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Home automation is most effective when integrated during the construction phase. The control wiring is installed alongside the standard electrical infrastructure by any qualified electrician. The system is designed and pre-configured off-site before it arrives, so there is no on-site programming or specialist engineering required.
The ideal time to begin planning home automation is during the design phase, before construction starts. The technology needs to be considered alongside the electrical design so that the structured cabling can be incorporated into the first fix wiring plan. Leaving this decision until later in the build significantly limits what can be achieved and increases costs.
For property developers working on multi-unit schemes, automation should be factored into the specification during the planning and design stage, well before groundwork begins. For self-builders, the conversation should start as soon as the architectural plans are being developed, ideally before the electrical design is finalised. According to CEDIA, projects where automation is specified before the electrical first fix achieve 30% to 40% lower installation costs than those where it is added mid-build.
The first fix is the most important phase for home automation installation. This is when the electrician runs all cabling within the walls, floors, and ceilings before they are closed up with plasterboard. During this stage, the structured data cables that connect lighting circuits, heating zones, blind motors, sensors, and control devices to the central hub are installed alongside the standard mains wiring.
If the first fix window is missed, installing wired automation becomes significantly more difficult and expensive. Cables would need to be chased into finished walls, surface-mounted in trunking, or routed through voids, all of which compromise the quality of the installation and add cost. In some cases, certain features may become impractical to implement at all if the cabling was not provisioned during the first fix.
Baulogic provides a detailed cabling plan for each project before the first fix begins. This document specifies exactly where each cable needs to run, what type of cable to use, and where termination points should be located. The electrician can follow this plan alongside their standard electrical drawings, keeping the process straightforward and integrated with the overall build programme.
The second fix is when the visible components are installed. This includes keypads, touch panels, sensors, thermostats, and the central processing unit. Because Baulogic systems are pre-configured off-site, the second fix is a connection exercise rather than a programming task. The electrician connects each device to the pre-run cabling, powers up the system, and it is ready to use.
This approach is fundamentally different from traditional home automation, where the second fix stage often involves weeks of on-site programming by specialist integrators. With Baulogic, the second fix for the automation system typically takes no longer than the standard electrical second fix, keeping the project on schedule.
A typical timeline for integrating home automation into a new build follows this pattern. During the design phase, the automation scope is defined, systems are specified, and the cabling plan is produced. This usually happens four to eight weeks before the first fix, depending on the complexity of the project.
During the first fix, which can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on the size of the property, the structured cabling is installed. The system hardware is then delivered to site in time for the second fix, which typically takes one to three days for a standard residential property.
Commissioning, which involves powering up the system, testing all circuits, and making any final adjustments, is completed during or immediately after the second fix. For a Baulogic system, commissioning is a streamlined process because the configuration has already been completed and tested off-site.
If a project is already past the first fix stage, options become more limited but are not eliminated entirely. Depending on the construction method and the stage of completion, it may still be possible to run some cabling through accessible voids, ceiling spaces, or service routes. The earlier in the build this is identified, the more options remain available.
For developers managing multiple phases of a scheme, the key lesson is to include automation in the specification from the outset. Adding it to later phases after seeing the response from buyers on early phases is common, but the cost and disruption are always lower when it is planned from the beginning.