One interface, learned in ten minutes
Wall keypads, one app and voice control all drive the same logic. Guests can operate the lights without instructions, and nobody hunts for the right app to turn the heating up.
Derby · Official Loxone Partner
Smart Home AutomationIn Derby, Wired AndProgrammed By One Team
One system that runs lighting, heating, shading, audio, security and energy — designed, first-fixed and programmed by the same NAPIT Full Scope contractor, so the cabling and the control strategy agree with each other from day one.
16+ years in domestic, commercial and industrial control · 6-year NAPIT-backed workmanship guarantee on qualifying installations
16+ years
Domestic, commercial and industrial experience
Full Scope
NAPIT registered for all aspects of electrical work
6-year
NAPIT-backed workmanship guarantee on qualifying installs
£10m
Public and employers' liability cover
Free
Initial consultation, no obligation
The service
One control system instead of five apps and a hope
Smart home automation is the practice of putting every service in the building — lighting circuits, heating zones, blinds, audio, cameras, door entry, EV charging and energy monitoring — onto a single controller that understands what the house is doing rather than a collection of gadgets that each understand one thing. As an official Loxone Partner we lead with Loxone where it is the right fit, and design on Lutron, Rako, KNX, ClickSmart, HD Anywhere and Sonos where it is not.
The work begins at the consumer unit and the first fix, not at the app. A properly automated house needs lighting circuits split by function rather than by room, dedicated data runs back to a central rack, low-voltage cabling for sensors and keypads, and a control cabinet with room to grow. Get that right and the programming is straightforward. Get it wrong and no amount of software will rescue it, which is why we are an electrical contractor first and an integrator second.
It is not all or nothing. Plenty of clients start with heating control or a single floor of lighting, with the infrastructure sized so the system extends later without lifting floors twice. Others automate an entire new build from the drawings. Both routes are designed the same way — around how you actually live in the building, not around a product catalogue.
Who this is for
- New builds and full renovations where first fix has not yet started and the wiring can be designed properly
- Existing homes with an accessible loft, basement or plant area where retrofit cabling is realistic
- Owners tired of running a separate app for lighting, heating, audio and cameras
- Developers and architects who need a control specification issued before the electrician arrives
- Clients who want to start with one room now and expand across the house later without a second rewire
- Landlords and holiday-let owners who need heating, lighting and access controlled remotely
What it costs to leave it
The wiring decisions you make this month decide what the house can do for twenty years
The expensive failure in home automation is almost never a faulty product. It is a house that was plastered and decorated before anyone asked how it should behave. Once the walls are closed, adding a keypad by the door, a sensor on the landing or a data run to the plant room stops being a morning's work and becomes a chase, a re-skim and a repaint in a room you have just finished.
The second failure is fragmentation. A heating app from one supplier, cameras from another, cloud-tied speakers from a third and lighting from a fourth. Each works alone; none work together. Nothing can trigger anything else, every firmware update risks a new incompatibility, and when one manufacturer withdraws a cloud service the hardware in your wall becomes ornamental.
Then there is reliance on the internet for things that should never need it. A house that cannot switch a light on because a remote server is down is worse than a house with ordinary switches. Our systems run locally on the controller in the property, so lighting, heating and shading keep working whether the broadband is up or not, with remote access as a convenience rather than a dependency.
Mistakes we get called out to fix
- Signing off first fix before any control strategy exists, then paying twice to retrofit cabling
- Splitting lighting circuits room by room when scene control needs them split by function
- No dedicated data run or space allowed for a control cabinet and its ventilation
- Buying cloud-only devices that stop working the day a manufacturer changes their service
- Letting three trades each install their own hub with no plan for how they communicate
- Choosing a platform on price alone, then finding nobody local can programme or maintain it
How the job runs
A fixed sequence, so nothing
gets decided on the fly
01
Free consultation
We walk the property or read the drawings, listen to how you want the building to behave, and tell you honestly which parts are worth automating and which are not.
02
Design (chargeable)
Once you decide to progress we produce the design: system schematics, circuit splits, cable schedules, cabinet layout and the control strategy — so nothing is guessed on site.
03
First fix
Containment, mains and data cabling, back boxes, sensor positions and the control cabinet installed before plaster, all tested and labelled against the schedule.
04
Second fix and programming
Keypads, drivers, dimmers and touch interfaces fitted, then the system programmed to your scenes, schedules and automations rather than to factory defaults.
05
Test, certify and hand over
Full electrical testing and certification, functional testing of every scene, a walkthrough with everyone who lives there, and optional remote or in-person maintenance afterwards.
What you actually get
Measurable outcomes, not adjectives
Runs without the internet
Automation logic lives on the controller in your property. Lighting, heating, shading and door entry keep working during an outage; remote access is a bonus, not a requirement.
Lower running costs by default
Heating follows presence and room temperature instead of a single hallway stat, shading limits summer solar gain, and lighting switches itself off in empty rooms — every day, without anyone remembering.
Expands without a second rewire
Spare capacity in the cabinet and cabling means adding cinema, cameras, EV load management or solar monitoring later is a configuration job, not a building job.
Safer while you are away
Presence simulation, leak and smoke inputs, camera events and door entry all sit in the same system, so a detected problem can shut a valve, raise the lights and alert your phone in one action.
Guaranteed and supported
Qualifying installation work carries a 6-year NAPIT-backed workmanship guarantee; other work carries a minimum of one year, with maintenance packages available beyond that.
In detail
Platforms, cabling and what changes between a retrofit and a new build
Automation is a wiring discipline before it is a software one. The detail below is what we specify, install and programme most often across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and the wider East Midlands, and how those decisions differ between an occupied house and a project still on paper.
Platforms we design and programme
We are an official Loxone Partner and lead with Loxone where the project suits it, because the logic runs locally and one controller covers lighting, heating, shading, audio and security. Where a client or architect has already specified something else, or where the aesthetic demands a particular keypad range, we design on the appropriate alternative instead.
- Loxone Miniserver and extensions for whole-property control and local logic
- Lutron and Rako for lighting-led projects with specific keypad and dimming requirements
- KNX where an open, multi-vendor bus is specified by the architect or M&E consultant
- ClickSmart for cost-sensitive lighting and blind control retrofits
- HD Anywhere and Sonos for video distribution and multiroom audio integration
- Hikvision and Ajax security hardware tied into the same automation events
Cabling, containment and the control cabinet
Nearly every long-term problem we are called to fix traces back to cable that was never installed. Our designs put structured cabling back to a central position, keep mains and data separated correctly, and leave documented spare capacity so the next change is cheap.
- Cat6 or Cat6a home runs to every TV point, access point, camera and touch interface
- Lighting circuits split by function and load so scenes can be built properly
- Low-voltage tree or bus cabling to keypads, sensors, thermostats and blind motors
- A ventilated control cabinet sized with spare DIN capacity for future extensions
- Every core labelled and recorded on an as-installed schedule handed over at completion
New build versus retrofit
The same outcome is reachable both ways; the route differs. On a new build we specify from the drawings and everything hides in the structure. In an occupied home we plan routes through lofts, floor voids and existing risers, and use wireless or hybrid devices where a cable genuinely cannot go without damaging finishes.
- New build: control strategy issued before first fix, all cabling concealed, no compromises
- Renovation: automation designed alongside the rewire so both happen once
- Occupied retrofit: staged room by room, working around the family and decorated surfaces
- Hybrid wired and wireless devices where a chase would mean re-plastering a finished room
- Listed and period properties: surface containment and fitting choices agreed before work begins
What we automate most often
Clients rarely ask for automation in the abstract. They ask for a specific irritation to stop happening. These are the jobs that come up most, and they are equally valid as a starting point or as part of a whole-house scheme.
- Scene lighting in kitchens, living spaces and bathrooms with circadian evening dimming
- Room-by-room heating and underfloor zoning tied to occupancy rather than one hall stat
- Automated blinds and shading to cut solar gain and glare without anyone drawing a curtain
- Garden and façade lighting on astronomical timing, correct to the minute all year
- Cinema and multiroom audio integrated with lighting scenes on one press
- Camera, alarm, door entry, leak detection and EV charging events feeding the same logic
Before you enquire
Smart home automation questions,
answered straight
How much does smart home automation cost in Derby?
We do not publish prices, and any figure quoted before seeing a property would be misleading — a single heating zone and a whole-house Loxone install are different orders of work. The initial consultation is free, design is chargeable only once you decide to progress, and you receive a written quotation before committing to anything.
How long does an installation take?
A single-room or single-service project is typically a few days. A whole-house system on a new build runs alongside the construction programme, with first fix before plaster and second fix and programming near completion. We give you the sequence and durations in writing at quotation stage so it can be planned into the build.
Do I have to automate the entire house at once?
No. There is no fixed package. Many clients begin with heating or one floor of lighting and expand later. The important part is that the cabling and the control cabinet are designed at the start for where you want to end up, so expansion is configuration rather than construction.
Are you tied to Loxone?
We are an official Loxone Partner and recommend it where it is the right fit, because the logic runs locally and one system covers every service. We also design, install and programme Lutron, Rako, KNX, ClickSmart, HD Anywhere and Sonos when the project or the specification calls for it.
What happens if the internet goes down?
Nothing that matters. All automation logic runs on the controller inside the property, so lighting, heating, shading, door entry and scenes continue working normally. Remote access from your phone is the only thing that pauses until the connection returns.
How long will the system last, and can it be updated?
The cabling and containment are a twenty-year asset if specified properly. Controllers and interfaces are updated in software, and we deliberately design cabinets with spare capacity so hardware can be added without replacing what is already there.
What guarantee comes with the work?
Qualifying installation work carries a 6-year workmanship guarantee backed by NAPIT. All other work carries a minimum one-year guarantee. We also hold £10m public liability, £10m employers' liability and £1m professional indemnity, and can issue RAMS for any project on request.
Do you offer support after handover?
Yes. Remote and in-person maintenance packages are available, which is how most changes get made — a new scene, a revised schedule or an added device is usually handled remotely without a site visit.
Do you cover emergencies or out-of-hours faults?
Emergency and out-of-hours support is available on request for automation and commercial clients. It is not sold as a standard guaranteed service, but ask and we will tell you honestly what we can do for your system.
Which areas do you cover for smart home work?
Derby and the surrounding towns including Duffield, Belper, Ilkeston, Long Eaton, Ripley, Ashbourne, Matlock, Burton upon Trent, Nottingham, Chesterfield and Sheffield. Larger automation and commercial projects often travel further — ask if you are outside that list.
Related services
Where we work
Derby · Nottingham · Duffield · Belper · Burton upon Trent · Sheffield · Ilkeston · Long Eaton and the wider East Midlands. See areas covered, read more about the company or return to the homepage.
Tell us how you want
the house to behave
The initial consultation is free and carries no obligation. You will get an honest view of what is worth automating, what it involves at first fix, and the sensible place to start.
NAPIT Full Scope · Official Loxone Partner · 6-year workmanship guarantee on qualifying installations · £10m public liability