Custom Home Automation Services

Consultations are free so book time now and we can figure out the best plan for your house!

Summary

We get you set up with all of the equipment that you need and we set up automations for you. The best part? Everything is on your local network! You're data does not reside on a server in another state/country where it may or may not be sold to third parties.

For subscription members - We provide remote support if something breaks. On a weekly or monthly basis, we install available upgrades to the brain of your system and make sure they don’t break any of your automations.

Ideas

Get information from or command these:

Command Center

Dashboards on Home Assistant OS pull all pertinent information into one place.

Smart Lighting

Smart bulbs come in all shapes and sizes. Start small with a lighting bridge, a few smart bulbs, and an app; or go whole house upgrade! Either way I can help.

Dumb Lighting

Not ready for smart lighting yet? I can help with controlling the bulbs you currently have.

Sensors

Sensors convey information about your surroundings. Some examples of easily incorporated sensors:

  • Motion Detector
  • Temperature/Humidity
  • Door/Window
HVAC

One of the most satisfying things to automate is your HVAC system. Normally, to change the temperature, a trip to the thermostat is necessary. You also have to deal with some rooms not matching the setpoint.

After I integrate your HVAC system, you'll be able to change the setpoint from your mobile device and you can regulate based on temperatures in different locations.

Smart Appliances

Any appliance that boasts IoT connectivity will probably be controllable and provide insight into it's operations. Basically, if there is an app to control it; I should be able to control it. Honorable mentions:

  • TVs
  • Surround Sound Systems
  • Litter Robots
  • Dishwashers
  • Washers/Dryers
Dumb Appliances

Pre-IoT appliances are much harder to control but there are options. For instance:

  • Switch-bot - A tiny device that will manually actuate buttons/switches. (Not a sponsor)
  • Smart Receptacles (Outlets) - Allow power to the device or prevent it.
  • Infrared Transmitters - If a remote controls the device, I may be able to capture and resend those signals.
Sun position at your location

The sun isn't as obvious as the others and we certainly can't control it. But, We can do things based on it's azimuth and elevation! Some notable mentions:

  • Figure out if the sun is shining into a window and close the motorized shade.
  • Turn patio lights on at dusk.
  • Activate sprinkler systems at solar noon.

Triggers

Do stuff with the information that was gathered!

  • Do something when the sun goes down.
  • .. when it is dark in a room.
  • .. when motion is detected.
  • .. when motion is not detected for 10 minutes.
  • .. when the temperature leaves the comfort zone.
  • .. when the dishwasher finishes a cycle.
  • .. when the user actuates a toggle switch on the dashboard.
  • .. when the media player is paused.
  • .. when a door is opened.
  • .. when it is a specific time of day.
  • .. when the printer ink hits a certain threshold.

Actions

Possible do somethings from Triggers section:

  • Turn lights on or off.
  • Change the color, brightness, or color temperature of a smart light.
  • Control a HVAC system.
  • Send a push notification to a mobile device.
  • Play a text to speech (TTS) message through a media player.
  • Start a timer.
  • Fire a custom event.
  • Play a doorbell sound through a media player.
  • Turn on a smart TV.
  • Adjust the volume of a smart TV.
  • Control a dumb appliance using infrared signals (mimic using the remote).
  • Lower a shade.
  • Power a smart outlet.
  • Interact with an external system/database/website.
  • AND MANY MORE!

Automations

Think of automations as marrying the triggers and actions. I'll walk you through one of my favorite automations:

Home Theater

It's movie night! Your family walks into your home theater where a motion sensor greets everyone with lights at 100% brightness. As you're finding your seat, you notice that your media player has powered on which in turn powered on your surround sound system and your smart TV. Your automation system configures your surround sound system to use the "movie" preset without interaction. As soon as the media player starts playing, the lights turn off without interaction. Ten minutes into the movie, someone has to potty. You pause the media player and notice that the lights came on at about 10% and are a nice warm color temperature. Your little one finished in the restroom and returns so you press play and the lights automatically go off again.

I connect all the moving pieces together to make a beautiful automation and I expose things that you may want to change. Here are the dashboard items that I exposed for this automation: