How it works

Local-first systems

Every system we design is built around a local controller inside your home, not a server somewhere else. This page explains exactly what that means in practice: what keeps working when the internet goes down, and what doesn't.

Why local-first

Most smart home systems are built around the cloud. Your light switch sends a signal to a server in another country, the server decides what to do, then sends an instruction back to your home. It's fast enough that you don't notice — until the service goes down, the company gets acquired, or your internet drops out. At that point, your home stops responding.

We build differently. The automation logic runs on a local controller inside your home. Devices communicate directly with each other over your local network, without leaving the building. The internet becomes optional for the core — useful for remote access or data feeds, but not load-bearing for the fundamentals.

What keeps working

When the internet drops, anything that communicates within your local network continues without interruption:

Zigbee and Z-Wave devices

These wireless protocols operate on their own mesh networks, completely independent of the internet. Motion sensors, light switches, smart plugs, and door sensors using Zigbee or Z-Wave don't know what the internet is — they talk directly to the local controller and to each other. They work flawlessly during an outage.

Thread and Matter devices

Thread and Matter were designed with local-first operation in mind. Matter-certified devices communicate locally by default, using Thread or Wi-Fi, without requiring a cloud intermediary. They continue to work as long as your local network is up.

Local Wi-Fi integrations

Devices running open firmware (ESPHome, Tasmota) or those with documented local APIs — including Philips Hue via its local API, most Shelly relays, and LIFX — communicate directly over your home network. No external server required, no outage dependency.

Local automations

If a motion sensor triggers a light via a local automation, that will fire instantly regardless of your internet status. Time-based schedules — "turn off at 10pm", "dim to 20% at sunset" — keep running because the local controller maintains its own internal clock and calculates sunrise and sunset times itself. Your home keeps its rhythms.

What pauses during an outage

Some features depend on reaching an external server. These pause when the internet is unavailable and resume automatically when it returns:

Cloud-dependent devices

Devices from brands that require a cloud login to function — certain Tuya or SmartLife devices, Chamberlain MyQ garage openers, and similar — cannot be reached by the local controller when the internet is down. We avoid these in our specifications for exactly this reason, but if they exist in a space we're integrating, they'll be affected.

Voice assistants

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant process voice commands on remote servers. During an outage, asking your Echo or Nest Hub to turn off the lights won't work. Physical switches and the local interface continue to function normally — voice is the only thing affected.

External data feeds

Weather forecasts, pollen counts, traffic data, and calendar integrations pull from external services. These will pause or display stale data during an outage. Automations that depend on this data — "close the blinds when rain is forecast" — will not trigger until the connection returns and the data refreshes.

How we specify for resilience

When we design a system, we map every device and integration against this local/cloud distinction. Anything load-bearing — the lights, doors, climate, scenes, and security — is specified to work locally. Anything cloud-dependent is either replaced with a local alternative or clearly marked as supplemental, so you know exactly what relies on your internet connection and what doesn't.

The goal is a system that simply works — reliably, without the fundamentals depending on whether a server somewhere happens to be online.

4G and 5G backup

For clients who want an additional layer of resilience on top of local-first operation, we offer 4G and 5G cellular backup as an optional service. A cellular router is installed alongside your primary broadband connection and activates automatically — typically within seconds — if the main connection drops.

This keeps cloud-dependent features running through any broadband outage: remote access, voice assistants, weather and calendar integrations all continue without interruption. Combined with local-first architecture for your core systems, it creates two independent layers of protection — the home keeps running without the internet, and cellular backup means it rarely has to.