Home automation in Auckland usually starts with one job, not a whole house. The answers here come from Jordan Statham, director of The Conduction Company, a registered electrician and electrical inspector whose team fits smart home controls in Auckland homes.
The Conduction Company fits Shelly relays and PDL Wiser switches to the wiring Auckland homes already have. Lights, blinds, power points and the hot water cylinder can then run on a schedule from your phone. Jordan Statham calls whole-home automation a nice-to-have for most families.
What smart home work does The Conduction Company do most often?
Switching and control, says The Conduction Company: making lights, power points and appliances run from a phone or on a schedule. Lights get mood settings and timers, and a power point can switch a device on at a set time. "It's basically just switching or controlling any electrical fitting within your home," Jordan Statham says. It sits alongside the company's power and lighting work in Auckland homes.
By far the most common job is a smart relay on the hot water cylinder, The Conduction Company finds. If your power plan has cheaper rates overnight or at set times of day, a Wi-Fi timer lets you set the heating times on your phone. The cylinder then heats only when power costs less, and Jordan Statham says that can "save a bunch of money". The company's hot water cylinder services cover the cylinder itself.
The Conduction Company's next most common jobs are lighting controllers, set up in the PDL Wiser app for moods and schedules, and automated blinds on the same Wiser system.
On solar jobs, The Conduction Company pairs Shelly relays with the solar controller so appliances run while the panels are producing. Using that power yourself, rather than exporting it to the grid, gives "a much better return on investment", Jordan Statham says. The same goes for an EV charger set to charge when the solar output is at its highest. Both sit with the company's solar power systems and EV charger installation.
A full smart home system, with every light and power outlet on smart control, is less common, The Conduction Company says. It mostly comes up on new builds, where "it is the right time to install it".
Which home automation systems in NZ does The Conduction Company install?
Two: Shelly relays and the PDL Wiser system, says The Conduction Company. Jordan Statham chose them because they are reliable, need little programming, and have a simple app. "Those two systems in particular are the ones we stand behind," he says.
A Shelly relay sits in the wall behind an existing light switch and joins your Wi-Fi, and the switch is changed to a press button that still works the lights. PDL Wiser uses its own switches and modules, linked through a home hub. Shelly and PDL publish Australia/New Zealand safety certificates for their smart switches, and The Conduction Company buys both through New Zealand electrical wholesalers.
Is home automation worth it?
For an ordinary Auckland family, mostly not, says The Conduction Company. "Most of the time, not really. It's very much a nice to have," Jordan Statham says. You can do some clever things with it, but for the average Auckland home a whole-home system is overkill.
The people who get the most from it, in The Conduction Company's experience, are technology fans who treat it almost as a hobby, and owners of high-end homes who want the best system available. Solving one problem, such as timing the hot water cylinder, is a smaller job, and it is most of what the company is asked to do. If you are not sure which appliance is worth timing, the company's power logging for Auckland homes shows what is using the power.
How much does a smart home system cost?
It depends on how much of the house you want to control, says The Conduction Company. Every extra relay adds cost, so a bigger house with more light banks and power outlets costs more. One set of lounge lights needs a single unit, which costs far less than a whole-home system.
Can you upgrade an existing house to a smart home without rewiring?
Yes, in the vast majority of houses, says The Conduction Company. Standard light switches can all be made smart without a full rewire. The exception is two-way switching, such as a hallway light with a switch at each end, in a house with no ceiling space or underfloor to get into. Then the cables between the two switches sometimes need replacing.
Do you need a smart home hub?
The Conduction Company recommends a hub on your home Wi-Fi, or devices that join Wi-Fi directly, over Bluetooth control. A hub is what lets a whole-house system grow. With a hub, each switch or relay becomes a node in a mesh, and the more nodes in the house, the stronger the signal, because they all talk to each other, Jordan Statham says.
That is how PDL Wiser works, and its hub connects to your router. PDL describes Wiser as "a mesh system whereby all mains powered Zigbee devices, except the smoke alarms, will act as signal repeaters to extend wireless coverage." Bluetooth, in PDL's words, "is a point to point connection where your phone connects to the device directly", and The Conduction Company finds that link much weaker.
Shelly relays need no hub, because each one joins your Wi-Fi directly. That means each needs a strong, steady Wi-Fi signal where it sits in the wall, The Conduction Company says. Where the signal is weak, the company's phone, data and Wi-Fi work can fix the coverage first.
What happens to a smart home when the Wi-Fi or internet drops?
With the systems The Conduction Company installs, the switches go back to working like ordinary switches, so the lights still work. "They don't need Wi-Fi to continue to operate," Jordan Statham says. A Wiser switch has a backup built in and works straight from the wall, and PDL's own guidance says a Wiser switch not yet paired to a hub "will function as normal". What waits for the connection is control from your phone, because PDL says the hub talks to your phone "via the cloud".
Can smart controls run heat pumps, garage doors or hot water too?
Yes, says The Conduction Company: almost any electrical fitting in a home can go on smart control. "The sky's really the limit," Jordan Statham says. For a garage door, the team can fit a Wiser module behind the existing door control, so the door works from the wall button and from the Wiser app. A sensor can also send a phone alert when the door is left open, and switch the garage lights on when it opens.
Many of the heat pumps The Conduction Company installs already have app control, and Wi-Fi control can be added to a unit that does not have it built in. Hot water timing is the company's most common smart job, covered above.
Pre-wire vs retrofit: should smart home wiring go in during a new build?
During the build, says The Conduction Company, especially where lights have two-way or three-way switching. Jordan Statham says the right cabling for smart switches has to be thought about ahead of time and run at the build stage. The company plans it as part of its electrical work for renovations and new builds.
For a more complex build, Jordan Statham of The Conduction Company points to systems such as C-Bus. Instead of ordinary power cable, data cable runs from each switch point back to a central controller. The wall switches send a signal to that controller, which does the switching and the scheduling.
What smart home work will The Conduction Company not take on?
Any smart device with no proof that it is safe, says The Conduction Company. If a client has already bought a device and it has the correct documentation, the company can install it. In every case, though, The Conduction Company prefers to supply the devices itself. It can then be sure of their safety, and the cost is typically the same or lower, because the company has supplier discounts. It also covers the warranty, labour included, which is a better deal for the client.
Cheap smart relays from overseas shopping sites usually come with no such proof. The Conduction Company also no longer fits some budget brands that are certified for use in New Zealand. After fitting a couple that clients supplied, Jordan Statham found them so poorly built that the team no longer touches them.
The reason is the electrician's duty, not a ban on the product. Under the Electricity (Safety) Regulations, anyone doing electrical work must make sure the result is electrically safe. The certificate of compliance for new work must confirm it "has been done lawfully and safely". The wiring rules, AS/NZS 3000, also require equipment to be "selected and installed so as not to cause a danger from electric shock, fire, high temperature or physical injury". With no proof a device meets a safety standard, The Conduction Company cannot honestly sign that certificate, so it does not fit the device.
The systems The Conduction Company supplies are the ones it stands behind, Shelly and PDL Wiser, bought through New Zealand electrical wholesalers.
What goes wrong with cheap smart switches people buy online and fit?
Fires, in The Conduction Company's experience. Jordan Statham says the team has been to at least three homes where a cheap relay the owner had fitted started a fire.
Price and where you bought it are not the real test, says The Conduction Company. Proof of safety is. Smart relays and smart switches are not on WorkSafe's lists of declared high-risk and medium-risk electrical products, so they need no New Zealand approval before they are sold. The easy check is the RCM mark, a tick inside a triangle. AS/NZS 3000 says equipment bearing it "can be presumed to comply", although WorkSafe calls the mark voluntary.
For anything with Wi-Fi, Radio Spectrum Management, the government's radio regulator, tells buyers to look for a compliance mark: "If it doesn't, don't buy it." The Conduction Company goes further and does not recommend fitting any smart device found online.
If you fit one yourself and it starts a fire, the damage "may not be covered by your insurance company", says Jordan Statham of The Conduction Company. WorkSafe notes that a certificate of compliance "may be required for insurance claims or when you are selling your home."
Does The Conduction Company install Control4 or Crestron?
Yes, The Conduction Company takes on Control4 and Crestron jobs and subcontracts the specialist programming. Specialists work with each of those systems, and Jordan Statham says the programming is too in-depth for the company to focus on. So The Conduction Company runs the job and brings in a specialist contractor for that part.
What do you do with an old automation system nobody can use any more?
The Conduction Company has three ways to deal with it, depending on the system. Many are failing systems from the 1990s that the owners simply want gone.
Where the switches are wired with data cable and the house does not suit rewiring, The Conduction Company can turn it into a manual system. Ordinary relays and a small extra-low-voltage power supply let the wall switches work like normal switches, in whatever switch style you choose, without rewiring. If you still want smart control, the existing cabling can usually carry modern smart home products that work much better.
Or the old system comes out completely. The Conduction Company removes the control cabling, changes the circuits to standard wiring, and fits a new switchboard where one is needed, as part of its switchboard upgrades.
In short
Home automation in Auckland is mostly about solving one problem at a time, such as timing the hot water cylinder to cheaper power. The Conduction Company fits Shelly relays and PDL Wiser switches to the wiring a house already has, and most houses need no rewiring. From its own Auckland jobs, the company sees a whole-home system as a nice-to-have that suits new builds, technology fans and high-end homes. It prefers to supply the devices itself, and it will not fit one with no proof it is safe, because it could not certify the work.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a smart home installation cost?
It depends on how much of the house you want to control, says The Conduction Company. A single unit for one set of lounge lights costs far less than a whole-home system, because every extra relay adds cost. The company prices each job after a property assessment.
Can a smart light switch cause the RCD to trip?
It can. On one job, The Conduction Company traced repeated trips of the RCD (safety switch) on a patio lighting circuit to a smart lighting control that needed a reset. If your RCD keeps tripping, have an electrician find the cause rather than resetting it again and again.
What does Crestron home automation cost?
The Conduction Company prices a Crestron job after a property assessment, with the specialist programming subcontracted to a Crestron specialist. The cost depends on the size of the house and how much of it the system controls.
Can I install a smart switch myself?
No. The Conduction Company says an electrician should fit any smart switch or smart relay. A relay behind a switch, or anything in the switchboard such as a hot water timer relay, is work for a licensed electrician, and the electrician certifies the work is safe.
How can I tell if a smart device is safe to use in New Zealand?
Look for the RCM mark, a tick inside a triangle, and ask for the product's Australia/New Zealand safety certificate, The Conduction Company advises. If there is no mark, do not buy it. The mark is voluntary, so it is the easy check rather than the only proof.
Will insurance cover a fire from a smart switch I fitted myself?
It may not, says Jordan Statham of The Conduction Company. Policies differ, and fire damage from electrical work that was not done lawfully can put a claim at risk. A certificate of compliance from your electrician is a record insurers may ask for.
