# Smart home contractor in Dubai for builders, developers and designers > How Avario designs, supplies, installs and programs smart home systems within your Dubai build programme, and what your client gets at handover. Source: https://staging.avario.ae/articles/contractors-builders/ Updated: 2026-11-05 If you need a smart home contractor in Dubai who works within your build programme, we design the system, supply the equipment, install it and do all the programming ourselves. You set the stages. We fit our work around them, and your client gets a documented system they own. We can work for the main contractor as a subcontractor, for the developer or directly for the end client. The first sections explain how we work on any project. After that, main contractors, developers, designers and installers each have their own section. We have designed and installed smart homes in Dubai since 2015, and we are a registered KNX Partner. ## What do we handle on your project? We can take on the whole smart home package, from the first drawing to the handover meeting. Or we can cover only the parts your own team does not. Symphony, our automation platform, runs the finished system. We designed it to make large, complex homes easier to manage. If the home network goes down, the keypads still work. - Design: the control layout for lighting, AC, curtains and blinds, security and the home network. - Supply: switches and keypads from 18 high-end suppliers, plus the hub (the small box that runs the system) and other control equipment. - Cabling: our team runs the KNX cable (KNX is the wiring standard most wired systems use), or your MEP team runs it from our drawings. - Programming and commissioning: our own team sets up and tests every function on every job. - Handover: project files, passwords, drawings and a training session for the household. ## How does our work fit into your build programme? It's best to bring us in early. We work from your architect's and MEP drawings, so we can start on the design before anyone needs to be on site. On a wired job, our team is on site during the primary wiring stage, when the cable goes in, and we check your contractor's cable work every 2 days. A wireless install usually takes a couple of days on site. For new-build villas, including three-bedroom villas, we advise wired KNX. In an apartment that is not already KNX-ready, the best time to wire is during a major renovation. Otherwise wireless is simpler, and in the UAE we use Zigbee, the wireless standard we find works best here. Our guide to [KNX automation in Dubai](https://staging.avario.ae/articles/knx-automation/) explains the wired option in more detail. - Drawing review or engineering survey: our engineer looks at your plans, or at the site if work has started, and agrees what the system needs to control. We can give a budgetary estimate from the drawings alone. - Design: we produce the control design and the drawings your team can build from. - Cabling: KNX cable goes in before walls and ceilings are closed. Either our team runs it or yours does, and we check the work every 2 days during this stage. - Devices: switches, keypads, sensors and control equipment go in once the finishes allow. - Programming and commissioning: our team sets up and tests the whole system. - Handover: the client receives the files, drawings and passwords, and the household gets a training session. ## Who does what between our team and your trades? We work alongside the trades already on your project. We don't replace them. This is how the work is usually split. - Cable: our team, or your MEP team working from our drawings. - Light fittings and LED drivers: we can supply them, or work with your lighting contractor. - Curtains and blinds: we work with the curtain supplier and fit the motors. Somfy and Aqara are our first choices, though we can work with most curtain motors. They connect either by wire using dry contact (a simple on and off signal) or wirelessly using Somfy or Zigbee. - AC: we connect every brand and type, from split units to VRF, through a gateway (a small device that lets the AC talk to the control system). - Water leak shut-off valves: we work with your MEP contractor to fit them. - Irrigation: we supply Rain Bird or Hunter control equipment and work with the irrigation contractor. - CCTV: we work with licensed partners who specialise in CCTV planning and installation. - Network: we design and install Ubiquiti UniFi networks. - Cinema rooms: we do the acoustic treatment and sound isolation ourselves. ## What does the client receive at handover? Your client gets a working system and everything they need to run, change or extend it later. We do not hold files back. The equipment carries its manufacturer's own warranty. After handover, the household can reach our support team through the chat in the Avario app. - The ETS project file (ETS is the software used to program KNX) and all passwords, as standard. - Drawings or a wiring schedule, plus written system records. - Old users removed and logins reset. - A training session for the household. ## For main contractors and MEP teams One company handles the design, supply and programming of the smart home. Your electricians can run the cable from our drawings, or our team can do it. Either way, we check the cable work every 2 days while it goes in. Tell us early which AC system you're using, so we can choose the right gateway. On renovations, most UAE apartments already have wall data points. That usually means we can reuse the existing cable for wall-mounted Wi-Fi access points, with no new cable runs. Where walls must stay closed, a wireless system means no new cable routes have to be cut. Our engineer can also join the handover or snagging inspection to check smart home points, AC, data points and curtain boxes on the day. ## For property developers A development needs the same design repeated across each unit type, and a handover that works for buyers who were never part of the project. We can set a standard specification for each unit type, with optional upgrades buyers choose at the sales stage. We fit out show villas and show apartments so buyers can try the system before they buy. You get one named project engineer as your contact from specification to handover, and every home comes with its own files, passwords and records. Keystone is our offer designed specifically for developers. Our page on [home automation for property developers](https://staging.avario.ae/articles/property-developers/) explains it. ## For interior designers and architects We handle the technical side so the interior stays as you drew it. Switches and keypads come from 18 high-end suppliers, and we deliver samples to you so you and your client can see the finishes together. Our lighting design includes a layout drawing, a fitting schedule and light level calculations. We can supply the fittings or work with your lighting contractor. On motorised curtains and blinds, we work alongside your curtain supplier. We share partnership terms, including referrals, once we agree to work together. Read about our [partner programme for interior designers and architects](https://staging.avario.ae/articles/interior-designers-architects/). For short courses on smart home basics, our Smart Home Academy is at thesmarthome.academy. ## For other installers If you install electrical or AV systems and want to add smart home work, start with our [certified smart home installer courses](https://staging.avario.ae/articles/certified-installer-training/). Sometimes you'll come across a system you can't open because the passwords or configuration file are missing. Our team can rebuild the configuration, and on wired systems we replace the hub with Symphony. We can take on most systems, but we focus on KNX and other standardised systems. ## When might you not need us? If the job is a single smart lock or a few wireless plugs, your own electrician or the homeowner can fit it. We're most useful in homes with many rooms, several systems that need to work together, or a wired KNX design going in during the build. ## Questions people ask Can our own electrician run the KNX cable? Yes. Your MEP team can run it from our drawings, and our team checks the work every 2 days during the primary wiring stage. Who do you contract with? It depends on the project. We work as a subcontractor to the main contractor, directly for the developer, or for the end client. Does the client get the project files? Yes. We hand over the ETS project file, passwords, drawings and written system records as standard. Can you price a job from drawings? Yes. We can give a budgetary estimate from drawings, and a written quote after our engineer has reviewed the plans or the site. The figure depends on the size of the home, wired or wireless, how much is controlled and the brands chosen. How do we start a project together? [Book an engineering survey](https://staging.avario.ae/articles/book-survey/) and tell us about the project. We'll get in touch the next business day to arrange it. If you'd rather talk it through first, call us on +971 4 458 2205.