What Is a Smart Home in North Texas?
What Is a Smart Home in North Texas?
A builder-by-builder breakdown of exactly what's included, what's a sales pitch, and what actually matters in 2026.
If you've toured more than two new construction communities in North Texas, you've had this moment. The term "smart home" gets used so liberally it has nearly lost its meaning. This post cuts through the marketing and tells you exactly what each major DFW builder is actually installing—and what they're leaving for you to figure out later.
- What Actually Qualifies as a "Smart Home"?
- The Foundation: Infrastructure Before Devices
- The Core Smart Home Feature Set
- D.R. Horton: America's Builder, America's Smart Home
- Meritage Homes: The M.Connected Approach
- Highland Homes: Smart From the Start
- Lennar: Everything's Included—And They Mean It
- First Texas Homes: SmartHouse by HomePro
- Pulte Homes: Connectivity-Forward Construction
- Side-by-Side Builder Comparison
- The Matter Protocol: Why Ecosystem Wars Are Ending
- Smart Upgrades Worth Paying For in DFW
- Buyer Warnings: What Builders Don't Always Mention
- 20 Frequently Asked Questions
What Actually Qualifies as a "Smart Home"?
There is no legally binding definition of "smart home," which is precisely why the term gets stretched to cover everything from a Wi-Fi thermostat to a fully automated Control4 installation. In the context of North Texas production builders—the D.R. Hortons, the Meritages, the Highland Homes of the world—a smart home generally means one thing: a home that ships with a connected platform that allows you to monitor and control key systems remotely from a smartphone app.
Most production builders in DFW draw the smart home boundary around four core elements:
- Climate control — a Wi-Fi or Z-Wave programmable thermostat connected to an app
- Access control — a smart deadbolt on the front door with keypad or app-based locking
- Visual security — a video doorbell with motion detection and two-way audio
- A unified control platform — an app, hub, or panel that ties the above together
Everything beyond that baseline—smart lighting, whole-home audio, motorized shades, security sensors, EV charging, irrigation automation, and multi-camera security systems—falls into upgrade territory for most production builders. The gap between the baseline package and a fully automated home can easily be $15,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on your scope and the vendor you use.
Understanding where each builder draws that line—and what their marketing language is actually describing—is one of the most practically useful things a North Texas buyer can do before signing a contract.
The Foundation: Infrastructure Before Devices
Before you evaluate any builder's device list, you need to understand the physical infrastructure underneath. This is where the real differentiation happens—and where buyers most commonly leave value on the table.
Structured Wiring & Low-Voltage Pre-Wire
Smart devices need two things to function reliably: power and connectivity. Running structured cabling—Cat6 ethernet, coaxial cable, speaker wire, and Power over Ethernet (PoE) conduit—during the framing phase is dramatically cheaper than retrofitting. An electrician can cover the entire house in a single pass when walls are open. Once drywall is up, each run requires cutting, patching, and repainting.
Running Cat6 ethernet to every room during framing costs $500–$1,500. Retrofitting the same wiring after drywall costs $3,000–$5,000 or more—and that doesn't account for the damage to finishes. — Industry cost data, 2025–2026
Whole-Home Wi-Fi Infrastructure
A strong, stable wireless network is the single most important foundation for any smart home. A smart thermostat that drops off the network twice a week is worse than a dumb thermostat—it creates frustration without delivering convenience. This is why Highland Homes bundles Eero mesh Wi-Fi routers as standard, and why Lennar became the first builder to certify their homes under the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Home Design program. Network reliability is not a luxury; it is the prerequisite for everything else.
Electrical Infrastructure
Smart homes increasingly need more than standard electrical planning. EV charger circuits (Level 2, 240V), dedicated circuits for home offices and media rooms, USB-A/USB-C outlets in kitchens and bedrooms, and conduit runs for future outdoor cameras all need to be planned at the pre-pour or rough-in stage. Builders who include these as standard are delivering more value than those who leave them as design center add-ons at inflated margins.
The Core Smart Home Feature Set
Here is a clear-eyed breakdown of what each major smart home category does, why it matters in the DFW context, and what to look for when a builder says it's included.
Smart Thermostats
North Texas summers are no joke. When your electric bill in July is $350, a thermostat that automatically adjusts when you leave the house—via geofencing—is genuinely valuable, not a novelty. Look for thermostats that support geofencing, scheduling, energy reporting, and remote access. Honeywell T6 Pro, Ecobee SmartThermostat, and Nest Learning Thermostat are the brands you'll most commonly see in DFW new construction. The Ecobee stands out for its room sensor capability, which addresses North Texas's perennial multi-zone hot spot problem.
Smart Locks
Kwikset Halo, Kwikset SmartCode, and Schlage Encode are the workhorses of builder-grade smart locks in DFW. These allow keypad entry, remote locking and unlocking, access code management (useful for housekeepers, contractors, and family members), and lock activity logs. Z-Wave locks (used by D.R. Horton) communicate over a dedicated radio frequency rather than your Wi-Fi, which is actually more reliable for this use case since they don't compete for bandwidth.
Video Doorbells
Ring Video Doorbell (Amazon), Skybell, and Alarm.com-integrated doorbells are the primary options across DFW builders. Hardwired doorbells are significantly more reliable than battery-powered alternatives—they don't require charging, they maintain consistent power for the processor, and they deliver better video quality. PoE (Power over Ethernet) camera wiring during construction is the ideal configuration for any doorbell or outdoor camera.
Smart Lighting
This is where builder packages most often come up short. The majority of DFW production builders include one or two smart switches—typically at the entry—rather than whole-home lighting control. If you want true smart lighting throughout the home, expect to invest in this as a design center upgrade or as a post-closing project. The good news: with Matter protocol now widely supported, Lutron Caseta and Leviton Decora Smart switches can be added to virtually any builder's base system without replacing the hub.
Garage Door Automation
Wi-Fi garage door openers (myQ, Chamberlain, and Liftmaster are most common) allow you to monitor and control garage access remotely—particularly useful for the "did I leave the garage open?" panic that afflicts every DFW homeowner. Highland Homes includes Wi-Fi garage door openers as standard. Other builders treat this as an upgrade or leave the buyer to retrofit after closing.
Security Sensors & Monitoring
Most builder smart home packages include door and window sensors and a motion detector, but the monitoring itself is where the subscription conversation begins. The hardware is usually included; the professional monitoring service requires a monthly fee through the builder's preferred security partner. Alarm.com (used by D.R. Horton), SafeStreets (Meritage), and BSG Texas (Highland Homes) are the primary North Texas partners.
D.R. Horton: America's Builder, America's Smart Home
D.R. Horton is the largest homebuilder in the United States and one of the dominant forces in North Texas new construction, with over 99 active DFW communities at any given time. Their Smart Home package is a genuine differentiator in the entry-to-mid-price segment—and it's included standard across their communities, not offered as a design center add-on.
What's Included as Standard
| Device / Component | Brand / Spec | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Home Control Panel | Qolsys IQ Touchscreen | ✓ Standard |
| Automation Platform | Alarm.com | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Thermostat | Honeywell Z-Wave | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Front Door Lock | Kwikset Z-Wave | ✓ Standard |
| Video Doorbell | Alarm.com | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Switch | Varies | ✓ Standard |
| Professional Monitoring | Alarm.com | ~ Trial period; subscription required after |
| Smart Garage Door | Varies | ✗ Upgrade / community dependent |
| Whole-Home Mesh Wi-Fi | — | ✗ Not standard |
| Security Cameras | — | ✗ Upgrade |
The Alarm.com platform is a legitimate, enterprise-grade home automation system—the same platform used by thousands of professional security integrators. The Qolsys panel gives buyers a physical touchscreen interface that works even without a smartphone, which is a meaningful distinction for households with elderly residents or guests who don't want to open an app to lock the front door.
D.R. Horton reserves the right to substitute devices without notice, so the specific brands listed above may vary by community and build date. Always confirm the exact device list with the sales representative and ask for it in writing.
The Alarm.com platform is one of the most expandable in the production builder space. It supports Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi devices from hundreds of manufacturers. If you plan to expand beyond the builder's base package, this is a system you can grow with rather than replace.
Meritage Homes: The M.Connected Approach
Meritage was one of the first national builders to make smart home technology standard across all price points—they announced the M.Connected Home Automation Suite as a standard inclusion in 2017 and have continued expanding it. In DFW, Meritage builds across the full price spectrum from first-time buyer communities to move-up neighborhoods in McKinney, Prosper, and beyond.
What sets Meritage apart isn't just the device list—it's the integration philosophy. The First Alert app consolidates all smart home functions into a single interface so homeowners don't toggle between separate apps for locks, thermostat, and doorbell. Meritage also arranges a free professional setup appointment through SafeStreets after closing, which is a meaningful post-purchase service that other builders skip entirely.
What's Included as Standard
| Device / Component | Brand / Spec | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi Video Doorbell | Varies by community | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Door Lock | Wi-Fi enabled | ✓ Standard |
| Wi-Fi Light Switch(es) | Entry/foyer area | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Thermostat | Wi-Fi enabled | ✓ Standard |
| Centralized Wi-Fi Hub Location | Structured wiring | ✓ Standard |
| Door / Window Sensors | Select homes/communities | ~ Select communities |
| Motion Detector | Select homes/communities | ~ Select communities |
| Professional Setup (SafeStreets) | 1 year of post-setup support | ✓ Included |
| Garage Door Automation | — | ✗ Not standard |
| Professional Monitoring | — | ✗ Subscription required |
Meritage is also the industry leader in energy efficiency, holding 11 consecutive ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence awards. Their homes consistently score significantly lower on the HERS (Home Energy Rating System) index compared to typical new construction, which directly reduces your monthly utility bills. This makes the "smart home" conversation inseparable from the energy efficiency conversation at Meritage—the two philosophies are baked into the same building system.
The specific components of the M.Connected Automation Suite may vary by division and community. Always ask for a written feature sheet for the specific community you're purchasing in—not just the general marketing brochure. SafeStreets support is available for one year after your setup appointment at no additional charge, which is a meaningful post-close benefit.
Highland Homes: Smart From the Start
Highland Homes is one of the most respected builders in North Texas—employee-owned, Texas-based, and building over 2,500 homes annually across DFW, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. Their "Smart From the Start" philosophy means smart home features are designed into the construction process rather than bolted on at the design center.
What distinguishes Highland's smart home approach is the breadth of standard inclusions at a comparable price point. Most mid-range builders stop at thermostat and lock. Highland includes whole-home mesh Wi-Fi via Eero routers as a standard feature—a meaningful differentiator, since network reliability is the foundation everything else depends on.
What's Included as Standard (Homes started after July 1, 2022)
| Device / Component | Brand | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Thermostat | Honeywell | ✓ Standard |
| Electronic Deadbolt (Front Door) | Kwikset | ✓ Standard |
| Video Doorbell | Skybell | ✓ Standard |
| Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener | Varies | ✓ Standard |
| Mesh Wi-Fi Router System | Eero | ✓ Standard |
| USB Outlets | Multiple locations | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Lighting | — | ~ Options available |
| Security Monitoring | BSG Texas | ~ Optional subscription |
| Security Cameras | — | ✗ Upgrade |
| Home Audio Pre-Wire | — | ✗ Design center option |
Highland Homes also partners with Generac Power Systems for backup power solutions—an increasingly relevant consideration in DFW after the February 2021 winter storm and recurring summer grid stress events. If whole-home generator readiness matters to you, Highland is one of the few production builders in North Texas with a formal integration pathway for it.
Smart home features at Highland are excluded from the Builder's Limited Warranty. Performance issues with the Eero router, Skybell doorbell, or Kwikset lock are handled through the respective manufacturer—not through Highland's warranty department. Register every device with its manufacturer on move-in day.
Lennar: Everything's Included—And They Mean It
Lennar's "Everything's Included" philosophy is their most powerful marketing and operational differentiator—and in the smart home category, it's legitimate. Rather than using the design center to extract margin from buyers on things that should be standard, Lennar bundles smart home technology, appliances, granite countertops, and blinds into the base price.
Lennar was also the first national builder to offer Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Home Design—which means every floor plan undergoes a structured process mapping Wi-Fi signal strength through the home, accounting for building materials, wall placement, and interference factors. This is engineered whole-home connectivity, not just "we put a router in the utility closet."
What's Included as Standard
| Device / Component | Brand | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Thermostat | Honeywell | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Front Door Lock | Kwikset / Baldwin | ✓ Standard |
| Video Doorbell | Ring (Amazon) | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Lighting Controls | Lutron | ✓ Standard (key areas) |
| Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Home Design | Ruckus (enterprise Wi-Fi) | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Appliances | Samsung (select communities) | ✓ Community dependent |
| Voice Control Compatibility | Amazon Alexa / Google Home | ✓ Standard |
| Total Smart Home Value | — | ✓ ~$10,000 included |
| Professional Monitoring | — | ✗ Not included |
| Sonos Audio | Sonos | ~ Select premium communities |
The Lennar smart home package draws from brands including Amazon, Baldwin, Honeywell, Kwikset, Lutron, Ring, Ruckus, Samsung, and Sonos—a genuinely premium device roster that most production builders reserve for their highest price tiers. In communities where Lennar builds in the $350,000–$550,000 range, this represents a meaningful value advantage over comparably priced competitor homes.
Lennar's specific smart home device lineup varies significantly by community, division, and build date. Do not assume a Lennar home in Prosper will have the same package as a Lennar home in Forney. Always request the specific feature sheet for your community and confirm which smart home devices are included versus available as upgrades before signing your purchase contract.
First Texas Homes: SmartHouse by HomePro
First Texas Homes is a DFW-focused builder with a strong presence in communities across the Metroplex. As of August 1, 2025, they made a significant commitment: SmartHouse by HomePro is now a standard inclusion on every new First Texas home. This is a notable move that puts them on par with national builders in the smart home category.
The SmartHouse platform is built around the HomePro app, which consolidates controls for door locks, security, thermostat, garage, and video doorbell into a single interface—eliminating the "too many apps" problem that plagues buyers who cobble together devices from multiple brands independently.
What's Included as Standard
| Device / Component | Spec | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Door Lock | App + keypad | ✓ Standard |
| Video Doorbell | HomePro integrated | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Thermostat | App controlled | ✓ Standard |
| Garage Door Controller | App controlled | ✓ Standard |
| Security System Access | App controlled | ✓ Standard |
| HomePro App Control | iOS / Android | ✓ Standard |
| Basic App-Based Monitoring | Self-monitored | ✓ Standard |
| Professional Monitoring | Through provider | ~ Optional subscription |
| System Expandability | Compatible add-ons | ✓ Designed to expand |
First Texas's decision to make SmartHouse standard—rather than an upgrade—reflects the broader market shift happening across DFW new construction. Buyers shopping $350,000–$500,000 homes in 2026 increasingly expect smart home technology to be included in the purchase price, not listed as a $3,500 design center option. First Texas read the market correctly on this one.
Pulte Homes: Connectivity-Forward Construction
Pulte Homes brings their "Life Tested Home Designs" philosophy to North Texas with a smart home approach that emphasizes lifestyle integration alongside the core automation features. Pulte homes come pre-wired with advanced connectivity, enabling thermostat control, smart door locks, and whole-home Wi-Fi management from a smartphone or tablet from day one.
Pulte also leads among national builders in EV readiness—their communities in DFW increasingly offer garage circuits pre-configured for Level 2 EV charger installation, which is a meaningful future-proofing consideration as Texas EV adoption accelerates.
What's Included as Standard
| Device / Component | Spec | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Thermostat | App controlled, remote access | ✓ Standard |
| Smart Door Lock | Remote lock/unlock | ✓ Standard |
| Pre-Wired Connectivity | Advanced structured wiring | ✓ Standard |
| Whole-Home Wi-Fi | High-speed, whole-home coverage | ✓ Standard |
| EV Charging Readiness | Select communities | ~ Community dependent |
| Energy Efficiency (vs. standard) | ~30% more efficient | ✓ Standard |
| LED Lighting | Throughout home | ✓ Standard |
| Video Doorbell | — | ~ Community dependent |
| Solar Panel Readiness | Select plans | ~ Plan dependent |
Pulte builds approximately 17 active communities across the DFW Metroplex at any given time, with a price range starting in the mid-$300,000s. Their smart home package scales up meaningfully in their higher-price communities—buyers at the $500,000+ tier should ask specifically about the smart home feature set for that community rather than relying on general brand-level descriptions.
Side-by-Side Builder Comparison
Use this table as a quick reference. Features marked with a tilde (~) vary by community or price tier—always confirm with the builder's sales team for the specific community you're purchasing in.
| Feature | DR Horton | Meritage | Highland | Lennar | First TX | Pulte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smart Thermostat | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Smart Door Lock | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Video Doorbell | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ |
| Smart Control Hub/Panel | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ |
| Wi-Fi Garage Door | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ~ |
| Mesh Wi-Fi System | ✗ | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ |
| Smart Lighting | ~ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ✗ | ~ |
| Energy Star Certified | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ |
| Professional Setup Included | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| EV Charging Readiness | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ~ | ✗ | ✓ |
This table reflects general brand-level standards as of early 2026. Builders reserve the right to modify their smart home packages at any time without notice. Features may differ by community, price tier, and build date. Always request a written standard specifications document from the specific community's sales office—not the builder's national website—before relying on any feature being included.
The Matter Protocol: Why Ecosystem Wars Are Ending
For years, buying smart home devices meant committing to one ecosystem. A Nest thermostat wanted Google. Ring doorbells wanted Amazon. Apple HomeKit played by its own rules. If your builder installed an Alarm.com system and you wanted to add an Apple HomeKit-compatible light, you were solving a compatibility puzzle every time you bought a new device.
That era is ending. The Matter protocol—an open connectivity standard backed by Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung—allows smart home devices from different brands to work together natively. Over 300 manufacturers now build Matter-compatible products, and the number is growing rapidly.
What Matter Means for DFW Buyers in Practice
If you buy a D.R. Horton home with an Alarm.com ecosystem and later want to add Lutron smart switches for your media room, you no longer need a separate hub or a compatibility workaround. If you move from a Meritage home with the M.Connected suite to a Lennar home with Ring and Honeywell, your devices can follow you without platform replacement. If your family uses Apple HomeKit and your builder installed an Alexa-compatible lock, those two can now coexist on Matter.
The practical implication for North Texas buyers: when evaluating a builder's smart home platform, prioritize network infrastructure quality (structured wiring, mesh Wi-Fi) and platform openness over the specific brand of any individual device. Devices can be swapped or layered. Cat6 wiring cannot be easily retrofitted. A well-designed network foundation with a Matter-compatible hub is worth more than any specific branded device list.
Smart Upgrades Worth Paying For in DFW
Not every design center smart home upgrade is worth the premium. Some are priced for margin; others represent genuine value. Here is an honest breakdown of which upgrades make sense in the North Texas context specifically.
High-Value Upgrades Worth Considering
Smart Irrigation: A DFW-Specific Priority
This one is underrated and often skipped. North Texas clay soil shrinks and expands dramatically with moisture cycles—and this movement is the primary driver of foundation movement. A smart irrigation controller (Rachio and RainBird are the standard brands) that monitors soil moisture, weather data, and evapotranspiration rates can help you maintain consistent soil moisture year-round, reducing the foundation risk. If your builder doesn't offer smart irrigation as a design center option, budget to install it post-closing.
What to Skip
Whole-home automation systems from builders' in-house technology packages—particularly at price tiers where the hardware quality doesn't justify the premium—are often better purchased through an independent integrator post-closing. Builder design center margins on smart home upgrades can be substantial. Get a quote from an independent Crestron, Control4, or Savant dealer for comparison before committing to a $15,000 builder upgrade package.
Buyer Warnings: What Builders Don't Always Mention
Virtually every North Texas builder explicitly excludes smart home devices from their Builder's Limited Warranty. The 1-2-10 warranty that covers structural and mechanical systems does not cover your Ring doorbell, your Eero router, or your Kwikset lock. These are manufacturer warranty items. Register every device the day you close.
Every builder smart home system requires broadband internet purchased separately. The builder installs the devices; the internet service provider charges you a monthly fee. In many DFW master-planned communities, specific ISPs have exclusive agreements. Ask which internet providers serve the community before you fall in love with a specific home. Gig-speed availability and provider options vary significantly across North Texas.
The hardware is included. The monitoring service often is not. Alarm.com, SafeStreets, and BSG Texas all offer professional monitoring for a monthly fee. In many cases, certain "smart" features—like cloud video storage for cameras or automated responses to security events—require an active monitoring subscription. The device works without a subscription; the full feature set may not.
"Pre-wired for smart home" or "smart home ready" means the builder ran conduit and low-voltage wiring—but the actual devices are not installed. You are expected to purchase and install them after closing. This is not necessarily bad (it gives you device choice), but it is meaningfully different from moving in with a functional system on Day 1. Ask the sales rep directly: "Will the smart home devices be installed and functional at my walk-through?"
A Lennar home in Frisco may have a different smart home package than a Lennar home in Mansfield. A Meritage home in the $340,000s may not include all the features listed on Meritage's national website. Always request the community-specific standard specifications sheet—not the corporate brochure—and get the feature list in writing before you sign a purchase agreement.
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