Stuck on Home Assistant? Let's Fix That.
Hi, I'm Phil. With over 10 years of DIY smart home experience and a host of the Home Assistant podcast, I know this platform inside and out — and I'm here to help you get more from yours. Whether that's troubleshooting broken automations, designing dashboards, or installing new devices and getting them automated.
How I Help
DIY Smart Home Support, When You Need It
From configuration and automations to hands-on device installs — I can help with all of it. The one thing I don't do is licensed electrical or plumbing work. Everything else is fair game.
Automation Troubleshooting
Automation not firing? Script throwing errors? Trigger conditions behaving strangely? Share your config and I'll diagnose exactly what's going wrong and how to fix it.
Smart Home Setup
Setting up a smart home platform for the first time, migrating from another system, or picking the right platform for your needs? I'll guide you through it. Home Assistant is my primary recommendation, but I can help you get started on the right foot whatever you're running.
Automation Design
Need a reusable automation or blueprint for your specific situation? I'll design, write, and document it — whether that's a Home Assistant blueprint, a Node-RED flow, or just a well-structured automation you can adapt as your setup grows.
Dashboard Design
A dashboard that's actually pleasant to use. I'll design a layout that surfaces the controls and information that matter most — for you and anyone else in your home.
1-on-1 Consulting
Got a question about an integration, a device, or how to approach a problem? Book a focused session and get straight answers. Home Assistant is my daily driver, but I'm happy to work through problems on other DIY smart home platforms too.
White-Glove Service
A fully managed smart home experience. I keep your platform up-to-date, handle regular service visits to swap batteries and check devices, install new smart gadgets as you add them, and automate everything so it just works — without you lifting a finger.
Why Home Assistant
One Platform to Run Your Entire Home
I've spent over 10 years in the DIY smart home world and built my own smart home with Home Assistant because it's simply the best tool for the job. I host the Home Assistant Podcast, which keeps me on the bleeding edge of every release and gives me direct access to the team behind Home Assistant and the broader Open Home Foundation projects. Open source, endlessly flexible, runs entirely on your own hardware, and works with virtually every smart home device on the market.
- Home Assistant is the Foundation: Everything I build is centred around Home Assistant — the most powerful open-source home automation platform available. It runs locally on your hardware, has no subscription fees, and connects to almost anything.
- Always on the Bleeding Edge: I host a podcast dedicated to Home Assistant, covering every release and update as it happens. That means direct access to the team behind Home Assistant and the Open Home Foundation — and up-to-the-minute knowledge I bring to every session.
- Devices Connect Into It: Philips Hue, Zigbee sensors, Z-Wave locks, Matter bulbs, WiFi cameras — Home Assistant brings them all under one roof, replacing a dozen separate apps with a single dashboard.
- Local-First, Always: Everything runs on your network. No cloud dependency means automations keep working when the internet goes down, and your data never leaves your home.
- Privacy by Default: No usage tracking, no data mining, no subscriptions. Your home is yours — and Home Assistant is built from the ground up to keep it that way.
- 3,000+ Integrations Out of the Box: Chances are, whatever devices you already own are supported. And if they're not, there's almost certainly a community integration or a workaround.
Works With What You Already Own
The Process
How It Works
Remote-first, so you can get help from anywhere. If you're in Melbourne, I'm happy to come to you.
Tell Me What's Going On
Book a session and describe what you're trying to fix, build, or understand. Share your Home Assistant version, any relevant config, and error logs if you have them.
I Dig In
I review your setup, diagnose the issue, or design the solution. For troubleshooting this often happens asynchronously — I'll come back to you with a clear explanation and a fix.
We Pick the Right Approach
Want hands-off? I can build it for you. Prefer to learn? I'll set you up with exactly what to do next. Either way, you end up with a Home Assistant setup that actually works.
Stuck? Let's Get You Unstuck.
Whether you're battling a broken automation, starting from scratch, or just want someone to sanity-check your setup — book a session and let's sort it out together.
Book a Session