Smart home installs are one of those purchases where you have no idea what good looks like until you've lived in one — by which point it's too late to change installers. Here are the ten questions that separate a real installer from someone who reads the manual and hopes for the best.

1. Are you a licensed electrician in NSW?

For any work that touches 240V (and most smart home installs do), the installer needs a current NSW electrical contractor licence. Ask for the licence number. Verify it on the NSW Fair Trading public register.

2. What happens if my system needs an update in 3 years?

Smart home gear gets firmware updates regularly. A good installer either remote-monitors your system and pushes updates for you, or hands you over to a maintenance contract. A bad installer takes your money and disappears. Ask: "How will my system be supported in year 2, year 3, year 5?"

3. Which apps will I be using?

You should answer "one" — usually Apple Home or Google Home. If the answer is "well there's the SONOS app, and the lighting app, and the camera app, and the climate app..." you're being sold disconnected products, not an integrated smart home. Insist on a single app.

4. What's the network foundation?

If the installer is putting consumer gear (TP-Link, Netgear, D-Link) at the heart of a $15,000+ smart home, walk away. Insist on UniFi or equivalent enterprise hardware. The network is the foundation; everything else fails when it's underspec'd.

5. Are my cameras and sensors on a separate network from my laptop?

The answer should be "yes — they're on a VLAN". If the installer doesn't know what a VLAN is, they're not the right installer for a premium smart home.

6. Do you keep my data, or do I?

Camera footage should record locally to a UniFi Protect NVR or similar in your home. If the installer is recommending a cloud-only setup, that's a recurring fee, plus your footage is somebody else's data. Local first, cloud as backup.

7. What's not included in the quote?

Ask explicitly. Common gotchas:

• Switchboard upgrades (often needed in older Sydney homes)
• Cabling through finished walls
• The iPad / control surface itself
• Apple TVs or HomePods for Apple Home hub functionality
• Travel costs if you're outside their regular service area

8. Can I see a system you've built that's been running for 12+ months?

Smart homes look great on day 1. The test is whether they still work on day 365. Ask to be put in touch with a past customer whose install is at least a year old. A confident installer will say yes.

9. What manufacturer accreditations do you hold?

For different products, accreditation matters:

• UniFi — Ubiquiti Authorised Reseller / certified installer
• Clipsal C-Bus — Clipsal CIS Certified
• Apple Home — there's no official Apple program for installers, but the installer should be able to demonstrate Apple Home native expertise

Ask to see the accreditation certificates. If they can't produce them, they're improvising.

10. What does the handover include?

A real handover is a 60–90 minute session with you, at your home, walking you through every scene, every device, every automation. Most installers skip this because it's expensive labour. If your quote doesn't include a handover, the installer is leaving you to figure it out — and you will not figure it out.

Want to skip the interview process? Book a free consultation with ROBOT and we'll answer all ten questions before you ask.