Minimal-change retrofit
For a finished flat you already live in. The scope is the rooms you feel every day.
- Smart lighting and dimming
- Presence sensors (mmWave, not just PIR)
- 4–6 scenes and one app
- Renter-safe installation
- About two weeks of tuning
Guide · updated 8 November 2026
What home automation actually costs.
Three markets, three currencies, one honest table — and the five things that move the number more than the brand on the box. No “from ₹999” and no mystery package.
Indicative pricing · 2026 · not a quote
The short answer
In Mumbai, a 1–2 BHK retrofit starts at about ₹2,00,000, a whole-home system is about ₹5,00,000, and a full interior-and-automation project is about ₹12,00,000. In Hong Kong the same tiers are HK$200,000, HK$500,000 and HK$1,200,000. In Dubai, published integrator ranges run from about AED 25,000 for an apartment starter to AED 350,000+ for a premium villa.
Indicative 2026 pricing, exclusive of local taxes. Final scope and quote follow a walkthrough.
01 — The table
Three markets.
One comparison.
The Mumbai and Hong Kong figures are our 2026 launch prices. The Dubai figures are published ranges from local integrators, included so you can place any quote you receive — they are not our quote and not an endorsement.
| Tier | Mumbai (INR) | Hong Kong (HKD) | Dubai (AED) | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimal-change retrofit · 1–2 bed | ₹2,00,000 | HK$200,000 | 25,000–75,000 | Studio price · Mumbai, Hong Kong. Dubai: published market band |
| Whole home · 2–3 bed | ₹5,00,000 | HK$500,000 | 75,000–200,000 | Studio price · Mumbai, Hong Kong. Dubai: published market band |
| Full design + automation · 3 bed+ | ₹12,00,000 | HK$1,200,000 | 200,000–350,000+ | Studio price · Mumbai, Hong Kong. Dubai: published market band |
Dubai bands: homecontrol.ae (apartment, townhouse and villa packages) and customav.ae (June 2026 villa and premium ranges), read 8 November 2026. Our UAE work is quoted in AED after a survey. How the UAE model works →
02 — What is included
What each tier
actually buys.
“Home automation” can mean a smart bulb or a plant room. These are the three scopes the tiers refer to — the line items, not the marketing.
Whole home
The full layer across the flat or house: light, climate, shade, security, media and voice.
- Lighting, AC and curtains or blinds
- Doorbell, camera and smart lock
- Local AI descriptions
- One app and local voice
- About 30 days of tuning
Full design + automation
For a new home or a full redo, where the interior and the technology are drawn together.
- Space planning and materials
- Lighting and joinery design
- Automation design and commissioning
- Site coordination
- Cinema and multi-floor quoted separately
These are scopes, not packages. A 400 sq ft Hong Kong flat and a 3,000 sq ft Mumbai villa can both be “whole home” and differ by a factor of four.
03 — What moves the price
Wiring, ceilings,
and the number of rooms.
The five levers below move a quote more than the brand on the switch. Ask any integrator which ones they have priced, and you will learn more from the answer than from the total.
-
Wiring
Using existing switch loops is cheap. New cable to every point means chasing, plaster, paint and a longer programme — often the single biggest line item in a retrofit.
-
Ceilings
Surface-mounted devices go straight onto a finished wall. Recessed keypads, flush sensors and hidden modules need a false ceiling or an opening, and a decorator afterwards.
-
Rooms and zones
Devices scale roughly with rooms, windows and AC zones. A whole-floor renovation with 40 circuits is not the same product as a two-bedroom retrofit with 14.
-
The plant
One split AC is an IR remote. A VRV system, a chiller, district cooling or a generator changeover needs gateways, interfaces and commissioning time.
-
Approvals and access
Society NOC, management office, owners’ corporation, DEWA, ADDC, fit-out permits, lift protection, working hours. Paperwork and access are real costs in every city.
-
The handover
Documentation, credentials in the owner’s name, training and a support period are line items. A quote that omits them is cheaper for a reason.
| Decision | Cheaper | More expensive | Typical share of a retrofit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wiring | Existing loops | New cable throughout | High |
| Ceiling | Surface-mounted | Recessed and flush | Medium–high |
| Rooms | 3 key rooms | Every room | High |
| Cooling | IR splits | VRV, chiller, district cooling | Medium |
| Shading | One track | Every window plus external screens | Medium |
| Security | Doorbell | Locks, gate, cameras, recording | Medium |
| Handover | None | Documentation, training, support | Low–medium |
Shares are indicative and vary by building. They are an ordering, not a percentage claim.
04 — Comparing quotes
Ten things a quote
should show.
Two quotes for the same flat can differ by 3× and both be honest. The difference is usually in what is excluded. Make these ten visible before you compare totals.
- A room-by-room device list with model numbers
- Hardware at actuals, or a clearly stated margin
- Labour and commissioning as separate lines
- The network plan: router, access points, VLANs
- The scene and automation list
- Documentation and credentials in your name
- Warranty terms, and what voids them
- Support and annual maintenance pricing
- An exit clause: what happens if you change integrator
- Tax treatment, and what is excluded
The three questions that matter most: who owns the accounts, what happens if
the integrator closes, and can another competent firm service the system without
permission from the original vendor? If the answers are “us”, “you’re stuck” and
“no”, the price is not the price.
05 — Market notes
Why the same scope
costs different money.
The hardware is global; the installation is not. These are the local factors that move a quote between Mumbai, Hong Kong and Dubai.
Mumbai
Lower labour and hardware costs, but society approvals, monsoon-proofing and old two-wire switch loops add work. Residential tariffs vary by distributor and slab — budget from your own bill, not an average.
Mumbai page →Hong Kong
Higher labour and access costs, small flats and finished walls. Many switches have no neutral, so no-neutral modules or ceiling-rose control are the norm. Building management approval is part of the programme.
Hong Kong page →Dubai & the UAE
Cooling dominates the scope: zoning, FCU and valve control, district cooling liaison. Fit-out permits, Civil Defence and a local partner add cost. Published bands are wide because the villa and the permit route decide the number.
UAE page →What the tariffs mean for the payback
An automation system is not an energy project on its own. The savings case is built from your meter: how much of the bill is cooling, how often rooms run empty, and whether the building already has schedules. At 2026 tariffs — Hong Kong about HK$1.41–1.63 a unit, Dubai about 23–38 fils plus fuel and VAT, Mumbai roughly ₹7–11 a unit all-in depending on the distributor — the payback on a cooling-focussed retrofit is usually measured in years, not months.
If an integrator promises a percentage saving without asking for a bill, that is a sales number, not an engineering one. The hotel proposal on this site shows what a metered model looks like: a baseline, a set of measures, and a payback band you can check.
Method
Where the numbers
come from.
Mumbai and Hong Kong figures are the studio’s 2026 launch prices, published on this site and current as of 8 November 2026. They are indicative and exclusive of local taxes. Dubai figures are published ranges from Dubai integrators, not our prices, and are used only to help a buyer place a quote.
- Hong Kong electricity: CLP 140.6 cents and HK Electric 163.3 cents per kWh, 2026 average net tariff, Hong Kong Information Services Department, 18 November 2025.
- Dubai electricity: DEWA slab tariff and fuel surcharge, 2026; see DEWA’s published tariff for the current month.
- Mumbai electricity: distributor tariffs (Adani Electricity, Tata Power, BEST, MSEDCL) vary by slab and fixed charges; check your own bill and the distributor’s tariff schedule.
- Dubai market bands: customav.ae (June 2026) and homecontrol.ae (2026 packages), read 8 November 2026.
- India market reference points: AHA Smart Homes published 3BHK benchmark; Trescent enquiry floor; both used in the site’s competitive research.
- Maintenance band: 8–15% of installed value a year, from published Indian service-firm ranges; parts extra.
- Protocols: KNX, Matter and Home Assistant project documentation.
No non-public competitor price is used. A firm is named only where it has published a price. Figures are indicative, dated and subject to a survey.
06 — Questions
The cost
questions.
The ones that come up before a quote. If yours is not here, a call is a better use of ten minutes than another page.
How much does home automation cost in 2026?
In Mumbai, a 1–2 BHK retrofit starts at about ₹2,00,000, a whole-home system is about ₹5,00,000, and a full interior-and-automation project is about ₹12,00,000. In Hong Kong the same tiers are HK$200,000, HK$500,000 and HK$1,200,000. In Dubai, published integrator ranges run from about AED 25,000 for an apartment starter to AED 350,000+ for a premium villa.
Why is home automation more expensive in Hong Kong than in Mumbai?
Labour, electrical work and access are more expensive in Hong Kong, and most flats need surface-mounted or no-neutral solutions because the walls are finished and the switch loops are two-wire. The hardware is broadly similar; the installation and commissioning are not.
What is not included in these prices?
Local taxes, structural work, false ceilings, furniture, internet service, subscriptions you choose to add, and any electrical remedial work the building needs before automation can be installed. Each of those is line-itemed separately in a quote.
Is a wired KNX system worth the extra cost?
For a new build or a full renovation with a long horizon, a wired backbone is usually the better engineering: it is more robust and lasts decades. For a finished flat or a rented home, a wireless retrofit delivers most of the daily benefit for a fraction of the disruption.
How much should I budget for maintenance?
Indian service firms commonly price an annual maintenance contract at 8–15% of the installed value, with parts extra. A local-first system with documented hardware can also be maintained ad hoc by any competent integrator, which is often cheaper than a mandatory annual contract.
Can I automate one room at a time?
Yes, and it is often the sensible way to start. Begin with the rooms that annoy you most — usually the living room, the main bedroom and the entry — then extend once the family has lived with the scenes for a few weeks. The hub and network are sized for the final scope, not the first room.
Keep reading
Go deeper.
Next
Want a number
for your flat?
Send a floor plan, the city and a few photographs of the switch boxes and AC units. We will come back with a scope and a band — and tell you which line items you can safely defer.
Mumbai & Hong Kong · UAE with a local partner · anywhere by arrangement