Yours by design

Austin, Texas is home turf (Central Texas, including surrounding areas). In the New York City area we are now booking consultations across all five boroughs, plus Nassau and Westchester counties in New York and Bergen, Hudson, Union, Middlesex and Monmouth counties in New Jersey. For projects outside driving range, remote support via the DIY Partner service works well and we are happy to discuss what makes sense for your situation.

Not for the core system. It runs on hardware in your home without a RyzaLab subscription. Ongoing Support is an optional monthly plan. Some devices and services you choose may carry their own fees.

It's open source, runs on your own hardware, and supports 2,000+ integrations. The parts that run locally keep working when the internet is down. Where an integration does need a cloud service, we name it and keep the list short.

Hardware cost depends heavily on your existing setup and what you want to automate. A Home Assistant hub typically runs $250 to $400. Individual devices vary: smart switches are around $20 to $50 each, smart bulbs a similar range, sensors less. A full home can look very different from a focused two-room setup. The Blueprint is designed specifically to give you a real number before you spend anything.

Qualified trades do: electricians and low-voltage installers, licensed where the work requires it. You hire and pay them directly, and they are responsible for their work, permits and methods. We design the system, give them what they need, and configure and integrate everything once the hardware is in.

Smart bulbs, plugs, and most sensors are plug-and-play with no electrician needed. For smart switches, it depends on your wiring. Some are straightforward replacements; others require a licensed electrician, and anything that feels uncertain gets one. For any work that crosses that line, we will tell you clearly, help you coordinate with a qualified contractor, and make sure they have everything they need to do it right.

Rarely. Our first goal is to integrate what you already own. Home Assistant supports Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, WiFi, and Matter devices, which covers the majority of consumer smart home hardware. We will audit your existing setup during the Blueprint and flag anything that creates reliability or privacy issues. Replacements only get recommended when they genuinely make the system better.

Yes, and this is where RyzaLab started. The original system was built in a New York City apartment where nothing could be permanently modified. Smart bulbs, plugs, sensors, and portable hubs need no wiring and usually leave no trace. When you move, most of the system can move with you. Setup cost in a rental is usually low, and the daily difference shows up right away.

People comparing Control4, Crestron, Savant, or consumer ecosystems like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Ring often come to us when they want an open-source Home Assistant design centered on local control. Our approach is to build on hardware in your home so the core system runs without a RyzaLab subscription; Ongoing Support is an optional monthly plan, and third-party devices or services you choose may carry their own fees. At handoff you receive an export package with your home's configuration and documentation, and once the project is paid, the files made for your home are yours.

We work as a Home Assistant design consultant and integration partner rather than a physical trade contractor. In Austin, Texas, we handle system design, Home Assistant configuration, device integration, and coordination with qualified trades who perform any physical wiring or mounting. In the New York City area, we are now booking consultations and video assessments. Anywhere else, our Smart Home Blueprint and DIY Partner services run remotely: you or your local trades install the hardware, and we handle Home Assistant configuration, automation, and support through go-live.

Yes. If you have a stalled DIY Home Assistant build or a mix of devices spread across separate apps, we start with a structured assessment, troubleshooting, and a written action plan. From there we integrate compatible existing Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, Wi-Fi, and Matter hardware into one documented Home Assistant system. Not every legacy or closed device can be recovered or integrated, so we identify what is compatible up front and recommend replacements only where needed.