Wondrwall is helping the industry meet sustainability goals while enhancing modern living experiences, explains Daniel Burton, Wondrwall Group CEO
How has the demand for smart home technology evolved in the UK housing market, and how is Wondrwall addressing the needs of modern housebuilders and developers?
The demand for smart home technology has grown exponentially over the past decade, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence and the increased focus on energy efficiency and sustainability. In the UK, homebuyers and developers are becoming more aware of the long-term benefits of AI, not only for convenience but also for reducing energy consumption and lowering carbon footprints. As the government pushes forward with its agenda for net-zero homes, housebuilders are expected to integrate more advanced technologies into their builds to meet Future Homes Standards.
Wondrwall addresses these needs by offering a comprehensive, AI-driven home energy management solution. Our system combines a series of cutting-edge technologies, built around the Wondrwall light switch. With 13 sensors in each switch, Wondrwall can learn how the home is used and performs. By analysing over 20,000 datapoints per home, per day, Wondrwall can automatically control various low-carbon space and hot water heating solutions. This includes air-source heat pumps, infrared heating, electric underfloor heating and hot water cylinders.
With our new Energy Service Contract funded model, housebuilders can also now install our solar PV panels, inverters, battery storage, and EV charges in most new build homes with no upfront cost. So, you can deliver an intelligent, energy efficient home for a comparable build cost to gas heated homes.
All this combines to form a very compelling offer for the housebuilding industry. Wondrwall will not only improve the environmental efficiency of the homes built but also reduce energy bills and enhance the overall living experience for homeowners, helping to meet the needs of modern homeowner’s lifestyles.
What are the key benefits of integrating Wondrwall’s smart home systems into new-build homes, particularly in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability?
Consumers now are very tech savvy and we can see how cars have evolved and benefitted from technology making them more efficient, more comfortable, safer and more secure. In contrast, our homes have barely evolved. However, today’s consumers expect to have tech in their homes that makes them more efficient, easier to use, more comfortable, safer and secure.
Housebuilders that integrate this technology find that consumers prefer their homes to homes that do not. Of particular interest is that the technology reduces energy bills by up to £2000 annually and this obviously is very attractive to consumers. We have just received feedback from Wondrwall users in Newark, Nottinghamshire, who are delighted with how the system operates and the financial benefits and flexibility it has brought them.
With the growing emphasis on home automation, what features of Wondrwall’s smart home solutions are most popular among developers and homebuyers?
While technology is becoming an increasingly important specification to housebuilders, the interactions we have with our partners in the industry tend to be more focused on supporting their need to meet regulatory standards, affordability and reduced running costs for their prospective customers. Wondrwall is ideally suited to addressing these challenges.
That’s not to say that innovation isn’t important in defining your properties, as it clearly is. Feedback we receive from end users also shows a clear appreciation for many of the lifestyle enhancing features of the system as well as the energy efficiency and environmental benefits.
Alexa functionality built into every light switch allows for voice control of many of your homes systems and we are still one of the very few partners to have SONOS integration directly within the Wondrwall app, providing a premium audio experience alongside smart control of your homes heating, lighting and security.
How does Wondrwall ensure that its smart home systems are user-friendly and accessible to a broad range of homeowners, from tech-savvy individuals to those new to smart technology?
At Wondrwall, we understand that not every homeowner is a tech enthusiast, so we’ve made it a priority to ensure our systems are accessible and user-friendly for all. From the start, we designed our platform to be as intuitive as possible, with easy-to-use controls and a straightforward mobile app. Homeowners can manage their entire home ecosystem—from heating to energy consumption and lighting—using a single app or through voice commands with Amazon Alexa. For those who may be unfamiliar with smart home technology, we provide clear user guides and offer customer support to help them navigate the system.
Our intelligent light switches and sensors automate many functions, reducing the need for manual control. For example, the system can learn a homeowner’s habits over time and automatically adjust heating and lighting settings based on their preferences. This “set-it-and-forget-it” feature ensures that even those who are less familiar with smart tech can enjoy the benefits without constant interaction.
