Wi-Fi-certified smart homes eliminate dead spots from the garage to the patio

By Lulu Chang Published June 14, 2017

alexa — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The “smart” in smart homes comes as an afterthought — it’s not the home itself that’s intelligent. Rather, it’s the devices and appliances in it. A few companies are designing and building homes to have such devices working together from the start, including homebuilding company Lennar . On Wednesday, it launched the first Wi-Fi-certified smart home designs alongside Amazon Alexa. You can buy a home designed with voice control, shopping, and home automation in mind, giving the notion of a smart home a brand new meaning.

The builder has become the first to adopt the Wi-Fi Certified Home Design program from Wi-Fi Alliance, the global network of companies that works for the adoption of Wi-Fi globally, according to a company press release. So what does that mean for you? In essence, you’ll be able to control your lights, lock your front door, and set your thermostat by chatting with Alexa. And your home will be built with all those capabilities in mind. Samsung SmartThings hubs, Honeywell thermostats, Ring video doorbells, Lutron lights, smart locks from Baldwin or Kwikset, and Sonos speakers are all potential devices that could come with the home when someone buys it.

“We’re very excited to work with Lennar to integrate Alexa into their Wi-Fi Certified Home Design program,” said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa Smart Home for Amazon. “We’ve seen tremendous interest from our Alexa customers in controlling more aspects of their smart home through Alexa, and Lennar makes that easier for customers by seamlessly integrating devices that Work with Amazon Alexa into their Wi-Fi Certified home designs.”

The Lennar homes will be the first in the world to be constructed according to the new standard, which brings a streamlined approach to Wi-Fi network design that is meant to ensure whole-home connectivity with no dead spots. That means that your network will work with any and all smart devices. It also means your garage will have Wi-Fi, and you’ll be able to connect to your network from your deck.

Should your lock start behaving bizarrely, Lennar said it will also offer “white-glove activation and service” of these devices.

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