The installer knows the system.

The homeowner knows the home.

That is why smart-home app favourites should be chosen with the homeowner, not left entirely to the installer.

An installer may arrange controls by technical logic: rooms, loads, sources, zones and device types. That structure matters, but it may not match how the family thinks during normal use.

Favourites should reduce daily effort

The point of favourites is speed.

The homeowner should not have to dig through every room and every subsystem to do the things they do every day.

If the family uses the kitchen music, driveway gate, evening scene, main bedroom lights, pool area audio and cinema room most often, those controls deserve easier access.

The app should serve daily life first.

Technical order is not always human order

Installers often think in systems.

Clients think in moments.

“I am going to bed.”

“We are watching a movie.”

“Open the gate.”

“Put music outside.”

“Turn the house down.”

The app should respect those moments. That may mean favouriting scenes, rooms or controls that are not technically special but are emotionally important to the homeowner.

Different users may need different favourites

One person may care about music.

Another may care about lighting.

House staff may need gates, cameras and basic room controls. Children may need bedroom and TV controls. Guests may need almost nothing.

The app setup should not assume every user needs the same view.

Favourites should be reviewed after move-in

The first version is often a best guess.

After the family has lived in the home for a week or two, favourites may need refinement. Some controls will be used constantly. Others will hardly be touched.

That feedback is valuable.

DG Technologies designs for the person holding the phone

DG Technologies likes Crestron Home because it allows serious systems to be presented cleanly.

But the final app experience still needs judgement.

A beautiful system can feel clumsy if the most-used controls are hidden.

Good app setup is not showing every possible feature.

It is putting the right controls within reach.