Control 4 is proprietary. You will need a tech to make any changes, forever.

Hi - so we are Control4 certified dealers and can answer that for you. Which controller do you have? EA1, EA3 or EA5?

And there is some programming you can do on your own. Google Control4's "When-then" programming feature that you can do on your own without getting a C4 dealer involved. You cannot do everything in the system, but you can do some things.

Without knowing which one, generally we can tell you this: (1) All the controllers mentioned above have a Zigbee radio in them that will allow them to communicate wirelessly with Control4 Lighting, Universal Remotes, Doolocks and other devices that speak the same flavor of Zigbee. With about $140 in extra parts, you can talk to Z-wave DIY devices as well. (2) All the controllers mentioned above can also control other lighting systems as well, most notably Lutron Caseta, RA2 Select, RA2 or Homeworks. (3) All the controllers above can control AV devices using IP control, RS232 control or good old fashioned IR control. (4) All the controllers above can natively stream Pandora, Spotify Connect and SiriusXM. The EA3 and EA5 can stream this audio in a mult-zone environment (meaning sending audio streams to lots of pairs of speakers in the house (5) All the controllers above can control shades (most notably Somfy and Lutron), thermostats, ceiling fans, pools, water features, fire features and other environmental devices either via IP or RS232 control. The EA3 and EA5 have more generic contacts and relays for more classic environmental automation. (6) All controllers above can control security systems from companies like DSC, Honeywell and GE. (7) All controllers above can control surveillance systems from companies like Luma, HIKVision, Axxis, etc.

Bottom line, they can do quite a lot.

these are the control4 options offered by builder. do i need all this. what do you think of the prices and can i get them after i move in?

also is there a monthly subscription to control 4? monthly fee?

There is an annual fee if you want to able to control your home out of network. On the prices if they are installed and programmed equipment then yes the prices look fair. On the question of "do I really need all this?" that is really up to you regarding the parts of your home you want to make smart. A complete Control4 system can be installed after your home is built. The plus side of doing this is that you might get slightly cheaper programming rates although I would be careful if they are abnormally low as the programming will likely not be great either. On the negative side, you are you paying for your lights switches to be installed twice- once by the electrician during your build and again when you un-install the dumb switches and re-install smart switches. Additionally, unless the builder is willing to give you a schematic of the low voltage wiring installed for the smart home system, you will have to pay a new company to re-map out all the wiring to make sure they can use it to give you the smart home features you want.

If you are looking for more specifics, I would say start with this: 1x EA5, 1x C4 T-stat, dimmers for however many lights you want to make smart, 1x 4 zone matrix amp, 1x SR260 Uni remote. That will give you a main controller to control all other control4 stuff, smart heating and cooling, AV control of a surround sound system and its sources and audio playback in 4 other rooms beside the surround sound location.

With Smart home controllers in general it is best to always have a wired connection if you can help it. I don't know what your pre-wiring package was for your home build so I can't say it that is an option or not. For C4 sub controllers can be run Wifi although I don't recommend it. The main controller must be wired.

can i add a fewthings for now and then add morelater?

planning to get ea5 or ea3

7" wall portable - 2 of them

thermostat

zone amplifier

light dimmer plan to get later

so is dorr and intercom

That sounds like a good initial plan and yes you can add later on. If the builder has a C4 installer they used to do the pre-wire that is ideal but really any C4 dealer can sell and install the gear. There are over 150 dealers in the LA and Orange County areas.

what kind of wiring do they need to do for the c4?

It really depends on what you are getting-- talk to your builder. He will connect you with his C4 guy and you can determine from there.

how much will it cost if I bought control4 after moving in?

Again that depends on what you get. C4 can be as simple at an EA1 and SR260 for a single room and go up from there.

You can always talk to an authorized Control 4 dealer in your area. You can ask them to create a proposal. They can best advise on what you need and what setup would make the best sense.