Independent home automation guide · Niko Home Control & Home Assistant
Home automation that’s worth it, with someone beside you.
I help families decide what’s worth automating, skip what isn’t, and stay with them until it works for everyone at home. Independent advice, local control, no cloud lock-in.
- Independent, no hardware margin
- Guided from first idea to daily use
- Local and private
- Remote or at your home
What “worth it” means to me
There are plenty of smart homes that impress and then irritate. These are my principles.
Useful every day
Automation should remove small daily frictions: shutters that follow the sun, air that stays fresh, light that’s right. If you won’t notice it every day, I’ll tell you to skip it.
Family-proof
It has to work for partners, kids and guests, not just for the person who built it. Wall switches keep working and manual control always wins.
Local and private
The basics of your home keep working without internet, accounts or subscriptions, and your data stays under your own roof.
Yours to keep
Clear documentation and honest explanations, so you’re never dependent on me. I’m there if you want help, not because you have to.
Is this for you?
This fits if you…
- are building, renovating or already living with Niko Home Control and want it to feel smarter and calmer.
- would rather understand your options than be sold a package.
- value privacy, reliability and local control.
- like having someone guide you step by step, including in talks with your installer.
Probably not if you…
- mainly want the cheapest installation quote.
- want a shopping list of cloud gadgets and voice assistants for everything.
- need electrical work, wiring or a commercial building done.
- need a certified system with a maintenance contract and SLA, for example for safety, care or business operations.
What we can work on together
From the choice before you buy to a smart home that is a pleasure to live in.
Niko Home Control advice
New build, renovation or extension: which functions, which preparations, which questions for your installer. I can also review your quote.
Niko programming + Home Assistant
Has your installer connected the modules and you want it controlled smartly? I program Niko Home Control II (scenes, schedules, logic) and link it to Home Assistant for rules, presence and automations the Niko app can’t do on its own. Always in agreement with you and, where relevant, your installer.
Shutters & curtains
Automatic based on sun, temperature, time and presence, with manual control that always takes priority.
Ventilation
Ventilation driven by CO₂, humidity and usage, so air stays good without you thinking about it.
Lighting, scenes & dashboards
Clear scenes, a safe fallback to the wall switches and screens everyone at home understands.
Energy usage insight
With your P1 meter you can see what you use, live and over time. Advanced energy control is not part of my offer yet.
I don’t hand you a report and disappear
We go step by step, at your pace. The first conversation is free and without obligation.
Book a conversationA conversation
About 20 minutes, to understand your home, your family and what bothers you. No sales pitch.
Clarity
A Home Check or domotica advice: what’s worth doing, in what order, and what to ask your installer.
Doing it together
If you want, I build the smart layer with you, explain every rule and test it with the whole family around.
Living with it
We test everything together and you sign off the handover, with documentation and a guide to falling back on manual control. A follow-up after a few weeks to adjust, and an optional care plan if you want someone to call.
From my own home
This has been running at my place for a while, on Niko Home Control II (programmed by myself) and Home Assistant, local and cloud-free.
Shutters and curtains
Reacting to sun, temperature and presence, with manual control that always wins.
Ventilation
Driven by air quality and humidity, not a fixed timer.
Lighting with fallback
Smart scenes via Home Assistant, and the Niko wall switches always keep working.
Hi, I’m Saurabh Garg
I’m a software engineer and engineering lead with 14+ years of experience building apps for millions of users, including at Booking.com and eBay Classifieds (Marktplaats), and a co-founder of Instint, a family productivity app.
At home I run Niko Home Control II, fully programmed by myself (the installer only connected the modules), with around 60 Home Assistant automations, all local and cloud-free. I’m a father and a keen cyclist, and I like technology that quietly serves a family, respects privacy and doesn’t lock you in. Based in Oldemarkt, Overijssel.
Alongside your own installer
Your installer installs, I help with the smart layer.
I don’t do wiring; that stays with your certified installer. Once the system is installed and handed over, I can take over the Niko programming to customize it, and build the smart layer on top. Before that, I help you ask the right questions.
Are you an installer and getting asked for smarter rules than scenes and switches? Get in touch and we’ll see if we can work together.
Working together: a few starting points
Start with a conversation. These are typical starting points; in the launch phase we shape scope and price together, so tell me what you need. Prices include 21% VAT.
Home Check
A first look at your home and your goals.
- 60–90 minutes
- Review of what you have or plan
- Short written action list
- Credited against a follow-up booked within 30 days
Domotica advice
Choose with confidence: which functions, which system, which preparation.
- What you really need, and what you don’t
- Question list for your installer
- Review of your quote
- Design for Home Assistant on top
Comfort automation
Shutters, curtains, ventilation and lighting controlled smartly via Home Assistant.
- Niko Home Control integration
- Smart rules with manual override
- Dashboard for the whole family
- Walkthrough and documentation
Complete package
The whole home, from advice to a well-documented, local system.
- Advice and implementation
- All rooms and scenes
- Energy usage insight via P1
- 2 hours of training
Prices are indicative; you always get a written quote first. Hardware is not included. Fixed wiring and the meter cabinet remain with your certified installer. I carry out Niko programming after the installer has connected the modules and handed over the system, in agreement with you and, where relevant, your installer.
Travel fees (at your home only)
- Up to about 40 km from Oldemarkt (Steenwijk, Meppel, Wolvega, Heerenveen, Emmeloord): included
- 40–100 km (Zwolle, Leeuwarden, Assen, Groningen, Lelystad): +€75
- 100–160 km (Almere, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Amersfoort, Hilversum): +€175
- Beyond 160 km (Den Haag, Rotterdam, Brabant and further): +€275, or by quote
Fixed amount per visit, including VAT; distances are approximate. A Home Check at your home is available up to 100 km; further away I do it by video.
Care plan
€29 – €49 per month · Remote monitoring, updates and backups, plus support for questions or faults (best effort, no SLA).
Frequently asked questions
What is Domotiek?
Domotiek is an independent home automation advice practice run by Saurabh Garg in Oldemarkt (Overijssel, the Netherlands), specialised in Niko Home Control and Home Assistant. I advise remotely or at your home on what is worth automating, program Niko Home Control II, and connect it to Home Assistant for shutters, curtains, ventilation and lighting. Everything is local, with no cloud lock-in. I do no electrical work and am not an approved Niko installer.
Do I need Niko Home Control?
No. I also help if you still have to choose, or if you want Home Assistant without Niko. If you do have Niko, it’s a great base.
Do you do electrical work or Niko programming?
Electrical work, no: fixed wiring and the meter cabinet stay with your certified installer. Niko programming, yes, after installation: once your installer has installed and handed over the system, I can take over the programming to customize it to your wishes, in agreement with you and, where relevant, your installer. I am not an approved Niko installer.
What if the internet goes down?
The basics keep working. I build locally, so lights, shutters and ventilation do what you expect without internet. Rules that use online data (such as weather or energy prices) pause then or fall back to a safe default.
Who buys the hardware?
Usually you, from the shop of your choice. I give independent recommendations and earn nothing on the products.
Remote or at my home?
Both work. Remote is cheaper and works anywhere in the Netherlands, via video and screen sharing. At your home I travel from Oldemarkt: up to about 40 km at no extra cost, further for a fixed travel fee. The Randstad is possible, but remote is usually smarter and cheaper.
What about my privacy?
I only ask for the access I need, don’t keep your passwords and follow GDPR. Details are in the privacy statement.
Do you speak Dutch?
I prefer to work in English. For Dutch-speaking customers I can bring in a Dutch-speaking partner so nothing gets lost in translation.
Does Home Assistant work with my Niko system?
Usually yes, through a local connection. It depends on your version and configuration. I check that in the Home Check, before you spend any money. You activate Niko’s local Hobby API (from system version 2.17) yourself on your own account, with my guidance, and renew the token every year; I use open-source components for the connection. Niko does not support it, and its warranty does not cover damage from incorrect or abnormal use of a third-party connection, so I build with safeguards.
Do I need to be technical?
No. The point is that you don’t have to be. I explain everything in plain language and build it so the whole family can use it.
What don’t you automate?
Anything where a failure could be dangerous and the automation would be the only protection: fire, intrusion, water, frost or medical uses. I leave that to certified systems and specialists. For shutters, ventilation and heating I build in safe fallbacks, and end stops, frost protection and manual control always keep working. Automations can depend on external data and services that are not always available or accurate, so do not rely on them for safety, privacy or anything where risk is involved.
What if something stops working?
You can always fall back on the wall switches and the Niko app: they don’t depend on Home Assistant. At handover we test together and I document how to switch back. Defects in my work are repaired free of charge; updates by third parties after handover fall under a care plan or hourly rate.
Is this as reliable as a professional system with an SLA?
No, and I don’t promise that. My work focuses on comfort and convenience: things that make daily life nicer. Certified systems with a maintenance contract and SLA are meant for what is critical, such as fire, intrusion, care or business operations. I build on your Niko installation and make it smarter, with fallback to manual control. I provide no SLA or guaranteed availability unless we expressly agree that in writing.
What does home automation advice cost?
Indicative and including VAT: a Home Check starts at €119 remotely (€189 at your home), Domotica advice from €349 (€549), Comfort automation from €790 (€990) and a complete package from €2,100 (€2,600). Travel costs apply for visits far from Oldemarkt. You always get a written quote first; in the launch phase we shape scope and price together.
From the blog
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Automating shutters without wearing out the motors
How do you automate shutters on sun and temperature without them constantly moving back and forth? Practical rules: time interval, dead-band, daily cap and a safe fallback.
Tell me about your home
A few sentences are enough. I read every message myself and reply personally, usually within two working days. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll say so honestly and point you elsewhere.
Prefer email? That works too: