Editor’s Note: This article is part of a CE Pro series examining the forces that shaped the custom-integration channel in 2025. Throughout December, CE Pro will share perspectives from respected industry voices to help integrators close out the year with a clearer view of where the market is heading.
Michael Short, Crestron’s vice president of marketing for residential, says 2025 saw homeowners become more intentional and uncompromising, with energy efficiency now a baseline expectation across projects. He points to rising demand for net-zero homes, flexible living spaces, and health-focused technologies such as circadian lighting, while noting that AI has yet to significantly impact residential smart homes. Looking ahead, Short emphasizes interoperability, privacy, and early collaboration with the design-build community as key priorities.
CE Pro: How did homeowner expectations or project demands shift in 2025?
Michael Short: Homeowners are becoming increasingly intentional and uncompromising when it comes to technology. Things like energy efficiency have moved from a “nice-to-have” to a “non-negotiable” in many cases. The attitude has become: “I’m building this incredible home — it needs to be energy efficient.” Builders and architects are on board with that sentiment. We’re seeing projects where clients are specifying net-zero homes. The HVAC system has to be smart; there must be solar integration involved. The term “smart home” itself is no longer a buzzword: It’s a goal, and energy efficiency is a terrific example of that.
I also think that we’re seeing more use cases where spaces within the house are becoming more flexible. There are demands for indoor/outdoor living functionality; we saw AV surge in 2025 in the outdoor spaces, and it is becoming a real driver for outdoor living. We saw a demand for basements that work as both areas for gyms and media rooms — people really trying to maximize the home’s versatility in multiple ways.
This isn’t limited to luxury homes. We’re seeing this demand in the middle tier, too. For everyone, it’s a continuing desire to achieve the seamless integration of smart home devices that cover everything, including lights, entertainment, security, and more.
CE Pro: Which categories surprised you in terms of growth or slowdown this year?
Short: I haven’t seen a slowdown in any segment, quite frankly — and as far as growth, I wouldn’t say I’m surprised by the increased demand for the systems I mentioned above. One area of interest that continues on an upward trajectory is clients’ health-focused reasoning for specifying certain technologies. There is growing interest in circadian lighting now that we have the ability to accurately replicate “natural” light through digital systems.
CE Pro: What major product launches or acquisitions had the biggest impact in 2025?
Short: From our perspective, the focus has been on beautiful products that simplify how customers can utilize and control their smart home. Designer keypads and the new Cevo Mini remote come immediately to mind — these user interfaces are touchpoints in the home that we believe will continue to have a significant impact in 2026. We’ve released several elegant and intuitive products that the whole family can use without needing training.
On the dealer side, we’ve introduced Configure Pro, a next-generation configuration platform designed to streamline and simplify the setup of Crestron Home systems. Simplifying how dealers in the pro smart home channel can implement smart home solutions will be key going forward. There are more products, more solutions, more demand. As we mentioned earlier, people are becoming more uncompromising and intentional in their decisions. Therefore, it’s crucial that the platforms dealers use to configure these homes continue to evolve as well, which is a significant concern for us.
CE Pro: What trend or technology failed to gain traction despite early interest?
Short: I don’t think that AI has made quite the impact that some had predicted when it comes to residential tech. The potential’s there, but it hasn’t quite been realized yet.
AI in the workplace has gone from “zero to hero:” We’re using it every day. It’s helping with your calendar, content, email, meeting notes, and more. Its growth has been explosive in the workplace, but that hasn’t happened in the home yet. And I think that’s a good thing. I think we need to be cautious with it at home and use it in the right way — which it will — but I don’t think it has grown as much as people may have thought it would.
CE Pro: How did collaboration with builders, designers, or architects change this year?
Short: It really hasn’t changed. It’s already a huge part of what Crestron does. In fact, we’re developing more ways to integrate and work with builders, designers, and architects. It’s a vital channel for us. We devote a great deal of time and effort to that. We need builders, designers, and architects to continue to work with our dealers and us. If anything, it’s changing for the better, with more education and industry associations working with the design-build community.
What lessons from 2025 should the industry carry into 2026?
Interoperability is extremely important and remains so. The more we can work together with multiple brands and integrate them into a single solution, the more key it is. As AI solutions become more prevalent in home integrations, regardless of their form, privacy and security concerns will be top of mind.
Early engagement between manufacturers, integrators, and the design-build community is essential in every project. The earlier that we can collaborate and engage, the more seamless experiences will be for everybody in 2026.
