Energy Smart Home Plans — Wright Jenkins Custom Home Design & Stock House Floor Plans

+ What’s included in a set of drawings?

See: What’s in a Set of Plans?

+ In what file format are plans available?

Home plans are available in CAD and PDF file Formats.

+ Are your Pre-Drawn plans all I need to build from?

There are indeed areas in the US where building from a set of stock plans is possible. However we always recommend that prior to purchasing a stock plan from ANY provider it’s best to inquire with your local permitting office exactly what they will require you to submit for a building permit. It is wise to assume that some structural and or mechanical engineering will be required. In addition, our plans assume a truss roof. Roof trusses along with the required engineering would be provided by your builder’s favorite local manufacturer.

+ We chose your plans because we want to build a Hi-Performance, energy-efficient home. Are your plans all we need?

We applaud your choice to build a more comfortable, more durable and sustainable, super energy efficient home that also supports healthier indoor air quality! All of our plans are designed to have the entire mechanical system within the conditioned space, to date, the best performing and most efficient heating and cooling prescription available. Your insulation R-Values may need a few minor changes but the “tight house” principle is a must have to achieve a Hi-Performance home in any location. We strongly recommend that a site specific Manual J (room-by-room heat load calculation), a Manual D & S (mechanical system design) and ventilation specifications be provided by a building science professional, like Ken Fonorow, The Home Energy Doctor. Just the reduced size and cost of the HVAC equipment install will pay for Ken’s cutting-edge services a few times over, not to mention the greatly reduced energy costs and other Hi-Performance benefits our home owners enjoy for many years. We always encourage that customers who desire a super energy-efficient home CONTACT US.

+ Do you have an Exchange and/or Refund Policy?

All PDF and CAD plan sales are final and non-refundable. Note that a CAD file will likely be required in coastal areas where a structural engineer will be necessary to supply signed and sealed plans as a permitting requirement. In fact, we insist that our Florida plan buyers purchase a CAD file. We supply a PDF as a convenience to our CAD buyers.

+ Do you offer modification services to your plans?

Yes, we can! We in fact modify a majority of the plans that we sell. Please visit our Modify My Plans page for more information.

+ Are your plans copyrighted?

Yes, all our work is fully covered by our copyright. Please visit our Copyright and Terms of Agreement page for more information.

What You Need To Know Before Building Smart Home System

Building a smart home is an exciting adventure, a way to add the most up-to-date technology and design a space just for you. Lights come on when you want, in the colors you prefer, favorite music plays in rooms, digital helpers know when it's time to leave for work — and the best route — and locks and sensors keep watch while you're tucked away sleeping, whether you're a night owl or early riser. And with new custom systems, like smart irrigation systems and built-in smart home security systems, can help you save money on your water bills and keep you safe and secure 24/7.

As you begin your adventure, this guide will help you as you decide what kind of smart home you want. We'll walk you through decisions to consider before you start buying your very first IoT device, from the kind of voice assistant you want speaking to you daily to the best devices to consider given your budget.

Once you've got your bearings, you can head over to our smart home products guide, details on every kind of connected device you may be thinking to add from smart locks to lights to security.

At GearBrain, we're excited to help you build your new smart home. Let's get started.

Today, the homeowner has so much to choose from when it comes to selecting the right smart home solution. They also need help in understanding how all this technology works in order to determine which products/services you need. We've put together a list of articles which we know can help you understand the basics in building a smart home solution:

Podcast: How to Build a Smart Home Series - Part One

Podcast: How to Build a Smart Home Series - Part Two Part 2 of GearBrain's "How to Build a Smart Home" series focuses on Renters, Rental Property and Airbnb owners. GearBrain

Podcast: How to Build a Smart Home - Part Three Part Three of GearBrain's Podcast series on How to build a smart home focuses on budgeting. GearBrain

Smart Home Hubs Hubs help smart devices speak with each other, and then with you Getty Images Many smart home devices need a hub in order to connect to the internet and then to each other. While not all do, it's good to understand which brands are more dependent on these than others. We run through which hubs you may need, and to learn if this is something you might need at your home: Best smart home connected hubs: GearBrain's list of the best connected hubs which can streamline and simplify your smart home by syncing all your connected devices together.

Best smart home connected hubs: GearBrain's list of the best connected hubs which can streamline and simplify your smart home by syncing all your connected devices together. Which smart home hub is right for you? Everything you need to know: An article which will help you find the best smart home hub for your house. You will learn if Amazon Alexa is the best device to power your smart home or if you need a more dedicated hub or no hub at all. Buy Amazon Echo 4th Gen Smart Home Hub

Podcast: How to Build a Smart Home - Part Four In the 4th episode of GearBrain's podcast on How to build a smart home, we learn about the role of the hub or controller for your new smart home. GearBrain

Voice Activation You can now control devices inside your home just with your voice Google More connected devices are coming to the market that can be controlled just with your device. This could be Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant or even Apple's Siri. You can certainly check our thoughts on this way of controlling our home through our piece, Voice Is The New App. But we also encourage you to take a look at the different digital assistants, what they can do, and which one you may find you prefer. What's key here is that you're likely going to pick one, and then build your smart home around that specific digital assistant. So understanding how they work, and which one may fit into your life the best, is good to do before you start buying a lot of devices for your new smart home. Buy Google Nest Home Mini - $49.99 at Best Buy

Microsoft’s Cortana Microsoft's Cortana is a smart assistant that is also working with smart home products Getty Images Microsoft does have a voice assistant named Cortana. It's not as widely used in the smart home space, even though it's well-known among Microsoft and Windows users. Here are some details about Cortana and how the digital assistant is making inroads in connected products. Alexa has a new playmate, Cortana: A look at Microsoft's voice activated systems, Cortana.

Alexa has a new playmate, Cortana: A look at Microsoft's voice activated systems, Cortana. Microsoft shows Alexa and Cortana working together: The two digital assistants are in beta tests to see if they can speak and connect with each other inside their ecosystems.

Microsoft Cortana is now on IFTTT: A guide to using the Windows-based assistant with IFTTT applets to control smart home devices

Smart homes can propel the way you live in the 21st Century Getty Images We hope these guides are helpful and prepare you for the next phase in the building of your smart home. Even though many of the new connected devices coming on to the smart home market might not be ready for prime time, we are very bullish on the market outlook. As more consumers understand how all these new devices work and determine which ones are right for them, we expect to see a big increase in adoption. We look forward to joining you on your new journey in building the right smart home for you. If you need help installing any of these Smart Home systems or products , you can visit to find a local trusted professional.

Yale Assure Lock SL, Wi-Fi Smart Lock - Works with the Yale Access App, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, HomeKit, Phillips Hue and Samsung SmartThings, Satin Nickel

3D Floor Plan - Apps on Google Play

4.4 14.9K reviews 5 4 3 2 1

Sarah Salle more_vert Flag inappropriate May 13, 2022 Terrible app. Can't edit wall lengths easily and can't at all for preloaded rooms. Screen moves everytime you try to adjust a wall length that's actually editable. Can't select measurements and type the exact number you want, you have to drag it back and forth until you get the exact number. Trying to use an image for reference is impossible as the crosshair is all the way to the right of the screen and you can't pan over to it or zoom anything in that mode. Such a frustrating and useless app. 71 people found this review helpful Did you find this helpful? Yes No

Lenn Uwland more_vert Flag inappropriate February 11, 2022 Has potential, but highly annoying in current state. Keep having walls and more, stuck on other walls or object. No way to get them to move. Or no way to select something 'below' another object. Often get frozen parts, where something is selected but unselect when selected another thing. Spend an hour, couldn't get beyond a square room with 2 little walls and a door, just because of the many bugs. Disappointing, was hoping to have finally found a working app for simple room planning. 105 people found this review helpful Did you find this helpful? Yes No

Shareé Williams more_vert Flag inappropriate March 27, 2022 Great app if you want to design something for free and not save it, otherwise you have to make a purchase. It's nice enough for a quick on the fly design or if you are bored. 123 people found this review helpful Did you find this helpful? Yes No