Home Automation (incl. Home Assistant) | Gerald's Tech

Home & Building Automation

Practical automations that make life easier and safer—without over-engineering. I design, deploy and support reliable systems using Home Assistant and compatible platforms, with clean integrations to CCTV, access control, networking, and Microsoft cloud where it adds value.

Home Assistant Expertise

  • Install on dedicated appliance, Docker, Proxmox/VM, or Raspberry Pi
  • Supervisor, backups/snapshots, secure remote access
  • MQTT broker setup (Mosquitto), discovery & namespaces
  • Blueprints, packages, Jinja templates & helpers
  • Energy dashboard, device classes, statistics & long-term storage
  • Companions: Android/iOS app, geofencing & notifications

Ecosystem & Protocols

  • Matter, Thread, Zigbee (ZHA/Zigbee2MQTT) & Z-Wave
  • Wi-Fi/TCP devices (Tuya Local, Shelly, Tasmota, ESPHome)
  • LAN APIs: Philips Hue, LIFX, Nanoleaf, Sonoff, Yeelight
  • IR/RF bridges (Broadlink), blinds/shades, relays & scenes
  • HVAC thermostats, heat pumps, fans & air quality sensors

Automations & Logic

  • Schedules, presence, sunrise/sunset, season & weather
  • Safety: leak, smoke/CO, door/window, vibration, power
  • Scenes & modes (Home/Away/Sleep/Guest/Work)
  • Adaptive lighting & circadian brightness/temperature
  • Scripted routines, variables, conditions & delays

Dashboards & Voice

  • Lovelace dashboards: mobile wall panels & desktop views
  • Room/zone pages, floorplans & kiosk mode
  • Voice Assist: Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Home (Siri)
  • TTS & voice announcements; intercom chimes & doorbells
  • Tablet docking, PoE wall panels & presence indicators

Security & CCTV Tie-ins

  • Camera streams & snapshots (RTSP/ONVIF)
  • Event-based recordings, motion zones & notifications
  • Integrate with Hikvision, Dahua, UNV & NVRs
  • Automations: lights on motion, gate/garage open alerts
  • Privacy: guest modes, masking & retention policies

Access Control & Relays

  • Door strikes/maglocks, gate motors & garage controllers
  • Keypads, RFID readers, biometrics & intercom buzz-through
  • Schedules, pin codes, geofence arrival & one-time access
  • Link access events to CCTV snapshots & notifications
  • Fail-safe logic for power loss & fire alarm inputs

Network, Reliability & Backups

  • Dedicated VLANs for IoT; mDNS, IGMP, QoS tuning
  • UPS sizing for hubs, APs, PoE switches & controllers
  • Local control first; cloud only where beneficial
  • Automated nightly snapshots & off-device backups
  • Health monitoring, watchdogs & self-healing tasks

Integrations & Cloud Services

  • Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa) for secure remote access
  • Webhooks to Teams/Email/SMS; actionable notifications
  • Microsoft 365 tie-ins where appropriate (calendars, alerts)
  • Energy provider APIs, weather services & utility rates
  • Structured logging to SIEM (optional) for smart buildings
Cloud used thoughtfully—privacy and uptime come first.

Project Delivery

  • Discovery: inventory devices, goals & constraints
  • Design: topology, protocols, placement & scenes
  • Build: pairing, naming standards & entity hygiene
  • Handover: docs, quick-ref guides & training

Support & Expansion

  • Change control, backups & rollback plans
  • Device lifecycle management & firmware cadence
  • New rooms/zones, sensors & automations on request
  • Periodic health checks & tuning sessions

Ready for Smart, Reliable Automation?

From a single room to a full smart building, I’ll design a maintainable Home Assistant setup with clean dashboards, robust automations, and clear documentation.

Plan Your Automation