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Home Assistant Setup & Support

I've been running Home Assistant for years managing a complex home automation setup, and I can help you get started with it, migrate from proprietary systems, or expand what you're already doing with custom integrations and automations.

Home Assistant is open source home automation software that runs locally on your network and connects to smart devices from hundreds of manufacturers. It gives you complete control over your home automation running entirely on your own hardware.

I work with businesses, organisations, and individuals who want professional help setting up their automation infrastructure or building custom solutions on top of Home Assistant.

What I can help with

Initial setup and configuration

Getting Home Assistant running properly involves choosing the right hardware, installing the software, securing it, setting up backups, and connecting your first devices. I can handle the full installation on a Raspberry Pi, old laptop, or dedicated server, or help you work through it yourself if you want to learn the process.

I'll make sure your setup is secure, backed up properly, and accessible the way you need it - whether that's just on your local network, through a reverse proxy, or via Tailscale for remote access without exposing anything to the internet.

Dashboard design

Home Assistant's default dashboards are functional but often overwhelming. I can design clean, simple dashboards that show exactly what you need - whether that's monitoring solar panels and battery levels, controlling heating zones, tracking energy usage, or managing lighting scenes.

Good dashboards make the difference between automation you actually use and automation you ignore. I'll work with you to figure out what information matters and design interfaces that make sense for your specific setup.

Automations and logic

The real power of Home Assistant is automating things so they just work without thinking about them. I can build automations that adjust heating based on occupancy and weather, turn lights on and off sensibly, manage EV charging based on solar production, notify you about important events, or trigger complex sequences across multiple devices.

I work in YAML directly or through the UI depending on complexity, and I can teach you how to build your own automations once you understand the patterns.

Device integration

I've integrated Tado radiators, Tasmota lights and plugs, WLED LED strips, Shelly plugs, OpenEVSE electric vehicle chargers, Solax inverters, and various other devices into Home Assistant setups. Different manufacturers use different protocols - Zigbee, Z-Wave, WiFi, MQTT - and I can help you choose compatible devices and get them talking to Home Assistant properly.

If you've got devices that don't have official integrations, I can often get them working through custom components, MQTT bridges, or REST APIs.

Migration from proprietary systems

Stuck on an expensive subscription service or proprietary hub that's being discontinued? I can help you migrate to Home Assistant and regain control of your devices. Some integrations are straightforward, others require replacing hardware, and I'll give you honest advice about what's feasible and what the trade-offs are.

You'll own your automation setup completely.

API integrations and custom development

If you need Home Assistant to talk to other systems - pushing data to your business systems, triggering automations from external events, building custom sensors that pull data from APIs, or exposing Home Assistant controls to other applications - I can build those integrations.

I've worked with MQTT extensively, built custom REST API integrations, and developed solutions using Node-RED for complex automation logic that's easier to visualise and debug than pure YAML.

Teaching and support

Home Assistant has excellent documentation but it's a lot to absorb. I can teach you how it all works - from basic concepts through to advanced automation patterns. We can work through your specific setup together, and I'll explain everything so you're confident making changes yourself.

If you're local to Prestwich or Manchester, we can meet in person to work through your setup. For remote clients, we can work via video call or I can provide written guidance and support via email.

Experience and technical details

My personal Home Assistant setup includes:

  • Tado smart radiator valves for room-by-room heating control
  • Tasmota open source firmware on various lights and plugs for local control
  • WLED for addressable LED strip control with effects and automation
  • Shelly plugs monitoring power consumption
  • OpenEVSE electric vehicle charger integration for solar-smart charging
  • Solax inverter monitoring for solar production and battery status
  • MQTT broker for reliable device communication
  • Node-RED for visual automation flows
  • Guest WiFi networks (2.4GHz) for IoT device isolation
  • Reverse proxies and Tailscale for secure remote access

I can help you with any of these systems or work with whatever devices you already have or are planning to buy.

Who this is for

Businesses and organisations wanting professional automation setups - whether that's office lighting and climate control, monitoring systems, energy management, or custom solutions specific to your operations.

Individuals who want expert help rather than spending months figuring it out themselves, or who've hit limitations with their current setup and need someone who can solve complex problems.

People migrating away from proprietary systems that are expensive, being discontinued, or just frustrating to use.

Everyone who works with me gets open source solutions. If you decide you want to manage it yourself later, or hire someone else, everything is accessible and documented.

Pricing

Like all my services, I charge a flat hourly rate - £200 per hour for commercial work, or £100 per hour for charities, cooperatives, artists, musicians, vegan businesses, and renewable energy companies.

Initial discussions about what you need are free. I'll provide estimates before starting any work so you know what to expect.

Simple setups might take 2-3 hours. Complex migrations or custom integrations could be 10-20 hours depending on what's involved. I'll break down exactly what each stage requires and give you options for doing some parts yourself if you want to reduce costs.

All code I write is open source and yours to keep.

Prestwich and remote work

I'm based in Prestwich, just north of Manchester, and happy to meet local clients in person. Sometimes it's easier to sort out technical issues when you're actually looking at the hardware and network setup together. We can meet at a local cafe like Cuckoo or I can visit your premises if that suits better.

For clients outside Manchester, I work remotely and can guide you through setup via video calls, or work independently if you prefer and provide documentation of everything configured.

Let's get started

Contact me using the form below to discuss your home automation needs. Whether you're starting from scratch, stuck with a problem, or want to expand what you're already doing - I can help you build reliable automation that actually makes your life easier.