Until now, the landscape of Home Tech Experts, Integrators, A/V guys, Installers, Technologists, or whatever you want to call them, has been rocky. Unlike medicine, law, or architecture, there exists no real qualification process to open a business and call oneself a “home technology professional”. This low to no barrier of entry has resulted in countless sub-par technology experiences for consumers. This problem has plagued the home technology industry for decades. Everyone has suffered. Consumers own homes that they cannot operate, manufacturer's names are sullied, and qualified home technology firms are faced with an untrusting public.
The Home Technology Association (HTA) is changing that.
Historically, homeowners have chosen firms based on price or the personality of a salesperson. Sometimes the company was referred by a builder or architect. Typically, consumers have not done much due diligence on prospective technology installation firms, and the selection process has been confusing. This confusion has led to hiring the wrong company, bad system design, and bad technology implementation.
As industry insiders, we know how to evaluate a firm's capabilities to dramatically improve your odds of success. We want to help you hire not only a great firm, but also the right fit for your project. The company that did an amazing job on your cousin's 1,500 sq ft home may not be the right company to outfit your 10,000 sq. ft estate, and vice versa. We are dedicated to sharing data and expertise with homeowners and design/build professionals so that they can partner with a great company for their project.
Through a rigid set of more than 60 standards, we created a certification system that identifies and classifies the best home technology companies while weeding out the bad apples.
The certification system is built around three pillars:
1 - Technical Competency
We believe that only technically-skilled firms have the ability to deliver a great home technology experience. We certify only the firms with a stellar history of technical expertise.
2 - Aftercare Service
Technology is not perfect and is ever-changing. We believe homeowners need a responsive company to work with for ongoing customer service and support.
3 - Reputation
A strong track record of being fair and honest is vital. We believe every HTA Certified company should inspire trust and confidence.
The HTA aims for great home technology experiences delivered by skilled, trustworthy companies who deliver exceptional customer service.
Click here to learn how to hire a Home Technology Professional
What leading industry manufacturers and influencers have to say:
"The mission of the HTA aligns exactly with the high-end, professional focus we have at Crestron Residential. I am excited that our industry is banding together to get behind the HTA Certification system. As a manufacturer and former integrator, I look forward to a future where consumers choose the right integrator the first time and the "takeover" project is a thing of the past." - John Clancy, VP Residential – Crestron Electronics
"I wholeheartedly believe in the HTA and what they are working to accomplish. Meridian designs some of the world’s finest sound systems, but our customer's experience of Meridian is a direct result of installation and setup quality. The HTA will help future customers identify the right home technology professionals to meet their needs, and as a result, delivering a better experience for everyone involved." - Ryan Donaher, Vice President - Meridian America, Inc.
“In an industry with no side rails or published quality standards and easy access to products what happens is chaos. I used to teach new salespeople who worked for me three letters QVP. They stand for Quality, Value, Performance. That is what we should incorporate in a sales presentation and embody in the work we execute. HTA has developed standards to move our industry into one which imbues trust, standards, and regimen. It’s about time!” - Richard Glikes, President of Azione Unlimited
“There is a great amount of value and pride that integrators will receive by the HTA instituting this standard, and customers will reap the benefits from the high-quality installations and experiences that they deserve—from start to finish. We are passionate about continued education and formal certifications, and we fully support HTA in their efforts to empower our CE professionals. Also looking forward to participating in this discussion on the HTA Board”. - Bryce Judd, SVP Sales - Control4
"As a business owner, I am excited about the HTA Certification. In our market, our clients struggle with understanding which company is truly capable of taking care of their electronic systems. If you look across the service industry, almost every other industry has some sort of designation that separates the best from the rest. The Home Technology industry has never really had that distinction and I’m looking forward to it." - Travis Leo, CEO of Residential Systems, Inc.
“Quality, integrity and regulated performance standards are critical pillars to ensure a stellar end-user experience with sophisticated home technology products. An industry marque that stands for best practices in design, test and installation along with an established group of best-in-class reference products will help significantly with consumer confidence in our industry. Having an organization such as the HTA to institute a benchmark will pay dividends for the entire CI community in the long term." - J.C. Murphy, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales - Savant Systems
“As our industry has grown, it has become difficult to identify the individual skills sets of integration companies. There is a clear need for architects, interior designers, general contractors, and affluent customers to have an independent organization evaluate and provide an unbiased review of the particular strengths of a given integrator." - Jason Sloan, Chief Sales Officer - Sonance
“We support [the HTA's] vision of elevating the quality and reputation of the installation community through a formal certification process.” - David M. Weinstein, Vice President Residential Sales – Lutron