-in.** Lutron + Savant, Lutron + Crestron - mix the best of breed. Pure single-vendor systems compromise on at least one category.
- **Skipping the future.** EV chargers, battery storage, more solar, future ADU - the homes we're wiring today need conduit pathways for systems that don't exist yet.
## Common follow-up questions

### Crestron or Savant - which should I pick?
Honest answer: hire an integrator first, then they'll tell you which platform fits your project and lifestyle. Both are excellent. Crestron is slightly more powerful and more expensive to maintain. Savant is slightly less customizable and slightly more usable. The integrator's depth on the platform matters more than the platform itself.
### Can I do this with off-the-shelf consumer gear (HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home)?

For a 2,500 sf condo, yes. For a $14M custom home with motorized shades, multi-zone audio, integrated security, theater, and 4–6 EV chargers - no. The aggregation layer at scale is what professional control platforms exist for.
### Do I need a separate IT consultant?

Yes. The AV integrator handles control and AV; an IT consultant designs the network (firewall, VLANs, access points, fiber backbone). On luxury work these are usually different people. Budget another $25k–$80k for proper IT design and gear.
### How does this affect resale?

Mixed. A well-integrated system is a real selling point - to a buyer who values it. To a buyer who doesn't, it's "complicated" and "expensive to maintain." The conduit pathways, however, always add value: they leave the next owner room to swap platforms.