Sentinel Home automation

A smart home that thinks at home.

Cameras, sensors, lights and AC working together on a node in your house, looked after by us.

Illustrative camera view with detection overlays

Built around what smart homes usually give up

Local first
Works offline
Mixes brands
Managed by Tez

Where cloud-app smart homes fall short

Plug-and-play ecosystems are fine for a single bulb. A whole home needs more.

The cloud is the brain

When the vendor's server or your internet is down, switches and schedules stop. Your data sits on servers you do not control.

One app per brand

Lights, AC, curtains and cameras each need their own app, and none of them talk to each other.

Rules with no context

If-then rules cannot tell a courier from a stranger, or home from away.

No one to call

After the install you are on your own with a help forum.

Scenarios a cloud app cannot do

Because the camera, sensors and devices share one brain, the house can act on context.

Someone at the door after dark

The camera tells a visitor from a passing shadow, then the house responds.

Sees: Person at the front door
Knows: It is night and nobody is expected
Does: Porch light on, announcement on the speaker, clip to your phone

You arrive home

Your car at the gate sets the house up before you walk in.

Sees: Your registered vehicle
Knows: It is evening and the house is empty
Does: Lights on, AC to your preferred setting

Away mode that looks lived in

Lights and curtains follow a believable pattern. You are alerted only for people, not pets or shadows.

Sees: Nobody home for hours
Knows: Schedule and sunset time
Does: Lights and curtains on a varied routine

Looking after parents

No movement by the usual morning hour is a signal worth a call. No video is shared with anyone.

Sees: No activity in the bedroom
Knows: Their normal wake-up pattern
Does: Quiet message to the family

Leak or smoke

One sensor triggers a chain, not a single beep.

Sees: Leak or smoke sensor
Knows: Which room, and whether anyone is home
Does: Alert, motor plug off, lights on

Energy that follows you

AC and geyser run when someone needs them, with the meter on the same screen.

Sees: Room occupancy and power meter
Knows: Time of day and usage so far
Does: Switch off idle loads, daily usage summary

Internet down, home still works

Lights, sensors and rules run on the node, so an outage does not take the house with it.

Sees: Internet link drops
Knows: Local rules are unaffected
Does: Everything keeps running, remote access resumes later

Voice and wall panel

Ask the house, or tap a wall panel. Both are answered on the node, not in a data centre.

Sees: A voice command or a tap
Knows: Which room you are in
Does: Lights, curtains, AC and scenes respond

Beyond automation

Your home network, protected and private

The same node that runs your home also looks after the network around it.

Whole-home ad blocking and family DNS

Ad and tracker blocking is on from day one for every phone, TV and laptop on your Wi-Fi, with no app to install.

Ads and trackers blocked across the house by default
See which sites each device asks for, to keep an eye on children's activity
Block categories per device, or on a schedule such as study time and bedtime
The query log is stored at home, not in someone's cloud

Shows domains, not messages or content. A device using its own VPN or private DNS can bypass it.

Your own private VPN

Route your phone or laptop through your home Sentinel node when you are away. Public Wi-Fi becomes safe and your blocking follows you.

Encrypted tunnel to your home, with no open firewall ports
Ad blocking and family rules apply when you travel
Reach cameras, dashboards and files at home from anywhere
Your traffic exits from your own connection, not a shared VPN provider

How Sentinel Home compares

Cloud-app systems are cheapest and shallowest. KNX is the premium wired standard. Sentinel sits between them, with most of the outcome and far less effort.

Feature	Cloud-app systems	Sentinel Home	KNX
Works without internet	Often limited	Yes, runs on the node	Yes
Camera AI in the same rules	Separate apps	Built in	Needs separate systems
Mixes brands and protocols	One ecosystem each	Matter, Zigbee, Thread, RF 433, Wi-Fi	KNX-certified devices
Fits an existing home	Yes	Yes, no rewiring	Rarely. Designed in with bus cabling
Cost to start	Lowest	Moderate	Highest
Day-to-day use	Simple app, shallow rules	One app, scenes, wall panel, voice	Very robust, set up by a certified integrator
Changing it later	Easy but limited	We add scenarios remotely	Integrator visit and reprogramming
Where your data lives	Vendor cloud	At home. Cloud is an optional extra	At home
Family network protection	None	Ad blocking, DNS visibility, private VPN	Not part of KNX
Support	Forum and tickets	Sentinel Care, remote	Local integrator

KNX is an open wired standard and the right answer for many new builds. Cost comparisons are relative. Contact us for a quote for your home.

Easy to live with

You should not need to learn automation to enjoy it.

One app and a wall panel for lights, curtains, AC, cameras and scenes.
A scenario library you switch on, instead of programming rules yourself.
Local voice control that answers inside the house.
We set it up remotely, so your electrician only fits devices.

Local by default. Cloud costs extra.

Your recordings, routines and network history stay on the node in your home. If you want cloud-based access or cloud AI features, they are optional add-ons, charged separately and switched off until you ask.

Results as a Service

Bring your favourite device. We deliver the result.

Found a gadget you love, or already own one the app store never heard of? Ask for the result you want, such as "the geyser heats before I wake" or "the new lamp joins my evening scene". We do the integration and keep it working.

Feasibility first. We tell you before any work starts whether the device can run locally, and what it will take.
We do the integration remotely, over Matter, Zigbee, Thread, RF 433 or Wi-Fi, and add it to your panel and scenes.
Outcome tested with you before we call it done, then kept working through updates.
Local where possible. If a device only works through its maker's cloud, we say so up front.

You ask

Name the device and the result you want from it.

We check

A yes or no on local control, with the approach, before you buy or commit.

We integrate

Connected, named, placed in the right rooms and wired into your scenarios.

You enjoy it

Works from the panel, the app and your voice. Part of Care from then on.

You decide when we can see your home

Care means we look after the node, not that we watch the house.

Health data only, by default

Tez sees whether your node is online and working. Nothing else.

Video needs your yes

Live video, recordings and the Guardian activity view need separate consent each session. Coming soon

Local first

No standing open inbound ports, and processing stays on the node. Live today

Trust and security

Sentinel Care: a managed home service

Remote AMC by subscription. We keep the house updated, backed up and improving.

Essentials

The house is watched over.

Remote health monitoring of the node and devices
Security and software updates
Configuration backup and restore
Remote support in business hours

Plus

The house keeps improving.

Everything in Essentials
New scenarios added through the year
Seasonal review of AC, energy and schedules
Family network reports
Priority response

Complete

We run it for you.

Everything in Plus
Device onboarding when you add something new
Faster response, extended remote hours
Replacement coordination for failed devices

Care is remote. On-site visits are available at an extra charge. Contact us for plan details.

Care support sessions follow our support on demand rules: you allow, we fix, access closes. Controls are labelled on the Trust page.

How it works

Walkthrough

Tell us your rooms, devices and what annoys you today.

Fit

Your electrician or ours fits devices. The node goes in beside your router.

Configure

We set up scenarios, the panel, and the network protection remotely.

Care

We monitor, update and add scenarios as your home changes.

Builders and interior designers: see the partner programme.

Questions we hear first

Does it work with the devices I already own?

Matter, Zigbee, Thread, RF 433 MHz and Wi-Fi devices connect. Tell us the brands and we confirm before you buy anything.

What if the internet goes down?

Lights, sensors, schedules and rules keep running on the node. Remote access and phone alerts resume when the link returns.

Can it be added to a home that is already built?

Yes. That is where Sentinel fits best. There is no bus cabling and no wall work for the controller.

Is KNX better?

For a new build where wired reliability is the priority and the budget allows, KNX is a strong choice. For most homes, and for any existing home, Sentinel gets you most of the outcome at a fraction of the effort.

Who sees my data?

You do. Everything runs at home. Cloud access is an optional add-on, charged extra and off unless you ask for it.

Can Tez see my cameras?

Our rule is no. Video and recordings stay on your node, and Tez looks at them only with your separate consent for each session. The in-product consent control is Coming soon. The Trust page lists what is live today.

What can Tez see?

By default, node health only: whether your node is online and working. Video, recordings and the Guardian activity view need your separate consent each session Coming soon. See Trust and security and the privacy notice.

What is Results as a Service?

You tell us a device and the result you want. We confirm it can be done, integrate it remotely, test it with you and keep it working. Each request is scoped before we start.

Does Care include site visits?

Care is remote. On-site visits are available and charged separately, booked when you need them.

Can I watch my children's online activity?

The home network can show which sites each device asks for, and block categories on a schedule. It shows domains, not messages or content, and we recommend telling your children it is on.

What if I stop Care?

The system keeps running locally. You lose updates, monitoring and support, not control of your home.

Tell us about your home

Rooms, devices and what you would like the house to do. We reply with a plan.