Home smart home

Who or what is CEDIA?

The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association is an industry trade association originally founded in the US in 1989, which came to the UK in 1996.

CEDIA Region 1, as it’s now known over here, looks after members in the UK, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa and India, and now boasts more than 400 member companies.

These member companies range from custom installers, or electronic system professionals (ESPs), who specialise in the planning, design, supply, integration and concealment of home electronic systems to equipment distributors and the leading brand manufacturers.

What would a custom installation typically include?

By its very nature, no two custom installations are the same, so defining a typical installation is impossible. The technology our members work with can include pretty much anything that’s electronically operated in the home: from high-end TVs, media servers and multi-room hi-fi systems to home networks that intelligently control all aspects of the home, including heating, lighting, blinds and security.

But it doesn’t stop there, we know members who have integrated garden watering, lighting and audio systems, swimming pool covers, letterbox delivery systems, fish-feeders, moving floors, walls, bookcases – you name it.

If it can be automated, and in doing so the homeowner benefits, a CEDIA member is capable of integrating it into a smart home, custom installation project.

So there’s plenty of synergy with what contractors may be doing already?

That’s true. The market is already partially familiar to many contractors who may be involved in running Cat 5 cabling infrastructures, or working with home security, lighting control and other relatively familiar electronic technologies.

Many contractors may be subcontracted to custom installation companies, carrying out the pre-wiring electrical installation work without having a role in the design, integration or installation of the major electronic control systems and components.

How big is the opportunity?

This is a fast-growing market. Individual client spend on a typical custom installation project can be considerable – six-figure contracts are not unusual – not least because the customer is frequently buying more than one service from a custom installation business. Today, the smart home sector is estimated to be worth around £500 million annually in the UK alone.

How can contractors take advantage?

Working more closely and developing business relationships with CEDIA members is an obvious way that contractors can grow their own business, and carry out more work on smart homes.

Others may feel they’d like to diversify, and build a custom installation arm to their existing business. After all, custom installation is a natural business development for those already providing one facet of a residential contract.

Having said all that, this is a market where education is the key to success. The technologies, terminologies and integration skills required are likely to demand a step-up from where contractors are at the moment. They’ll also have to be sharp with their customer-facing skills too.

We know members who have integrated garden watering, lighting and audio systems, swimming pool covers, letterbox delivery systems, fish-feeders, moving floors, walls, bookcases – you name it

Many ESPs are dealing directly with wealthy homeowners. Some never get to meet the homeowner at all and simply deal with their chosen representatives, be they architects, interior designers or personal assistants on a scheme.

For this profile of customer, service is required in spades.

Where should contractors go to learn more?

For those interested in finding out more about the products and the market, the best advice is to take a trip to the annual CEDIA Expo, held this year at ExCeL London from 24 to 26 June.

Expo is the industry’s showcase event where the latest hardware, the most innovative installation techniques and the best in business thinking can be found.

This year more than 100 companies will be exhibiting everything from high-end speakers, projectors, audio systems and screens to big storage media centres, lighting control systems and automated mechanisms for lifting plasmas and other devices.

Is it all about new products?

Not at all. The CEDIA Expo education programme is where the industry goes en masse to brush up on existing skills, learn new techniques and keep up to speed with technology in a fast-changing world.

Five years ago, few of us knew what an MP3 player or a Wii was. Now these devices are being integrated into smart homes as key components in multi-room audio and gaming systems. That’s why the education programme is scheduled to offer more than 200 hours of high-quality training at this year’s event – up 25% on last year’s programme. The training is so extensive, it begins a day earlier than the exhibition. It begins at ExCeL London on Monday 23 June.

What should contractors look out for?

This year’s CEDIA Expo features a specific course for new entrants in the sector. It is called “Introduction to the residential custom integration business”, and it will provide a thorough grounding in all aspects of the integrated home business.

Additional CEDIA courses can help build on the knowledge gained on this course and explore the different requirements of the market in fine detail.

This will give electrical contractors the opportunity to enrol on the CEDIA Professional Certification programme.

These courses cover, for example, structured cabling, TCP/IP and ethernet, audio set-up and calibration, system testing, and troubleshooting and subsystems integration.

Other CEDIA courses include: how to communicate with wealthy clients, how to document your jobs, project risk management and many, many more.

Contractors can also find out more about achieving the CEDIA Certification quality standard, a mandatory requirement for CEDIA membership.

• For more information on CEDIA, to request a seminar guide or to register for the CEDIA Expo email: expo@cedia.co.uk, or visit www.cedia-expo.com. Registration for visiting the exhibition is free up until midnight on 30 May.