Ready Made Smart Home Products vs Onwords Living Homes: What Are You Really Buying
From outside, both look similar: lights in an app, some scenes, maybe voice. Inside, a box kit and a Living Home are completely different. Here is when a ready product is enough and when you need a designed system.
What is a ready-made smart home product
Typical kits
- Wi‑Fi touch switches, smart bulbs/plugs.
- Small hub + 3–6 devices packages.
- Retail/e-commerce bundles.
Works fine for 1–2 rooms, rentals, very small budgets.
What they offer
- One brand app, basic scenes/timers.
- Voice assistant support in many cases.
- Quick install in hours.
Expectation fit: “I just want a few lights on my phone.”
What is a Living Home with Onwords
Not a box. It is the brain and backbone of your house.
Living Home includes
- System design before wiring; clean panels, structured cabling.
- Lighting scenes for how you live.
- Gate, door, access automation; security sensors + CCTV logic.
- Network planning for stability.
- Documentation for upgrades later.
Proof points
- 400+ smart home projects.
- 6000+ gate automations.
- Designs based on real Indian homes, not theory.
Side by side: ready-made product vs Living Home
1) Scope
- Ready-made: room/small flat focus; limited devices; each brand is an island.
- Onwords: full home/villa; multiple systems under one brain (lighting, access, security, network).
2) Reliability & power
- Ready-made: mostly Wi‑Fi, unclear inverter/DG behavior, often resets after cuts.
- Onwords: designed for Indian power; core logic local; panels/wiring sized for stability.
3) Integration
- Ready-made: each kit talks to itself; many apps.
- Onwords: one Living Homes logic; gates, doors, lights, AC, sensors, scenes under one set of modes.
4) Design & wiring
- Ready-made: behind-switch add-ons; no drawings.
- Onwords: design before plaster; dedicated panels; load segregation; upgrade-ready.
5) Support & responsibility
- Ready-made: self-install or vanish-after-install; call-center support.
- Onwords: we own design, install, service; clear docs; long-term relationship.
6) Security & gate automation
- Ready-made: a few Wi‑Fi cams/locks; gate separate; no real link between sensors/sirens/lights.
- Onwords: gates are a core vertical (6000+); sensors, siren, lighting, CCTV act as one system.
7) Future readiness (AI, robotics)
- Ready-made: locked to brand; limited APIs; likely replace in 3–5 years.
- Onwords: honest line—no home robots sold today. We build robotics-ready homes and aim for a robotics layer ~2027 if safe and viable. Wiring/panels/network done right, so upgrades are realistic.
When ready-made smart products are enough
- Rental home.
- Only 2–3 rooms to make smart.
- Testing family reaction to basics.
- Very tight budget; okay with some instability.
Typical: smart bulbs in hall/bedroom, a few Wi‑Fi switches in living, basic voice for fan/lights.
When to skip ready-made and choose Onwords
- New build or major renovation.
- Long-term family home.
- Need gates, doors, lighting, AC, security, network designed together.
- Care about stability, safety, upgrade path more than entry price.
Ready-made kits are a distraction here—you need a system, not toys.
CTA 2
In drawing or wiring stage? Schedule a Living Homes planning call. Get clear scope and budget so you know exactly what to do.
Money talk: “but ready made is cheaper, right?”
Entry ticket is cheaper; lifetime cost often is not.
- Wi‑Fi switches are cheaper upfront than a designed system.
- Failures and drop-offs lead to rip-and-redo.
- Reworking wiring, panels, ceilings later costs far more than doing it right once.
For a 10–20 year asset, saving a small percentage by killing the backbone is a bad trade.
FAQs: ready made vs Onwords
So, ready-made product or Onwords?
Comes down to one question: are you buying gadgets or building a Living Home? For a few smart tricks, ready-made is fine. For a serious home for the next decade, choose a system partner.
- Share your floor plan and priorities with us.
- Request a free comparison plan so you decide with clarity, not guesswork.