Episode Details

Send us Fan Mail

Sign up for our weekly newsletter - https://linkly.link/2gPF0

The smart home world is moving faster than most teams can keep up with, creating a real risk for integrators: higher expectations, tighter margins, and less tolerance for messy installs. We dig into AWE’s announcement of the AWE Smart Home Academy, a new online training programme built for the custom installation and electrical retail sectors. With launch courses spanning audio and video, lighting, and networking, the aim is simple: help working professionals keep up with new tech, deliver cleaner handovers, and compete on quality rather than price.

We also unpack a bigger theme raised at AWE Expo 2026: the CI market is not shrinking; it’s evolving. Convenience and energy efficiency still matter, but the conversation is shifting towards how technology can support wellbeing. That means integrators have to think beyond boxes and apps, blending systems into home design and focusing on outcomes people experience every day, from calmer spaces to more reliable whole-home control, all driven by a solid network foundation.

Then we move into the show-floor highlights, including the upgraded AWE show apartment and a main showroom built around eye-catching display tech and modern audio solutions, including invisible speaker innovations. Home cinema fans get a particular treat: the AWE Reference Cinema has been retuned using Dirac Active Room Treatment (ART), and there’s a projector shootout between top models from Epson, Optoma, and Sony, with the winner revealed only to attendees.

If you want more CI news like this, subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave us a review so more integrators can find the show.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter - https://linkly.link/2gPF0

Get the latest News, Reviews and Opinions:

Inside CI - https://linkly.link/2cM2p

Support the Podcast by using our Affiliated links:

Start earning Microsoft points using the Bing app and get discounts on your Tech - https://linkly.link/2gVsi

Support the podcast by shopping on Amazon - https://geni.us/npUEx 

An award-winning VPN deal from Surfshark - https://linkly.link/2cM3B

Start your own podcast and receive $20 - https://linkly.link/2acMf