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Smart Home Setup

A smart home that isn't a second job

Smart home gear is sold one box at a time, which is how people end up with five apps, three voice assistants, and a light switch their spouse refuses to touch. We install the pieces, connect them into one system you control from one place, and set up the handful of automations you'll genuinely use.

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  • Smart thermostats — a real lever on a Tucson cooling bill
  • Smart locks, keypads and garage controllers
  • Lighting, switches and dimmers that work like switches
  • Smart irrigation for desert landscaping
  • Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home, unified

Climate — where the money is

In Tucson, cooling is the biggest line on the bill for most of the year. A smart thermostat that's actually configured — schedules that match when you're home, sensible setbacks, remote sensors in the rooms that run hot — is one of the few smart home upgrades that pays for itself. One that's installed and left on defaults mostly just looks nice.

A thermostat on defaults compared with one on a scheduleA day from morning to night, split into home, away, home again and asleep. On defaults the setpoint is one flat line and the air conditioning runs in blocks all day, including while the house is empty. On a schedule the setpoint steps up while everyone is away, so there are far fewer air conditioning blocks in that stretch. Below, a small floorplan shows a remote sensor in a hot back bedroom reporting to the thermostat in the hall.MorningNightHomeAwayHomeAsleepLeft on defaultsone setting, all dayScheduledsets back while you're outHallBack bedroomsetpointAC running
  1. Left on defaults, it holds one setting and cools an empty house all afternoon.
  2. Scheduled, it sets back while you're out, so the AC runs less through the hottest hours.
  3. A remote sensor in the bedroom that runs hot tells it how that room actually feels.
The savings come from the schedule and the setbacks, not from the device on the wall.
  • Nest, Ecobee and Honeywell installation and configuration
  • Remote room sensors for the bedrooms that never cool
  • Schedules and setbacks built around your actual day
  • Multi-zone and heat pump systems
  • C-wire troubleshooting and adapters

Doors, locks and the garage

Smart locks are the upgrade people are most nervous about and end up using most. Codes for the dog walker, the cleaner, and the kid who forgets keys — all revocable, all logged, no key hidden under a rock.

Scheduled per-person codes on a smart lockA keypad deadbolt beside a list of codes. The dog walker's code works on weekdays, the cleaner's on Thursdays, the kids' any time, and a visitor's for one day only. An access log records who unlocked the door and when. The visitor's code has expired and is crossed out, and a spare key hidden under a rock is crossed out because it is no longer needed.MTWTFSSDog walker••••weekdaysCleaner••••ThursdaysKids••••any timeVisitor••••one dayexpiredACCESS LOGDog walker · TuesdayCleaner · Thursdayno hidden key
  1. Everyone gets their own code, limited to the days they actually come.
  2. Every unlock is logged, so you can see who came in and when.
  3. A one-off code expires on its own, and any code can be deleted from your phone.
Codes for the dog walker, the cleaner and the kid who forgets keys. All revocable, all logged.
  • Smart deadbolts and keypad locks fitted to your existing door
  • Per-person codes with schedules and expiry
  • Video doorbell integration
  • Garage door controllers, including myQ and alternatives

Lighting and switches

The rule we hold to: a smart light must still work like a light. If the wall switch doesn't turn it on, it's a downgrade. We favor smart switches over smart bulbs in most rooms for exactly this reason, and we'll say so even though bulbs are the easier sell.

Smart bulb

The wall switch becomes a trap

A smart bulb after someone flips the wall switch offWith a smart bulb, someone flipping the wall switch off cuts power to the bulb, so the app and voice assistant lose it entirely until the switch is turned back on.OFFUnreachableApp · no responseApp · worksVoice · no responseVoice · works

Smart switch

Still a light switch to everyone else

A smart switch, which keeps working for everyoneWith a smart switch, the wall switch keeps working normally for anyone in the room while the app and voice control keep working too, because the switch itself never loses power.ONAlways reachableApp · worksVoice · works
  1. Someone flips the wall switch off, like anyone would.
  2. A smart bulb loses power, so the app and voice assistant can't reach it.
  3. A smart switch stays powered. The wall switch works, and so do the app and voice.
Why we push switches over bulbs in most rooms, even though bulbs are the easier thing to sell.
  • Smart switches, dimmers and three-way setups
  • Bulbs where fixtures make switches impractical
  • Scenes for evening, away and entertaining
  • Outdoor, landscape and patio lighting control

Water, in a place that doesn't have much

Desert landscaping and smart irrigation are made for each other. A controller that watches the forecast and skips a cycle after rain saves real water, and leak sensors on a water heater or under a sink have paid for themselves the first time they've gone off.

A smart irrigation controller skipping watering after rain, and a leak alertA week of watering days from Monday to Sunday. A storm cloud rains on Thursday, and the controller crosses out the watering on Thursday and Friday because the yard is already wet. Below, water drips from a water heater onto a leak sensor on the floor, which sends a “leak detected” alert to a phone.Smart irrigationMonTueWedThuFriSatSunskipped: it rainedLeak sensorLeak detectedWater heater
  1. A monsoon storm waters the yard for free.
  2. The controller knows it rained and skips the watering it doesn't need.
  3. A leak sensor under the water heater alerts your phone as soon as it gets wet.
Two small devices that earn their keep in a desert house.
  • Rachio and similar smart irrigation controllers
  • Zone schedules built for desert plants and monsoon season
  • Leak sensors at heaters, sinks and washers
  • Pool equipment and solar monitoring apps

Making it one system

The last step is the one that usually gets skipped: pulling everything into a single app and a single set of names that make sense. 'Hey Google, goodnight' should lock the door, kill the lights and set the thermostat, not require three commands and a guess at what you called the lamp.

One voice routine replacing five separate appsA row of five separate smart home apps is crossed out. Instead, one spoken phrase, “Hey Google, goodnight”, goes to a hub, which sends it to four devices: the front door locks, the lights turn off, the thermostat sets for night and the garage door closes.Before: an app for every device“Hey Google,goodnight”one hub, one appFront doorUnlockedLockedLightsOnOffThermostatDaytimeSet for nightGarageOpenClosed
  1. Before, every device came with its own app and its own name for things.
  2. Now one phrase does it: “Hey Google, goodnight.”
  3. The door locks, the lights go off, the thermostat sets for night and the garage closes.
One app, names that make sense, and a handful of routines you'll actually use.
  • Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home hub setup
  • Matter and Thread devices onboarded properly
  • Consistent device naming and room assignment
  • Routines for morning, away, evening and goodnight
  • Every household member set up on their own phone

Questions

About smart home

I've bought a pile of smart gear and never set it up. Can you just do it?

That's one of our most common calls. Bring it all out of the closet, we'll install what's worth installing, tell you honestly what to return, and get the rest onto one app.

Will this still work if the internet goes down?

Partly, and it depends on the device. Locks and switches keep working locally; voice commands and remote access don't. We'll set things up so an outage is an inconvenience rather than a lockout, and tell you which pieces depend on the cloud.

Is a smart thermostat really worth it in Tucson?

It's the one we recommend most, specifically because of the cooling season. The savings come from the schedule and the setbacks, though, not the device — so it's worth having it configured rather than just installed.

Where we do this most

Oro ValleyMaranaCatalina FoothillsSaddleBrookeCorona de Tucson

While we're there

Wi-Fi & networking

from $179

Ethernet wiring

quoted per project

Security cameras

from $175 per camera

Need smart home sorted?

Tell us what's going on and we'll give you a straight answer on what it takes and what it costs.

Get a free quote (520) 891-9682
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