The best smart home features for new builds aren’t the gadgets — they’re the wiring, outlets, and conduit you plan in before the drywall goes up. Building a new home is the one time you get to design the technology into the house instead of bolting it on afterward. The walls are open, the electrician is already on site, and running a wire now costs a tiny fraction of what it costs to fish one through finished drywall later. The trick is knowing which smart features are worth planning in during construction and which are just gadgets you can add any weekend after you move in.
Here’s the guiding principle: pay to wire and rough-in now; buy the actual devices later. Infrastructure — wiring, conduit, outlet placement, and network cabling — is expensive to retrofit. The devices that plug into it keep getting cheaper and better, so there’s no rush to lock those in through your builder’s marked-up package.
Smart Home Features for New Builds to Wire In First
Hardwired Ethernet to key rooms. Wi-Fi is convenient, but a wired connection is faster and rock-solid for your office, TVs, and any streaming hub. Running Cat6 cable to a few rooms while the walls are open costs very little and future-proofs the house no matter how Wi-Fi evolves. Ask for a central network location (a closet or panel) where everything terminates.
Plenty of outlets in the right spots. Smart homes have a lot of little things that need power — displays, hubs, sensors, chargers. Add outlets where you’ll mount a wall tablet, inside cabinets for a hidden hub, in the garage for a charger, and outside for cameras and holiday lighting. Extra outlets are cheap during construction and painful to add later.
Neutral wires at every switch. This is the one homeowners forget. Most smart light switches need a “neutral” wire to work. Ask your builder to ensure neutral wires are present at all switch boxes — it’s free to specify now and a headache to fix later.
Structured wiring for cameras and doorbells. Have the builder run wiring (and add a junction box) at your front door for a wired video doorbell, and at the corners of the house where you’ll want cameras. Wired cameras never need battery changes and are more reliable than fully wireless ones.
Conduit for the future. Ask for empty conduit runs to the attic, basement, and exterior. It’s a cheap insurance policy — when you want to add solar, a hot tub, an EV charger, or new AV gear later, you’ll have a clear path to pull wire without opening walls.
EV charger circuit in the garage. Even if you don’t have an electric car yet, running a 240V circuit to the garage now is far cheaper than adding it later — and it’s a feature buyers increasingly expect.
Buy These Yourself Later (Skip the Builder’s Package)
Builder “smart home packages” tend to be overpriced and locked to a single ecosystem. The infrastructure above is what’s worth paying for; the devices below you can buy on sale and install yourself, swapping them as the technology improves.
Video doorbell and smart locks. Easy DIY installs that give you the biggest everyday convenience. Buy the model you actually want rather than the builder’s default.
Smart thermostat. A weekend install that starts saving on energy immediately. Pick one that matches your HVAC system.
Smart speakers and displays. These are the “brain” you talk to, and they’re entirely plug-and-play. Choose your ecosystem (voice assistant) based on what you already use.
Smart lighting. Smart bulbs and plugs need no wiring at all — just screw in or plug in. Only the switches (which need those neutral wires) benefit from being planned during the build.
Security cameras. With the wiring roughed in, you can mount and configure cameras yourself and choose a system without a locked-in monthly contract.
Pick Your Ecosystem Early
Before you buy a single device, decide which smart-home ecosystem you’ll build around — it determines which devices play nicely together and which voice assistant runs the house. Most families pick based on the phones and speakers they already own. Choosing early saves you from buying devices that won’t talk to each other. Look for products that support broad compatibility standards (like Matter) so you’re not painted into a corner.
A Simple Checklist for Your Builder Meeting
When you sit down with your builder or electrician, here are the smart home features for new builds worth requesting:
- Cat6 Ethernet to the office, living room, and any TV walls, terminating at a central panel
- Neutral wires at every light switch
- Extra outlets for wall tablets, hubs, chargers, and exterior devices
- Wiring and a box at the front door for a wired video doorbell, plus camera locations
- Empty conduit to attic, basement, and exterior for future upgrades
- A 240V circuit in the garage for an EV charger
Hand them that list and you’ll have a home that’s ready for smart technology — without paying a premium for devices you can add yourself.
The Bottom Line
When you’re weighing smart home features for new builds, the smartest money goes into the parts you can’t see: wiring, outlets, neutral wires, and conduit. Get those right during construction and every gadget you add later just works. Skip the builder’s device bundle, buy the fun stuff yourself on your own timeline, and you’ll end up with a more capable smart home for a lot less.