North American builder and developer Brookfield Residential announced that it will now offer Apple HomeKit standard in new communities, making it the first national homebuilder to bring connected homes to markets on a large scale.

Starting with the Delano neighborhood in Irvine, California’s Eastwood Village, all new Southern California homes by Brookfield Residential will be Connected Homes, interfacing with Apple's Home app, and integrating with HomeKit-enabled accessories including lighting, thermostats, locks and Wifi.

"We always think forward to anticipate consumer demand, and Brookfield Residential has for more than a year explored collaborations with Apple HomeKit controls," said Adrian Foley Brookfield’s residential chief operating officer. "Now the market is ready to align on a large scale with Apple's clear and convenient HomeKit design.”

Using Apple's Siri interface – or the Apple Home App on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch – homeowners easily control HomeKit-connected devices so that they work smarter, said Foley. HomeKit's advantages extend to security and privacy, because communication from the iOS device and home accessories are encrypted, with all home data living privately on the device, not stored in the cloud. HomeKit-enabled lighting and smart thermostat also more efficiently manage home energy. And homeowners can group smart-home accessories by room, to create scenes such as "I'm Home," "Bedtime" or "Movie Night."

HomeKit-enabled accessories that come standard are:

• Lutron Caseta lighting (in select areas of the home)
• Honeywell Lyric T6 Smart WiFi Thermostat
• Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt (Bluetooth-enabled front door lock)
• Ubiquiti Wireless Access Point (WAP – providing peak Wifi performance throughout the home)

Brookfield Residential will add new home automation products as they continue to integrate with HomeKit.