Pretoria · Gauteng · South Africa · Africa

Smart home automation,
built to last

South Africa's Home Assistant specialists. Professional installation, configuration, and support — in person across Gauteng, or remotely anywhere in Africa.

Get a free quote See what we do

Local Pretoria team

Remote support nationwide

Free first consultation

Services

What we do

From a single smart device to a whole-home system — we design, install, and support it all.

New installations

Full system design and on-site setup. We assess your home, specify the hardware, and commission everything from scratch.

In-person · Gauteng

Remote configuration

Secure remote setup and integration for clients anywhere in South Africa or across the continent — no travel required.

Nationwide · Africa

Ongoing support

Monthly retainers or per-incident support. Software updates, new integrations, troubleshooting — your system, always running.

Remote & on-site

Solar & energy integration

Connect your inverter, batteries, and solar panels into a unified Home Assistant dashboard with real-time monitoring and automations.

Victron · Sunsynk · Deye

Irrigation control

OpenSprinkler integration with smart scheduling, soil moisture sensors, and weather-aware automation for gardens and agriculture.

OpenSprinkler · SA distributor

Security & access

IP cameras, alarm panels, smart locks, and gate motors — all unified into one platform with mobile alerts and remote control.

CCTV · Access control

Load-shedding ready, by design

Every system we build is designed with South African power realities in mind. Monitor your inverter, automate load switching, receive alerts before and during outages, and track your battery state — all from a single dashboard. Never be caught off-guard again.

Smart irrigation

Official South African distributoropensprinkler.co.za

Smart irrigation,
water-wise by default

OpenSprinkler is the world's leading open-source irrigation controller. We are South Africa's official distributor — and the only team that installs, configures, and integrates it with Home Assistant at the same time.

Weather-aware scheduling

ET-based adjustment and rain sensor integration — waters only when needed.

Up to 72 zones

Scalable from a small garden to a commercial nursery or agricultural installation.

Home Assistant integration

Full control from your HA dashboard — automations, history, and voice control.

Soil moisture monitoring

Capacitive sensors and IoT nodes for precision irrigation based on actual soil conditions.

OpenSprinkler controllers

OS AC (24VAC)Residential & commercial

OS DC / USB-CSolar & off-grid ready

OSPi (Raspberry Pi)Advanced IoT integration

Zone expanderUp to 72 zones total

PricingOn request — SA VAT invoice

Visit opensprinkler.co.za →

About

Engineer · Pilot · Founder

Charl Barnard

Electronic Engineer · MEng Computer Architecture
University of Pretoria

Former telecommunications regulator

Open-source practitioner since 1992

Official SA distributor — OpenSprinkler

Home Assistant specialist

IoT & automation systems engineer

Pretoria-based, Africa-focused

Phoenix Computer Consulting

phoenixcc.co.za

→

OpenAutomation is the home automation specialisation of Phoenix Computer Consulting (Pty) Ltd, founded and run by Charl Barnard from Pretoria. With a Master's degree in Computer Architecture and over three decades of hands-on open-source engineering, Charl brings an engineer's rigour to every home automation project — not a salesperson's pitch.

The focus is on systems that work reliably in the South African context: load-shedding resilience, local processing without cloud dependency, and practical integration with the hardware people already own. Home Assistant is the platform of choice — open-source, privacy-first, and backed by the largest smart home community in the world.

As the official South African distributor for OpenSprinkler, we extend the same engineering approach to irrigation — from a single residential garden to a commercial greenhouse or agricultural installation with dozens of zones, soil moisture sensors, and solar-powered remote nodes.

Whether you're in Pretoria and want a site visit, or you're running a nursery in KwaZulu-Natal and need remote commissioning support, the approach is the same: understand the problem first, specify the right hardware, and build something that lasts.

Why Home Assistant

Your home, your data

No subscriptions. No cloud lock-in. No vendor going out of business and leaving you with a brick.

Runs locally

Everything stays on your own network. No internet connection required to control your home. No server in another country deciding your lights.

3,000+ integrations

Works with virtually every smart device brand — Philips Hue, Samsung, Tuya, Sonoff, Shelly, Google, Apple, and hundreds more. Not a walled garden.

No ongoing fees

Pay once for your hardware and installation. Home Assistant is free, open-source software — no monthly cloud fee eating into your budget forever.

Grows with you

Start with one room, expand to the whole property. Add new devices, automations, and integrations at any time — your system is never locked in.

Our process

How it works

Simple, transparent, and built around your specific needs — whether you're in Pretoria or across the border.

Consult

Free scoping call or site visit. We map your needs, your home, and your budget — no pressure, no obligation.

In-person or remote

Design & quote

Detailed proposal with hardware specification, timeline, and fixed pricing. No surprises.

Written proposal

Install & configure

On-site installation for Gauteng clients, or guided remote setup. Everything tested and handed over clean.

Gauteng or remote

Support

Ongoing help when you need it — WhatsApp, remote access, or a site visit. We don't disappear after handover.

WhatsApp · Remote · On-site

Smart home automation,built to last