Your Home Assistant installer in Hertfordshire. Private, local and built to last.
Home Assistant is the most capable smart home platform available, and the easiest to get wrong. We design, install and look after Home Assistant systems across Hertfordshire, with a proper network underneath, clean dashboards on top and documentation so it never depends on one person. Already have Control4? We can make the two work together.
One system for the whole house
Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform. It brings lighting, heating, blinds, cameras, doorbells, audio, energy and sensors from many different manufacturers into one app, one set of dashboards and one automation engine.
Unlike most smart home apps, it runs on a small dedicated device inside your home. Automations happen locally, so the lights still respond when the broadband is down, and camera footage and presence data don't have to leave the house.
It is also completely independent of any single manufacturer. If a brand discontinues a product or changes its app, you replace that device and everything else carries on.
Why homeowners choose it
- Local control: fast, private and working without the internet.
- Any brand: thousands of integrations, including Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread and Matter.
- No compulsory subscription: an optional Home Assistant Cloud plan adds easy remote access and supports development.
- Real automation: based on presence, time, weather, energy prices and sensors, not just schedules.
- Yours to keep: open, documented and never tied to one installer.
Most Home Assistant problems aren't Home Assistant problems
They're Wi-Fi problems, hardware problems and "only Dad knows how it works" problems. We bring 18 years of corporate infrastructure practice to your home.
Network first
Solid Wi-Fi coverage, wired backhaul and a separate IoT network, so cheap smart devices can't reach your laptops and everything stays connected.
Proper hardware
Home Assistant Green or a small-form-factor PC sized to the job, SSD storage rather than SD cards, and dedicated Zigbee and Thread radios placed for coverage.
Family-proof design
Light switches still work, dashboards are simple, and automations do the obvious thing. If the system is ever offline, the house still works.
Documented & backed up
Automatic off-site backups and a written record of every device and automation, so any competent person could maintain it.
What your Home Assistant can control
Lighting & scenes
Philips Hue, Lutron, smart switches and dimmers, with scenes, circadian lighting, motion and presence triggers.
Heating & cooling
tado°, Hive, Nest, Drayton Wiser, heat pumps and air conditioning, zoned and driven by occupancy and weather.
Solar, battery & EV
Energy dashboard for solar, home battery, EV charger and smart meter, with automations that follow time-of-use tariffs.
Cameras & doorbells
UniFi Protect, Reolink, Ring and more, with optional local recording and person and vehicle detection using Frigate.
Blinds & curtains
Motorised blinds that close at sunset, follow the sun in summer and open with your morning alarm.
Music & AV
Sonos, AV receivers and TVs grouped into rooms, with "movie mode" and whole-home announcements.
Voice control
Home Assistant's own local voice assistant, or your existing Alexa, Google or Siri devices.
Presence & safety
Motion, door, leak and smoke sensors, with alerts to your phone and automations that react instantly.
Home Assistant and Control4, working together
Many homes in Hertfordshire already have a Control4 system from an earlier AV or lighting installation. It does what it was set up to do well, but adding new devices can be expensive, some modern products aren't supported, and it may have been a while since anyone updated it.
You don't have to choose between them. Home Assistant can connect to your Control4 controller on the local network, bringing your Control4 lighting into Home Assistant alongside everything else. Where it makes sense, Control4 drivers can also expose Home Assistant devices to your Control4 touchscreens and remotes, so the family keeps the interface they know.
When a Control4 + Home Assistant setup makes sense
- You want to add energy, EV charging, battery or solar control that Control4 doesn't cover.
- You'd like affordable sensors (Zigbee motion, leak, door) without the cost of dealer-installed equipment.
- You want richer automations or dashboards than your current programming offers.
- Your original installer is no longer around and you want the system understood and documented.
Your Control4 system keeps running as it does today. Where changes to the Control4 programming itself are needed, we coordinate them with a Control4 dealer.
We document your existing Control4 system, network and devices, and what you'd like to add.
We decide what stays in Control4, what moves to Home Assistant and how the two talk to each other.
Home Assistant is installed on dedicated hardware and connected to your Control4 controller locally.
Dashboards, automations and documentation, with ongoing care if you want it.
How we can help
New installation
From scratchSurvey, network design, hardware, device onboarding, dashboards for wall tablets and phones, and automations built around how you live.
Rescue & tidy-up
DIY installsBroken after an update, slow, running on a failing SD card, or understood by one person? We migrate it to proper hardware, fix flaky devices and document it.
Control4 integration
HybridHome Assistant alongside your existing Control4 system, adding the devices and automations Control4 doesn't cover.
Ongoing care
ManagedUpdates tested before they're applied, off-site backups, secure remote access, monitoring and help when you want to change something.
From first chat to a house that just works
Conversation
What you have, what annoys you and what you'd like the house to do.
Survey & design
We check Wi-Fi, wiring and existing devices, then propose a design with a fixed quote.
Install
Network first, then Home Assistant, devices, dashboards and automations, tested with you.
Handover & care
A walkthrough for the household, full documentation and optional ongoing care.
Home Assistant questions
Does Home Assistant need an internet connection?
No. Home Assistant runs locally in your home, so automations and local devices keep working if the internet goes down. Internet is only needed for cloud-based devices, remote access and updates.
Is there a monthly subscription?
Home Assistant itself is free and open source. Home Assistant Cloud is an optional subscription that provides easy, secure remote access and voice assistant integrations while funding development. We can set up remote access either way, and our ongoing care plan is optional.
Can Home Assistant work with Control4?
Yes. Home Assistant has a Control4 integration that connects to your Control4 controller over the local network, and Control4 drivers can expose Home Assistant devices to Control4 interfaces. Your existing Control4 system keeps working as it does today.
Will it work with my existing smart devices?
Very likely. Home Assistant supports thousands of devices and services, including Philips Hue, Sonos, tado°, Hive, Nest, Ring, UniFi and anything using Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread or Matter. We'll confirm during the survey.
Can I keep using Alexa or Google Assistant?
Yes. Home Assistant can expose devices to Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Home, or you can use its own private, local voice assistant.
What happens if you stop supporting my system?
Nothing breaks. Home Assistant is open source, your system is documented, and any competent person, including you, can take it over. There's no proprietary lock-in.
I built my own Home Assistant and it's become unreliable. Can you help?
Yes, this is one of the most common requests we get. We move it to reliable hardware, fix Zigbee and Wi-Fi issues, clean up automations and set up automatic backups, keeping as much of your existing work as possible.
How much does a Home Assistant installation cost?
It depends on the size of the property, the network and how many devices are involved. After a survey we provide a fixed written quote before any work starts.
Plan your Home Assistant system
Tell us about the property, what you already have and what you'd like the house to do. We'll come back with an honest view of what's possible.