Home Technology Budgeting Tool

Welcome to the Home Technology Budget Calculator powered by the Home Technology Association (HTA). The HTA developed this objective tool to help consumers and design and build professionals plan and budget for home technology projects.

Where are you? *

• United States
• Canada
• United Kingdom

What is your home's square footage? *

(a round number is OK)

In square meters? *

(a round number is OK)

Describe the cost-of-living / cost of labor for your area: *

• Fairly Inexpensive
• About Average
• Expensive

Let's talk about wiring. What best describes your situation? *

• My house is already wired
• I am building a house and need all new wiring
• I need some new wiring installed
• My house has old wiring, need all new

How extensive / future-ready would you like your home’s wiring to be?

• Basic (basic audio/video wiring, network, security cameras)
• Automated Home (home control wiring to subsystems & touchpanels, additional TV & speaker locations)
• Full Technology Package (adds advanced lighting, motorized shading, fiberoptic cabling, distributed video systems, extensive speaker & TV locations, dedicated home cinema)

Prewire pricing will vary based on exactly what features you would like in your home. Read this article about the importance of wiring/cabling in today's "wireless" world. Your local HTA Certified technology integrator is the best resource for exact prewire pricing. Wiring budget is for low-voltage wiring only, not electrical.

How about Wi-Fi? *

• Already Installed
• Consumer-grade
• Professional-grade
• Enterprise-grade

Do you want a lighting control system for the whole house? *

• Yes, for the whole house and exterior
• Yes, for the main areas of the house and exterior only
• Only for a couple rooms
• No, I will use conventional wall switches

Do you want high-quality architectural lighting?

• Yes
• No

High-quality architectural lighting includes recessed lighting and linear or ‘tape’ lighting. It does not include decorative lighting such as chandeliers, table lamps, etc. An extensive professional lighting design may exceed the budget estimates of this tool.

Directions:

There are four tiers of lighting fixture quality; for a definition of each, click on the icon next to each tier. For more information, click on this glossary of lighting terms. In the box next to each tier, enter the percentage of the home you’d like for that tier.

• Tier 1:

  • Low:
  • High:

• Tier 2:

  • Low:
  • High:

• Tier 3:

  • Low:
  • High:

• Tier 4:

  • Low:
  • High:

*Note: contractor-grade lighting (Tier 4) is typically not sold by integrators.

Do you want any motorized shading?

Motorized shades add beauty, convenience, and can be used to save energy.

Let's talk music.

How many rooms would you like music in the two categories described below? Include exterior areas too!

• Higher-quality sound or higher-grade architectural finishes. (If none, just enter 0)
• Basic background music. (If none, just enter 0)

Now on to Televisions.

Please select how many TVs you would like in each of the two categories below.

• TVs between 60" - 100" diagonal size. (If none, just enter 0)
• TVs between 32" - 55" diagonal size. (If none, just enter 0)

Do you want to centralize your video sources?

• Yes
• No

Do you have a dedicated home cinema room? Please select a budget. *

• No
• Entry Level ($15K - 50K)
• Enhanced ($51K - 100K)
• Performance ($101K - 175K)
• High-Performance ($176K - 375K)
• Ultra-High Performance ($376K+)

Do you plan on outfitting a room in your house with a surround sound system? Please select a budget.

• No
• Entry Level ($5K - 15K)
• Enhanced ($16K - 30K)
• Performance ($31K - 75K)
• High-Performance ($76K - 175K)

Security.

Do you want a security and fire detection system? *

• Yes
• No

How many security cameras do you think you need?

• Enter camera number. (If none, just enter 0.)

Do you need an access control / entry intercom? *

• Entry level (video doorbell only):
• Advanced access control:

Do you want to control your house through different multiple apps? *

• Single app
• Multiple apps
• No house control

Does this home require very high-end architectural finishes?

• Yes
• No

Success! You have completed your budget estimate! Scroll below to see your budget range and advice on finding the right installer for your project.

Your Estimated Budget Range is:

Realtime Exchange Rate 1 USD =

The calculated price includes labor, accessories, and design & engineering. Tax not included. The calculated budget ranges in quality and performance from very good to top-of-the-line.