What CE Pro's Best Smart Homes of 2026 Reveal: Standardized Infrastructure, Premium Lighting, and an Untapped Energy Opportunity

Every year, CE Pro's Home of the Year awards offer a look at what the best integrators in the industry are actually installing. This year, CE Pro went a step further. In a new analysis, the publication reviewed the equipment lists from 30 award-winning projects, roughly 250 brands in all, to see which products and patterns show up again and again.

The results paint a clear picture of where whole-home technology is heading. We see three takeaways that matter for every integrator and builder, whether they work on flagship estates or production homes.

Infrastructure Is Standardizing Around the Network

The most consistent finding was not about any single control platform. It was about what sits underneath them. CE Pro found that infrastructure from ADI and the legacy Snap One portfolio appeared in 24 of the 30 projects, regardless of which control system the integrator chose. Power management, networking, and racks are converging, and remote monitoring is now close to a baseline expectation.

That shift makes the network the backbone of the modern smart home. It is also why we built Power over Ethernet Control. PoE Control puts power, data, monitoring, and reboot control on the network integrators already design and manage. It allows remote troubleshooting, supports backup through a centralized UPS, and reduces the number of line-voltage devices in the wall. That means fewer trade conflicts and fewer return visits. The same infrastructure discipline the top projects show can now extend all the way to the light switch.

Lighting Is the Premium Differentiator

Lighting control, architectural keypads, and motorized shades appeared in nearly every top whole-home project. CE Pro noted that every project using Lutron also included motorized shades or drapery. In the best homes, lighting is no longer an add-on. It is the experience homeowners notice first and use most.

The challenge is that this level of lighting control has traditionally been reserved for the top tier of the market. Brilliant was designed to change that. Each Brilliant Control replaces a standard switch and combines lighting control with a touchscreen interface for scenes, shades, cameras, climate, and music. That gives integrators and builders a way to deliver the lighting-first experience homeowners see in award-winning homes across a much wider range of projects, from single-family builds to multifamily communities.

Energy Management Is the Opening

The most interesting finding may be what was missing. CE Pro found that energy management was largely absent from the winning projects, with only one generator integration and some power-quality equipment. The publication framed it as either a blind spot or an opportunity.

We see it as an opportunity. Homeowners are paying close attention to energy costs, and the controls already on the wall are the natural place to act on it. With Brilliant Max, automated Modes coordinate lighting, climate, and shades based on whether people are home, awake, or away. Sensors from our Shelly integration add real-time presence awareness across the home, so Brilliant Max can take practical steps on its own, like shutting off HVAC when a window stays open overnight. For integrators, that is a new conversation to have with every client and a natural path to recurring service revenue.

The Takeaway

The best homes of 2026 share a common foundation: standardized, network-first infrastructure, lighting that defines the experience, and a growing expectation of remote support. The next frontier is energy, and the integrators who bring it into the conversation first will stand out. Brilliant is built to help pros deliver all three: reliably, at scale, and in every room.