Home automation and smart switching
The electrical groundwork that makes a smart home actually work — and an honest handover when the job is genuinely specialist.
What smart home means at the electrical level
Most "smart home" marketing is about apps. The part that determines whether any of it works reliably is underneath: switches, circuits and neutrals.
The single most common obstacle in an existing Australian home is the neutral at the switch. Traditional Australian wiring often loops the active through the switch and takes the neutral straight to the light fitting, so there's no neutral in the switch box. Most smart switches need one to power themselves. This is why people buy a smart switch, open the wall, and discover they can't fit it.
There are ways around it — battery-powered wireless switches, smart relays fitted at the light fitting instead, or running a neutral where access allows. Which is right depends on your house, and it's worth working out before buying a box of switches.
The other reliability question is what happens when the internet is down or a cloud service is retired. Systems that keep working locally — a smart switch that's still a switch, a hub that runs on your own network — age far better than anything that depends entirely on a manufacturer's server continuing to exist.
What we do
Smart switches & dimming
Fitted properly, with the neutral problem solved rather than worked around.
Apple Home & Google Home
Setups that keep working when the internet doesn't.
Smart circuits & relays
Control at the fitting or the board, where switch positions won't allow it.
Sensors, gates & garage
Motion, door and gate integration.
Camera integration
Cameras that appear where you actually look.
Renovation pre-wiring
Cable and neutrals in now, so automation is an option later.
If you're renovating, decide now
Retrofitting automation into a finished house is a series of compromises. Doing it during a renovation is mostly free.
The things worth putting in while walls are open, even if you fit nothing smart for another five years:
- A neutral at every switch position. Cheap now, near-impossible later, and it keeps every smart switch on the market available to you.
- Data cabling to key points — hubs, access points, TV positions. Wireless is a fallback, not a plan.
- Deeper switch boxes, because smart switches are bulkier than the ones they replace.
- Conduit to gates, sheds and the front door, so cameras and intercoms are a decision rather than an excavation.
None of this commits you to a system or a brand. It just means you haven't closed the door.
Running C-Bus, Clipsal, iControl or Dynalite?
That's specialist work, and it isn't this page.
Commercial-grade automation systems — C-Bus, Clipsal Wiser, HPM iControl, Dynalite, DALI, KNX — are programmed, not just wired. Diagnosing why a C-Bus system has started behaving strangely, or bringing a twenty-year-old installation into Apple Home, needs the software, the hardware and the experience with that specific platform.
Our sister company Cync Electrical & Automation does exactly that across Sydney — C-Bus fault finding, reprogramming, legacy system repair and Apple Home integration. Same licence, same people, different specialty. If that's what you've got, go straight to them: cyncelectrical.com.au.
We'd rather send you to the right people than have a go at it.
Smart home questions
Why won't my smart switch fit?
Almost always no neutral in the switch box. Traditional Australian wiring often loops the active through the switch and runs the neutral straight to the fitting. Most smart switches need a neutral to power themselves. There are workarounds — battery switches, relays at the fitting — but it needs solving, not ignoring.
Will my smart home still work if the internet drops?
Depends entirely on what you install. Systems with local control keep working; cloud-dependent ones don't. We favour the former, because an internet outage shouldn't mean you can't turn a light on.
Apple Home or Google Home?
Either works well. Pick the one matching the phones in your house — that's the decision that actually affects daily use. What matters more is choosing devices with local control rather than cloud-only ones.
Can you fix my C-Bus system?
C-Bus is genuinely specialist work and it's our sister company's specialty rather than ours. Cync Electrical & Automation handles C-Bus, Dynalite, KNX and DALI across Sydney — we'll point you straight there.
Do smart switches work with LED downlights?
Yes, with a matched dimmer or switch. Mismatched combinations are the usual cause of flickering and buzzing — the same problem you get with conventional dimmers on LEDs, and the fix is the same.
What should I wire in during a renovation?
A neutral at every switch, data cabling to key points, deeper switch boxes, and conduit to gates and outbuildings. None of it commits you to a brand, and all of it is near-impossible to add later.
What customers say
The downlights connected to our C-Bus system were flickering. Jason explained the issue in detail, provided a solution and the lights are now working perfectly. Highly recommend — a professional and honest approach delivering excellent work.
Jason was reliable, knowledgeable and communicated the problem in simple terms to understand with patience. Highly recommend his ability to troubleshoot and solve the complicated light issues.
Jason solved a really complex problem for our house with excellent professionalism and workmanship. Highly recommend, would def work with him again. On time delivery and within budget.
These are Google reviews for our team at Cync Electrical & Automation — the licensed contractor behind Hills Electrician. 5.0 from 20 reviews. — see the profile
Planning smart switching or a renovation?
Talk to us before the plaster goes on. Call 0422 253 379.
Get a quote