Smart Home Upgrades to Include in Your Remodel: What to Install and What It Costs in 2026

May 21, 2026 · Guide · 7 min read

A home remodel is the lowest-cost window to add smart home infrastructure. When walls are open, running low-voltage wire costs a fraction of what retrofit installation costs in finished spaces. The critical decisions—what to wire, where to put conduit, how many access points to install—need to happen before drywall goes up, not after. This guide covers which smart upgrades are worth incorporating into your remodel budget, what each costs when installed during construction, and which ones have demonstrated resale value versus which are personal-use conveniences.

Why Remodel Timing Matters for Smart Home Installation

The cost difference between rough-in during a remodel and retrofit after completion is significant for anything that requires in-wall wiring:

• Ethernet/structured cabling: $100–$200 per drop during rough-in vs. $300–$600 per drop retrofit (requires fishing wire through insulated walls, drywall patching)
• In-ceiling speaker wiring: $50–$100 per speaker location during rough-in vs. $200–$400 retrofit
• Security camera conduit: $75–$150 per camera location during rough-in vs. $200–$500 retrofit
• EV charger circuit: $500–$800 during panel work vs. $1,500–$3,000 after project completion

Devices that do not require in-wall wiring—smart thermostats, smart locks, plugged-in devices—cost the same before or after a remodel and can wait. The rough-in decisions are where remodel-timing advantages are real.

Priority 1: Structured Wiring and Network Infrastructure

What it is: Hardwired Ethernet runs from a central network closet or panel to every room, with wall ports and a managed switch or wireless access point infrastructure.

Why during a remodel: Wi-Fi-only homes in 2026 perform adequately for most uses, but wired connections eliminate interference, latency, and dead zones. As streaming, remote work, video calls, and smart home devices proliferate, a wired backbone becomes increasingly valuable. Retrofitting is expensive because ceilings and walls must be opened or surface conduit run.

What to install: At minimum, run Cat6 (not Cat5e) to every bedroom, home office space, living area, and the location of your primary TV. Add dedicated drops for access points in larger homes. Include a home panel location for your router and switch.

Cost during remodel: $1,500–$4,000 for a typical 2,000–3,000 sq ft home, depending on number of drops and panel location. Includes wire, keystone jacks, and basic panel termination.

Priority 2: Smart Lighting Infrastructure

Smart lighting implementation during a remodel has two main paths: smart switches that control existing LED fixtures, or smart bulbs/fixtures. Smart switches are the more remodel-relevant choice—they work with any bulb (so you are not locked into a proprietary bulb ecosystem) and require wiring consideration during construction.

The neutral wire requirement: Most smart dimmer switches require a neutral wire (white wire) in addition to the hot and load wires. Older homes wired without neutral wires (common pre-1990) cannot use most smart dimmers without an electrician adding neutral wire. During a remodel, ensure all switch boxes are wired with neutrals—this is a minor addition during rough-in and a meaningful upgrade for future flexibility.

Lutron RadioRA 3 or Caséta: If you want a smart lighting system that contractors routinely install and support, Lutron's platforms are the industry standard. They integrate with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and most home automation controllers. Cost: $80–$160 per switch for RadioRA 3, $50–$80 for Caséta, plus installation.

Cost during remodel: $3,000–$8,000 for smart dimmer switches throughout a 2,000 sq ft home (material plus electrician installation), depending on platform and number of switches. DIY installation of smart switches can reduce this to $1,500–$3,000 in materials only.

Priority 3: Smart Thermostat and HVAC Controls

Smart thermostats (ecobee, Nest, Honeywell T6/T9) are the highest ROI smart home device for both energy savings and resale value. They cost $150–$350 for the device plus $100–$200 for professional installation—modest even without remodel timing advantages. However, a remodel is the right time to consider zoned HVAC if your system is being replaced or upgraded, which enables room-level temperature control (significantly higher cost: $3,000–$8,000 for a zoned system).

What to do during remodel: If replacing HVAC equipment, spec a system that supports smart zoning. Run wiring for thermostat placement that allows wall-mounted control in main living areas. Ensure thermostat wiring includes the C-wire that most smart thermostats require.

Cost during remodel: Smart thermostat device and installation alone: $250–$550. Upgrading to a zoned HVAC system: $3,000–$8,000 additional over a standard replacement.

Priority 4: EV Charging Infrastructure

Installing a Level 2 EV charger circuit during a garage remodel or home renovation costs $500–$800 when the electrician is already on-site doing panel work. The same circuit installation after project completion typically costs $1,500–$3,000 when it involves separate electrical mobilization, possible panel upgrade, and conduit runs through finished spaces.

What to install: At minimum, run a 240V/50-amp dedicated circuit to the garage with a weatherproof outlet. This future-proofs for any Level 2 charger without committing to a specific charger brand. If you have an EV now, add the charger hardware ($400–$900 for a quality Level 2 unit).

Resale note: EV charger installation is increasingly prominent in real estate listings and is valued by a growing percentage of buyers. A pre-installed 240V circuit costs less than a single day of electrician time during the remodel and is straightforward to call out in an eventual listing.

Priority 5: Security System Infrastructure

Camera conduit: Run conduit and low-voltage wire to exterior corners, garage, driveway entry, and front door locations during exterior work. The wire run is cheap during construction; without it, exterior camera installation requires surface-mounted conduit or wireless cameras with battery limitations.

Alarm system wiring: Modern alarm systems (Ring Alarm, SimpliSafe) are largely wireless and can be installed post-construction without penalty. The exception: door and window hardwired sensors in high-security applications and motion detector wiring in finished ceilings. If your contractor is doing interior work with walls open, adding hardwired sensor runs is a modest incremental cost.

Video doorbell rough-in: Ensure the front door location has a power source (existing doorbell wiring or added outlet) that can support a video doorbell. Most video doorbells require an 8–24V AC power source or standard outlet.

Cost during remodel: Camera conduit and wiring rough-in: $500–$1,500 for a typical home perimeter. Hardwired alarm sensor rough-in: $300–$800.

Priority 6: Whole-Home Audio Rough-In

In-ceiling and in-wall speakers require wiring that is essentially impossible to retrofit without significant drywall work. During a remodel, running speaker wire to living areas, kitchen, primary bedroom, and outdoor entertainment spaces costs far less than it appears.

What to rough-in: Speaker wire runs (16-gauge or 14-gauge CL2-rated in-wall wire) to planned speaker locations, terminated at a central amplifier location. The amplifier and speakers themselves can be purchased and installed later—the wire run is what you need to do during construction.

Systems to consider: Sonos Amp or Denon HEOS for multi-room streaming. Budget $200–$400 per zone for an amplifier, $200–$600 per pair for in-ceiling speakers. The wire rough-in during construction: $100–$300 per zone.

Cost during remodel: Wire rough-in only (no speakers or amps): $500–$1,500 for a 4–6 zone home. Full installation with speakers and amplifiers: $3,000–$10,000 depending on zone count and speaker quality.

What to Skip (Or Defer)

Automated window shades: Motorized shades cost $500–$2,000 per window installed and are difficult to justify on resale value grounds. They add convenience but appeal to a narrow buyer segment. Defer until you have lived in the space and identified specific windows where motorization would genuinely improve daily life.

Smart appliances: Appliance technology changes faster than renovation cycles. A smart refrigerator purchased today may have a deprecated app in five years. Buy appliances when you need them, not as part of a smart home initiative during a remodel.

Voice control integration hubs: Smart speakers and voice control devices (Amazon Echo, Google Nest Hub) are cheap, available, and replaceable. Buy these after the remodel when you know exactly where you want them.

Coordinating Smart Home Work With Your Contractor

Smart home rough-in must be coordinated with your general contractor before framing begins, not after drywall is up. The sequence: electrical rough-in first, then low-voltage wiring (data, audio, security), then HVAC, then insulation, then drywall. Low-voltage contractors are typically sub-trades separate from your electrician—your GC needs to schedule them in the correct window.

Have a written low-voltage plan (outlet locations, wire runs, panel locations) ready before your electrical rough-in meeting. Improvising during construction adds cost and creates wiring compromises that are difficult to fix later.

For the specific sequence of trades and what happens in each phase—which directly affects when your smart home rough-in must be completed—the renovation order of operations guide covers the trade sequence and coordination points that matter for smart home integration. For incorporating smart home costs into your overall remodel budget alongside other priorities, the guide to setting a realistic remodeling budget covers the contingency reserves and prioritization framework that help you allocate between must-haves and nice-to-haves. For green and energy-efficiency upgrades that overlap with smart home initiatives—solar-ready panels, EV infrastructure, energy monitoring—the energy-efficient home upgrades guide covers the incentives and costs for these systems in 2026. Browse home remodeling contractors by city in our directory, or find remodeling contractors near you with experience in smart home integration noted in their project histories.