Austin · Lake Travis, Texas
Smart Home, Lighting & AV on Lake Travis.
A reservoir that was 42 percent full in 2024 and above its average in 2026, two electric utilities on one road, a wildfire code with proximity zones, and associations that approve every exterior change. Lake Travis houses are built for the extremes.
Lake Travis, Specifically
Built for the Extremes.
Lake Travis stood at 678 feet in October 2026 against a historical average of 663.7, two years after drought drew it down to 42 percent of capacity, closed boat ramps, and exposed shoreline. Electric service in Lakeway and The Hills is split between two utilities by location relative to Hurst Creek, and in February 2021 Pedernales Electric Cooperative asked its entire territory to cut demand.
Steiner Ranch's association requires architectural committee approval before any exterior work, Lakeway limits noisy construction and power tools to daytime hours, and Austin and Travis County's wildfire code sets proximity zones within 50 and 150 feet of wildland. Lakeway's April 2026 median sale price was $868,000 with an average above $1 million, the highest-priced market in the metro by one local brokerage's count.
01 · Water
Designed for the Swing
Dock lighting, pumps, and shoreline equipment are planned for a lake that moves 40 feet. Marine-grade fixtures, conduit above the drawdown line, and cameras that still see the slip when the water is low.
02 · Power
Two Utilities, One Plan
Whether the house is on Austin Energy or PEC, the February 2021 load shedding reached it. A generator sized for the house and a battery-backed rack, with the cooperative's interconnection rules followed for anything that can export power.
03 · Review
Committee and Code
Exterior work goes to the association's architectural committee first, and the wildfire code sets ignition-resistant materials for decks and patios near wildland. Outdoor fixtures, enclosures, and cable paths follow both.
At a Glance
Lake Travis in brief.
- The lake
- Lake Travis stood at 678.00 feet in October 2026 against a historical average of 663.70 (LCRA); drought drew it to about 42 percent of capacity in June 2024, closing boat ramps and exposing shoreline.
- Electric service
- Electric service in Lakeway and The Hills is split between two utilities by location relative to Hurst Creek; during the February 2021 grid failure, Pedernales Electric Cooperative asked its entire territory to cut demand and prepare for interruptions.
- Review
- The Steiner Ranch Master Association requires Architectural Controls Committee approval before any exterior work, including paint, windows, landscaping, fencing, and pools; its guidelines cap outdoor structures at 15 feet.
- Wildfire
- Austin and Travis County's Wildland-Urban Interface Code defines Proximity Zone A within 50 feet of wildland and Zone B from 50 to 150 feet, with ignition-resistant materials required for decks and patios.
- Hours
- The City of Lakeway restricts construction to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends, and bars power tools generally from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Market
- Lakeway's April 2026 median home sale price was $868,000, up 12 percent year over year, with an average of $1,005,867, the highest-priced residential market in the Austin metro by one local brokerage's count.
- Internet
- AT&T Fiber at up to 5 gigabits, Spectrum cable, and Starlink all serve Lakeway.
Sources: LCRA, Highland Lakes overview; CBS Austin, Lake Travis and drought; City of Lakeway, electric service providers; Community Impact, PEC and the February 2021 grid failure; Steiner Ranch Master Association, FAQ; Steiner Ranch Master Association, architectural applications; Austin Fire Department, Wildland-Urban Interface Code; City of Lakeway, construction hours; Neuhaus Real Estate, Lakeway market update, May 2026; Allconnect, internet providers in Lakeway.
Reading for Lake Travis
Guides and work nearby.
- Generator and UPS planning for the rack →
How we size standby power for the systems and the house.
- The complete security stack for a house →
- Outdoor AV for a waterfront house →
- Why mesh Wi-Fi fails in a large house →
- Starlink as a second connection →
- What whole-home automation costs →
What We Install and Service
Every System. One Keypad.
Lighting & Shades
Lutron HomeWorks, Ketra and Rania light, Palladiom keypads, and shades that disappear into the ceiling.
Lighting →Whole-Home Control
Crestron and Lutron on one set of keypads and touchscreens, programmed the same way in every house you own.
Residential →Cinema & Music
Dedicated theaters, media rooms, and music in every room without a speaker in sight.
Residential →Network
Enterprise Wi-Fi and fiber sized for a large house, guest houses, and the far end of the lawn.
Networking →Security & Gate
Cameras, access control, gate intercom, and an alarm that a UL-listed central station answers.
Security →Outdoors
Landscape lighting and outdoor sound on one buried infrastructure, on the same keypad as the house.
Outdoor →Upgrades
Older Crestron and Lutron systems brought current, reusing the wiring already in the walls wherever possible.
Upgrade paths →Support
Monitoring, remote fixes, and priority response under one plan.
Cave Watch →Questions From Lake Travis
Lake Travis, Answered
Who installs Lutron and Crestron systems on Lake Travis?+–
Cave Group does. We are a Crestron Elite Gold Partner and Lutron Gold Dealer based in New York, and we design, install, and service lighting control, shades, cinema, outdoor audio, networking, security, and backup power for houses in Lakeway, The Hills, Steiner Ranch, and Hudson Bend on a project basis, on site with Texas-licensed trades.
Will the association review our cameras and outdoor lighting?+–
In Steiner Ranch and the other associations here, yes: exterior work needs architectural committee approval before it starts. We draw the exterior devices for the submission with the materials the guidelines ask for and keep the equipment inside, where the committee has no say.
How does a New York firm work on an Austin house?+–
On a project basis. Our offices are in New York and New Jersey; the design and the drawings happen with your architect and builder from there and in person at the key milestones, the installation and commissioning happen on site, and Cave Watch supports the system around the clock afterward. The licensed trades Texas requires, a licensed electrical contractor for line-voltage work and a Department of Public Safety licensed security contractor for monitored alarm work, are local.
What about the grid?+–
Standby power is part of the design here, not an option. Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 took power from about 220,000 Austin Energy customers under ERCOT's load shedding, and the February 2023 ice storm left more than 170,000 without power, some for over ten days. We size a generator and a battery-backed rack for the network, the control system, the cameras, and the house, and plan the permit, the setbacks, and the noise limits with the licensed electrician.
What internet is available on Lake Travis?+–
AT&T Fiber, Spectrum, and Starlink serve Lakeway, and what reaches a given house depends on the street. We confirm service at the address and design for two connections with automatic failover, often with Starlink as the second, so a single outage does not take the house offline.
Start Here
Walk the House With Us.
Bring the drawings if the house is on paper, or the list of what no longer works if it is already built. We will tell you what we would do, in what order, what it would take, and how we run an Austin project from New York.
Start a Projector call · +1 (888) 712-2283 · [email protected]