As new devices like smart thermostats, smart light bulbs and smart home controllers are added to the Wi-Fi network, that network becomes increasingly strapped for bandwidth. That's why Lennar, in partnership with the Wi-Fi Alliance, is looking to begin construction on Wi-Fi Certified Homes.

The certification program was developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to provide builders like Lennar with guidelines to ensure buyers have an exceptional Wi-Fi experience from the day they move in. Each home plan will be given a stamp of approval in the form of a Wi-Fi logo.

“Reliable whole-home Wi-Fi is as essential to the way people live today as central air conditioning,” says David J. Kaiserman, president, Lennar Ventures. “The inclusion of Wi-Fi will become the norm in homebuilding, and Lennar is leading the way.”

Ruckus, Amazon Echo are standards

The guidelines define criteria for access point placement to eliminate dead spots and deliver strong Wi-Fi coverage throughout the entire house, including outdoors. To accomplish this, Lennar plans to install an enterprise-grade Ruckus Wi-Fi system and utilize the expertise of Ruckus to design a system tailored to each specific model of Lennar home.

“There is a lot of science that goes into integrating a strong, reliable Wi-Fi network into a home,” says Kaiserman. “You need to consider not only where the components of the system will be placed, but the construction materials and structure of the home.”

The Ruckus system is one of more than 30,000 products certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, and according to Kaiserman offsets the need for structured wiring for connectivity and interoperability among smart home devices.

“Wi-Fi Home Design provides new home network installations with reliable Wi-Fi coverage and performance to give a great user experience throughout the entire home,” says Ruckus CTO Steve Martin. “Ruckus has been closely involved in the development of the certification program because we see tremendous value in leveraging our enterprise design experience and applying it to the connected home, providing a strong foundation to enable the Smart Home of the future.” 

In addition to the Ruckus Wi-Fi system, Amazon Alexa is will be installed a standard component of Lennar’s Wi-Fi Certified homes. While other smart home technologies offered by Lennar in its “Everything’s Included” program might vary by home style and market, Ruckus and Amazon Alexa will be go into each and every Lennar home.  

“Engineering a home for the connected world is a natural for Lennar, but bringing it to life with Amazon Alexa is a real game changer,” says Kaiserman.

According to Lennar, the addition of an enterprise-grade Wi-Fi network and smart speaker will strengthen the capabilities of current and future “Everything’s Included” portfolio of smart home products. Homeowners will be able to use voice commands to control more aspects of their smart homes, like lights, door locks and thermostats, as well as stream entertainment content at peak performance.

Lennar will begin offering Wi-Fi Certified home designs next month to an undisclosed location, and roll out the program to Lennar markets nationwide by the end of the year.

Lennar Wi-Fi Certified home designs to include other smart home features:

• Whole-home Wi-Fi – featuring Ruckus Wireless access points – that meets the demanding standards of the Wi-Fi Alliance’s recently announced Wi-Fi Certified Home Design, ensuring robust Wi-Fi in every room with no dead spots
• Smart home products including Ring (video doorbell), Baldwin (motorized, touch-based door lock), Honeywell (thermostat), Lutron (lighting) and Sonos (music)
• Alexa-enabled products that connect customers via voice to smart products in their home, as well as to shopping and entertainment opportunities
• Samsung SmartThings home-control platform giving iOS and Android users the ability to control and monitor their home from anywhere
• White-glove activation and service from Amazon Home Services to ensure that everything works smoothly

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