Smart home design · Maine, New Hampshire & Massachusetts
Home automation that fits the way you live
Control lighting, shades, locks, temperature and entertainment in ways that make daily life easier. Cunningham designs and installs smart-home systems around your rooms, routines and existing equipment.
Discuss your smart home Call (207) 846-3350
Our work ranges from security-connected Alarm.com features to broader Control4 projects involving lighting, distributed audio, home theater, shades and networking. We help you choose the right scope, whether you are improving an existing home or planning a renovation.
Start with what you want your home to do
Security and everyday control
For a homeowner who wants to manage the alarm, selected locks, lights and thermostat, an Alarm.com-compatible system may be the right starting point. Supported devices can share scenes and controls, subject to the equipment and service plan.
Explore remote security access if your priority is checking and controlling the home while away.
Coordinated control throughout the home
A broader project may include room-by-room lighting, motorized shades, distributed music, theater equipment and convenient wall controls. Control4's whole-home platform supports this kind of designed integration. We assess the specific products, controls and services needed for your project.
You can plan the full design and install selected priorities first, especially when renovation work provides access for wiring.
These are planning starting points, not a promise that every product connects to either platform. Exact model, firmware, network requirements, supported functions and ongoing service costs should be established before equipment is ordered.
Useful control, room by room
Lighting and shades
Consider an entrance routine, a comfortable evening setting or a single control for several hard-to-reach shades. The design needs to account for dimmable fixtures, switch wiring, shade dimensions and how you want to use physical controls. An older house with limited wiring access may call for a different approach from an open-wall renovation.
Door locks and security
Connected locks can make access easier for family and approved visitors. Door alignment, weather exposure, battery access and the relationship between lock codes and alarm codes all deserve attention. A command to lock a door is useful only when the door closes and the hardware operates correctly. We plan these controls alongside your home security and protection needs.
Heating and cooling
Remote temperature control can be helpful before returning to a seasonal home, but the thermostat must suit the heating equipment. A boiler, a zoned system and a heat pump can have different control requirements. Alarm.com's hybrid-system guidance illustrates why wiring and HVAC review matter. Coordinate changes with the heating contractor where needed.
Music and home theater
Choose which rooms should share music, where independent listening matters and how household members will select a source. For a theater or media room, plan seating, display placement, speaker locations and lighting together. We include the network and control equipment in the discussion so the finished system is practical to use.
Home networking
An addition, masonry walls or a detached workspace can change coverage needs. We assess access-point locations and available wiring instead of assuming a stronger router solves every room. Outdoor coverage also needs suitable equipment and a defined area to serve.
Plan for a New England property's everyday conditions
- A seasonal home: Decide who can check the property locally and whether low-temperature and water detection should accompany convenience controls. A thermostat reading is not a survey of every pipe location.
- A home with heat pumps: Choose schedules with the HVAC contractor. Efficiency Maine recommends steady heat-pump temperatures; a routine that turns the heat down every time you leave may be inappropriate.
- A storm outage: Ask which functions remain available without broadband or utility power. Alarm-panel battery backup does not power the home's lights, router, television or heating equipment.
- A shared household: Keep ordinary switches, keys or other appropriate local controls usable. Agree on account permissions, camera privacy and which routines everyone is comfortable using.
From a wish list to a system you understand
- Define the result. Give us two or three examples of what you want to make easier, plus your town and whether this is an existing home, renovation or new construction.
- Review equipment and infrastructure. We assess existing devices, wiring, network coverage and the work needed to support the chosen controls.
- Agree on the project. The proposal should identify included equipment, programming, installation, supported integrations and any recurring services.
- Test the actual routines. During handoff, walk through controls with the people who will use them, including manual operation, access permissions and what to do if a device is offline.
Already own smart devices? Send their model numbers before buying additions. Alarm.com explains that a Z-Wave device may pair without supporting every expected function. A protocol name or “smart home” label alone is not a compatibility guarantee.
Tell us what you would like to simplify
Cunningham has served New England since 1983. Share the rooms, routines and existing equipment involved, and we will help define a practical next step. For help choosing priorities, read our guide to the benefits of home automation.
