Every Canberra home subsystem — controlled from one place
Whole-home automation isn't a marketing line for us — it's what we've been quietly building in Canberra homes for over 45 years. Lighting on KNX or Centralite. Climate on Daikin VRV or Mitsubishi. Audio on Sonos. Video on a 4K HDMI matrix. CCTV on Unifi or Hikvision. Entry on Yale Assure smart locks and a video doorbell. Blinds on Hunter Douglas PowerView. Irrigation on a Rain Bird controller. All of it surfaced through Control4 — one wall touchscreen, one phone app, one set of scenes.
Canberra is a strong market for whole-home automation because the housing stock supports it: large blocks in the Inner South and Yarralumla, full renovations through Hughes, Curtin and Deakin, knock-down-rebuilds in Red Hill and Forrest, and acreage homes in Murrumbateman, Sutton and Bungendore. The typical brief is either a new-build (start clean, every cable rough-in done during construction) or a major renovation (retrofit on top of existing wiring, often with surface conduit colour-matched to the skirting where the house doesn't allow in-wall runs). Every project is scoped and programmed by our team — no white-labelled subcontractor, no "we'll get back to you in two weeks" for a scene change.
What we mean by 'whole-home automation'
A real whole-home automation system makes the house easier to live in, not more complicated. The morning scene raises the bedroom blinds, starts the coffee machine on a smart plug, and brings the kitchen lights up over five minutes. The away-from-home scene arms the alarm, drops the blinds, sets the climate to a setback temperature, and starts a recording on the CCTV. The movie scene dims the lounge lights, drops the blackout blinds, powers up the AVR and starts Apple TV on the correct HDMI input. Every scene is one tap. Everything you ask for at the design stage is what you get.
Common whole-home automation jobs in Canberra
- New-build full-stack integration — KNX lighting + Daikin VRV climate + Sonos audio + Hikvision CCTV + Yale entry + Hunter Douglas blinds, all surfaced through Control4
- Renovation retrofit — adding Control4 on top of an existing C-Bus or KNX install with minimal new cabling
- Acreage property full integration — gate intercom, long-driveway CCTV, perimeter lighting, automated irrigation, all on the same app
- Cinema room subsystem — 'Movie Time' scene with full lighting and blind sequencing tied to the AVR power-on event
- Energy-management scene — peak-rate avoidance, solar export prioritisation, smart hot-water timing
- Family-friendly programming — kid-safe lighting scenes, bedtime sequencing, age-locked content controls
- Holiday-mode programming — randomised lighting, blind activity, and CCTV alert thresholds when the house is empty
How a Canberra whole-home automation project runs
- Site survey and discovery. We walk the home (or read the build plans), interview each occupant, and map the scene logic before any hardware is quoted.
- System architecture. Which controller, which subsystems, which network backbone, how many touchscreens and where. Drawn out as a single-page system diagram before we price anything.
- Fixed-price design quote. Every driver, cable, touchscreen, keypad, controller and programming hour itemised. Subject to site survey conditions.
- Cabling rough-in. Structured Cat6, fibre and HDMI runs to every endpoint, dedicated VLAN structure on Unifi, AV rack location confirmed and ventilated.
- Programming and commissioning. Off-site programming, on-site commissioning, end-user training over 2–3 visits, and a 30-day tune-up included.
- Ongoing support. Remote scene-tuning included for 12 months, support contracts available after that with guaranteed response windows.
Lighting: KNX, Centralite, Lutron, DALI. Climate: Daikin VRV, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Fujitsu, Honeywell. Audio: Sonos, Yamaha, Sonance, Storm Audio. Video: Samsung, Sony and LG displays, Sony / JVC projection, 4K HDMI matrices. CCTV: Hikvision (value), Unifi Protect (premium residential). Entry: Yale Assure, Salto KS, Unifi Access. Blinds and screens: Hunter Douglas PowerView, Lutron Serena, Somfy. Network: Unifi access points, switches and Dream Machine SE backbone with dedicated VLANs. Controller layer: Control4 EA-5, CA-10 and EA-1. Every system designed and programmed in-house.
Other services we deliver in Canberra
Frequently asked — Canberra whole-home automation
What's the smallest sensible whole-home automation project?
An entry-level integration — lighting (8–12 zones) + AV (one Sonos zone + TV) + climate (one Daikin VRV) + CCTV (4 cameras) — typically starts around $30,000–$50,000 fitted. Below that scope, individual subsystems on their own apps usually make more sense than a full integration layer.
How long does a whole-home automation project take?
Renovation retrofits typically run 4–8 weeks from sign-off to commissioning. New builds are coordinated with the builder over the construction window — rough-in during framing, equipment install after lockup, programming and commissioning at handover. Most new-build Canberra projects run 3–6 months end-to-end.
Who actually programs the system?
We do. Programming is done in-house, not subcontracted to a Sydney or Melbourne integrator. That means scene changes after handover are turned around in days, not weeks, and our team holds the project file long-term.
Will it work without the internet?
Yes — every subsystem (lighting, climate, AV, security, entry) continues to work locally without an internet connection. The Control4 controller runs on the local network. Only the remote-access features (controlling the home from your phone while at the airport) need the internet.
Can you take over a system another integrator started and left half-finished?
Yes — we've done a number of 'rescue' projects in Canberra where another integrator quoted a system and never finished the programming. We charge a flat audit fee to evaluate what's there, then a fixed-price quote to bring it to a workable standard.
Do you offer an ongoing support contract?
Yes. After the included 12 months of remote tune-up, we offer annual support contracts with guaranteed response windows (typically next-business-day for non-critical, same-day for critical scenes failing). Contracts are scoped to the actual system size, not a one-size-fits-all rate.
Free consultation in Canberra
Fixed-price quotes after a site survey — no surprises, no obligations. Subject to standard conditions.
Book a free consultation Call 02 6299 1414Nearby suburbs we also cover
Forrest, Yarralumla, Red Hill, Deakin, Manuka, O'Malley — and the full service area list covering the ACT, Queanbeyan, Murrumbateman, Bungendore and Googong.