The Era of Intelligent Innovation

Smart home technology has been evolving rapidly, driven by consumer expectations. While the technology has advanced, the ecosystem has remained clunky—and understandably so.

With disjointed products and services, it has been easy for builders to leave smart technology integration up to the homeowner as an aftermarket consideration. Hundreds of competing manufacturers have exacerbated compatibility issues, wiring and infrastructure requirements vary across products, and integration and interoperability are complex.

Since consumers can buy the latest gadgets online and install them themselves, it has been easy for builders to step aside entirely.

Hitting Reset On Smart Home Tech

The goal of any smart home system is to create a cohesive program where everything works in harmony, delivering a seamless experience for the homeowner, which is a far cry from what most consumers can do on their own or from what builders can deliver.

Brian McCarthy, co-owner of Abrazo Homes, has built more than 200 homes annually in Albuquerque for the past fifteen years. Attuned to consumer trends, he recognized the growing demand for connected, automated homes, but he also saw the inherent difficulties. After conducting extensive research focused on simplifying smart technology integration and extracting useful insights, he launched RIoT Technology, a startup dedicated to integrated residential technology. Today, 60 homes are online with RIoT.

His approach to winning over builders reluctant to complicate their processes was to develop a preconfigured smart home kit complete with sensors, valves, and devices. Builders could use the same installation processes and subcontractors without having to learn complex systems—yet still deliver a smart home. The kit removes the intimidation factor of selecting or learning new technology.

“The installation process was very simple and seamlessly integrated into the construction of the home,” said Ryan Hillgartner, director of marketing at Tim O’Brien Homes that has installed RIoT in multiple homes. “Each individual trade was given an easy-to-understand how-to guide for their respective installations that required minimal onsite guidance. Once all components were installed, the setup process with the home’s WiFi was made simple by both the how-to-guide, and the team at Abrazo providing on-the-spot assistance. Many of our trades voiced being impressed at how easy these smart home technologies were to install, especially compared to other smart home technology products.”

Then comes the real intelligence. Once it is installed, RIoT connects the system to the internet, giving homeowners the ability to monitor leaks, weatherization, energy use, air quality, and other essential operations via an in-home kiosk.

Installing these features during construction—rather than after—offers distinct advantages. For instance, the kit separates internal and external plumbing, allowing users to shut off external systems before the first freeze, which is difficult to retrofit. This feature alone helps builders avoid having to fix bursting pipes, which is one of the most common warranty claims according to McCarthy.

The RIoT system goes beyond calendar-based preventative tips. By using its sensors, it can detect when a filter actually needs to be changed—by sensing pressure drops from a dirty filter. When that happens, McCarthy simply ships a new filter to the homeowner. This addresses a commonly missed maintenance task and benefits both builder and buyer. The builder avoids warranty issues, while a clean filter means a homeowner can save up to 15 percent on monthly energy bills, according to Constellation Energy.

McCarthy adds that not having a clean dryer vent means the dryer uses up to 15 percent more power, which is another routine maintenance issue that can be monitored by RIoT.

“We wanted to find ways to prevent a furnace filter from dangerously reducing airflow due to neglect, so employing RIoT’s filter life monitor has given us that ability with alerts to gently push homeowners to perform this important maintenance task,” said Hillgartner. “These features not only provide peace of mind to homeowners, but also to us as a builder that this home will be well maintained, preventing callbacks.”

Tim O’Brien Homes is using the live monitoring to watch indoor air particulates, temperature, and relative humidity to see how its homes perform in the local climate using real performance data from multiple points in the home that offer better understanding of the mechanical systems and building enclosure’s ability to manage temperature and moisture swings.

It also tracks onsite solar production and battery storage, plus uses the system with leak detection equipment in the main plumbing line of the home.

Now Come the Brains of the Smart Home

Utility companies measure power usage, but they don’t evaluate how that power is used inside the home. McCarthy is working to change that. Data from RIoT can track home temperature relative to weather forecasts and the building envelope. It can also detect if an ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) has failed, shut off, or stopped—issues that can quickly compromise indoor air quality.

While airtight construction improves performance, it also increases risk for builders. RIoT’s data-driven approach helps quantify ERV performance, offering insights into both its necessity and return on investment for builders and homeowners alike.

Smart systems like these also reduce warranty expenses by proactively managing the monitored systems. A report earlier this year showed that publicly traded homebuilders spend $1 billion each quarter on warranty costs. New data from RIoT could make both homebuyers and builders significantly smarter, in a proactive sense to make smarter design choices and to avoid warranty and insurance issues.

“For instance, the standard insulation is R-49 in the attic, but in the design center, we can offer R-60 for future energy savings,” McCarthy said. “Today, a homeowner chooses the upgrade based on trust and marketing. The customer doesn’t know if it’s worth it.”

Again, that’s about to change. The system will be able to analyze data from hundreds of homes to calculate the financial breakeven point between R-49 and R-60 insulation, providing data-driven insights for more informed decisions—and improved energy efficiency. This analysis can also apply to other features like windows, HVAC systems, and refrigerators.

Lance Manlove serves as the director of innovation at Delaware-based homebuilder Schell Brothers that developed a proprietary software platform called Heartbeat that runs all operations in the company from the website to warranty to sales. The builder focuses on technology and wanted to integrate its own system with a platform capable of data acquisition.

Schell is installing the RIoT system into employee homes that are under construction to see what can be done with the empirical data. Instead of the homeowner changing air filters every six months just based on a rule of thumb, they will be able to monitor the air flow and order one when there is only 80 percent airflow through the filter.

Manlove will use APIs to hook into RIoT allowing the company to explore the performance of windows, insulation, and other products, and to pool data to better understand the efficiencies.

Tim O’Brien Homes is looking forward to collecting data from multiple homes to identify areas for improvement, such as poor distribution of conditioned and filtered air and understanding how the outdoor environment impacts the indoors.

Credible Smart Home Sustainability

For years, Energy Star has helped consumers identify efficient appliances and products, but now the program faces potential elimination.

“The implications of losing Energy Star could make systems like RIoT even more important,” McCarthy said. “All manufacturers are trying to create more efficient products, but without Energy Star, how can consumers make informed decisions without a data-driven approach to scoring appliances and building materials?”

Smart home tracking systems could also support the country’s aging energy grid. McCarthy notes that California’s grid is only stressed on five days per year and typically has excess capacity. However, peak demand on hot days can strain the system.

“Heating and cooling are the biggest consumers of electricity,” he said. “There’s enough power in the world—just not always at the right place at the right time.”

Currently, millions of programmable thermostats are on the market, but most aren’t tailored to actual homeowner usage patterns. This means many systems heat and cool unnecessarily because there’s no data to optimize the process.

RIoT interprets in-home data, aligns it with usage patterns, and allocates energy accordingly. It can even push power profiles and efficiency recommendations to the homeowner, shifting energy use to off-peak hours and offering tips to boost efficiency.

The platform also allows manufacturers to integrate their devices, enabling connected systems throughout the home to contribute to valuable data insights. For example, the dryer could communicate with the power meter to understand total consumption and usage timing.

“It’s part of our vision that in the future, appliances like the air conditioner and dryer will talk to each other to be more efficient,” McCarthy said. “Most utilities are moving toward time-of-use billing, with costs rising up to 700 percent during peak hours from 4 to 7 p.m. If we reduce consumption during those hours, we can deliver cost savings.”

Future Smart Home Tech Goes Healthy

Smart home technology is also evolving to support personal health. Since we spend 70% of our time indoors, systems that monitor air quality, lighting, humidity, and water usage can have significant health impacts.

“There are more than 50 versions of bottled water, and a lot of attention has gone into what we put in our bodies—but little into the air we breathe,” McCarthy said. “As homes become tighter, we need to monitor air quality and understand its effects on sleep, energy, and wellness. In this context, an ERV or HRV becomes one of the most important systems in a new home.”

McCarthy hopes to track indoor air quality with wearable devices and correlate that data with environmental changes and health outcomes. He envisions a future where these metrics are available and actionable.

“We are constantly exploring various technologies and WiFi-enabled devices to make operating our high performance homes easy for the homeowner,” Hillgartner said. “Working with RIoT has been another leap forward into the world of smart home technology with a higher level focus on health and comfort, and we will continue to enhance our portfolio with their help.”

Manlove envisions insurance benefits as well. If an insurance company could see the active monitoring of systems, there could be potential to lower rates. The active monitoring is critical, because while a system might be in place, maintenance to make sure the system is functioning properly has to take place, like replacing filters and batteries.

Other home builders, like Las Vegas-based LIVV Homes, are bringing smart home technology into the home experience in different ways, such as with digital twins.

Smart home systems have been disconnected and elementary until now. Data from the homes that are being installed with RIoT will help the industry reimagine the possibilities.