A Melbourne home automation company with its own licensed electricians
DUKE Electrical Group is a home automation company in Melbourne that does the whole job in-house: the design, the cabling, the electrical work and the programming. Most of the calls we get start the same way. Someone has a renovation or a new build coming up, they have seen a friend’s house where the lights, blinds and heating all answer to one app, and they want to know what it would take to do the same at their place.
That question is our whole business. Our team brings 27 years of combined industry experience, we have installed Control4 for more than 15 years, and we work from five Melbourne premises in South Yarra, Brighton, Beaumaris, Portsea and the CBD. We also hold the electrical licence ourselves (REC 35838). That last point matters more than it sounds, and we come back to it further down.
This page sets out what a home automation system does, which platforms we install, how a project runs and what drives the price, so you can walk into a first meeting with any installer, us included, knowing the right questions to ask.
What a home automation system does day to day
Strip away the brochure language and home automation is simple. The systems in your house that normally run on their own switches, remotes and apps get wired back to one controller, so they can be operated together and set to react to each other.
In practice that means a single keypad by the front door that turns off every light, drops the blinds, arms the alarm and sets the heating back when you leave. It means the outdoor lights coming on at dusk and changing with the season without anyone touching a timer. It means the music following you from the kitchen to the deck, and the doorbell camera showing up on the TV.
You can run all of it from wall keypads, touch screens, a handheld remote or your phone, at home or from the other side of the world. Good systems also keep working when the internet drops out, because the controller sits in your house rather than in someone else’s cloud.
The part people underestimate is how much of the result depends on planning before the walls go up. The hardware is the easy bit.
Why Melbourne homeowners are automating
Everything from one place
Lighting, heating and cooling, blinds, security and entertainment on one interface instead of six apps. Scenes such as Away, Entertain or Goodnight change several systems with one press.
Better security
Cameras, the alarm, intercoms and door locks can talk to each other. A motion alert at 2am can turn on the garden lights and show the camera feed on your phone at the same moment. While you are away, the system can switch lights on and off so the house looks lived in.
Lower running costs
Lights that switch off in empty rooms and heating that follows a schedule cost less to run. Melbourne winters make heating the big one; a system that knows nobody is home until 6pm stops you paying to warm an empty house all afternoon.
Less fiddling
Once it is set up properly you stop thinking about it. The house is warm when you get home, the porch light is on, and the kids can’t leave every downlight blazing overnight.
Systems we design, install and program
We are not tied to one brand. We install and program four major platforms and recommend whichever suits the house, the budget and how you want to live with it.
Control4
Control4 is our most-requested platform and the one we have installed longest. As a Gold Control4 dealer in Melbourne we use it to bring lighting, climate, blinds, multi-room audio, video, cameras and intercoms together under one app and one remote. It suits homes where entertainment and security matter as much as lighting. Our Control4 installation team handles new builds, and we also look after systems other companies put in.
Clipsal C-Bus
C-Bus is the lighting control system found in many Melbourne homes, many of them from the 2000s. It is reliable and easy to extend. We install new Clipsal C-Bus smart home control, repair and reprogram existing networks, and fit the newer Wiser and eDLT keypads.
KNX
KNX is an open, international standard backed by hundreds of manufacturers, so you are not locked to one supplier for the life of the house. We are a certified KNX Partner listed in the official KNX directory, and our KNX installers in Melbourne use it for larger homes and buildings where flexibility and long life matter most.
Philips Dynalite and DALI
For architectural lighting with fine dimming control, we install Philips Dynalite lighting control and DALI lighting systems. Both often sit underneath a Control4 or KNX system, handling the lights while the main controller handles everything else.
What we connect to the system
Whichever platform runs the house, these are the systems we usually tie into it.
Lighting
Dimming, scenes, schedules and sensors for inside and out, including circadian lighting that shifts colour temperature through the day and landscape lighting for the garden.
Heating and cooling
Ducted, split and hydronic systems on schedules and room-by-room control, so the house warms up before you get home rather than after.
Security, cameras and access
Security cameras, alarm systems, intercoms and access control on the same app as everything else, with alerts that can trigger lights and recordings.
Audio, video and home theatre
Multi-room music, TVs, projectors and media rooms under one remote. No more hunting for the right one between the couch cushions.
Blinds, gates and outdoor
Motorised blinds and curtains on sun and time schedules, plus gates, garage doors, pool and garden equipment. We also fit EV chargers that can be scheduled for cheaper overnight power.
Which platform suits your home
There is no single best system, whatever a brand’s sales rep tells you. The right choice depends on what you already have, what you want it to do and how long you plan to stay.
For a new build or full renovation with a home theatre, cameras and multi-room audio on the wish list, Control4 is usually where we start. For a large home or a building that needs to last decades and stay open to many brands of hardware, KNX earns its place. For a lighting-led project with high-end fittings, Dynalite or DALI underneath does the dimming better than anything else.
One opinion we hold firmly: if your house already has working C-Bus, ripping it out to start again is usually money badly spent. The wiring is sound, the switches are well made, and Control4 can sit over the top to add the app, the AV and the security. We would rather tell you that than quote you a full replacement you don’t need.
Retrofits in finished homes have more options than people expect too. Wireless keypads and dimmers can go in with very little patching and painting, and we can mix wired and wireless in the same house.
How to choose the best home automation company in Melbourne
Every installer calls themselves the best, so here is the checklist we would use if we were the ones hiring. It works for comparing any company, not just us.
Check the electrical licence. In Victoria, fixed electrical wiring has to be done by a licensed electrician working for a Registered Electrical Contractor, who then issues a Certificate of Electrical Safety. Plenty of automation and AV firms are not electricians and bring in a subcontractor for that part. You can look up any contractor on the Energy Safe Victoria public register. Ours is REC 35838.
Check dealer and partner status with the manufacturer. Brands keep their own lists. KNX publishes its accredited partners through the KNX find-an-installer directory, and Control4 shows authorised dealers on its own site.
Ask who does the programming. The programming is what you live with every day. Find out whether it is done in-house or farmed out, and what happens when you want a change in two years.
Ask how far away support is. When a keypad stops responding on a Friday night, distance matters. A team with premises near you can get there faster.
Read reviews that mention automation. General electrical reviews are nice, but look for clients who talk about the system itself and how it has held up.
We are happy to be measured against every point on that list.
How a home automation project runs
Every job follows the same five steps, and the same team stays with it from start to finish.
Timing matters most at step three. If your builder is at frame stage, that is the moment to run cable; once the plaster is up, the same work costs more and takes longer. Call us before the plasterers book in, even if you haven’t decided on every feature yet.
What drives the cost of home automation
We don’t publish a price list, because two homes of the same size can cost very different amounts to automate. These are the things that move the number.
- How much you automate. Lighting alone is a very different job from lighting, climate, blinds, audio, cameras and gates.
- New build or retrofit. Cabling an open frame is quicker than working through finished walls, although wireless options narrow the gap.
- The platform. Control4, C-Bus, KNX and Dynalite have different hardware costs and suit different budgets.
- Keypads, screens and remotes. Engraved designer keypads in every room cost more than a few well-placed ones plus the app.
- Audio and video. Speakers, screens and media rooms are often the biggest single line on the quote.
- Ongoing services. Some platforms charge a yearly fee for remote access, such as Control4’s 4Sight. We explain these before you commit.
The quickest way to get a real figure is to send us your plans or have us walk through the house. You get a written quote, so you can see where the money goes before anything starts.
Why homeowners choose DUKE Electrical Group
Licensed electricians
We are a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC 35838), fully insured. The people who wire your house are the same people who program it, so nothing falls between two trades.
Gold Control4 dealer, certified KNX Partner
More than 15 years installing Control4, plus C-Bus, KNX, Dynalite and DALI. We recommend the platform that fits the house, not the one we happen to stock.
Five Melbourne premises
South Yarra, Brighton, Beaumaris, Portsea and the CBD, so there is usually a team nearby when you need a change or a call-out.
Here after handover
We service and upgrade what we install, and we take over systems put in by other companies. Open Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm.
Where we work across Melbourne
We cover all of metropolitan Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula from five premises: 128 Toorak Road in South Yarra, 99 Bay Street in Brighton, 125 Charman Road in Beaumaris, Point Nepean Road in Portsea and 185 Bourke Street in the CBD. A lot of our work is in the inner south-east and bayside suburbs, where our South Yarra electricians, Toorak team and Brighton electricians are based, and down the bay with our Beaumaris and Portsea electricians. Holiday homes on the Peninsula are a good fit for automation, since you can check the cameras, heating and lights from Melbourne before you drive down. We have also opened in Noosa in Queensland.
Questions we get asked
Can you automate an existing home without rewiring it?
Usually, yes. Wireless dimmers and keypads, and systems such as Clipsal Wiser, can be fitted with very little damage to finished walls. Some features still need a cable, and we will tell you which at the first visit.
Do you only install Control4?
No. Control4 is our most common platform, but we also install and program Clipsal C-Bus, KNX, Philips Dynalite and DALI, and often combine them.
Can you take over a system another company installed?
Yes. We take over, repair and extend systems installed by other companies. See our Control4 help and support and C-Bus repair and fault finding pages.
Will it work with Alexa or Google?
Most of the platforms we install work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. We will tell you upfront which features carry across to voice control and which are better left on a keypad.
Is my switchboard up to it?
Older boards sometimes need work before a big automation job, particularly if you are adding an EV charger or heating loads at the same time. We check it at the first visit and can handle a switchboard upgrade in the same project.
If you are planning a build, a renovation or just want to stop juggling five apps, book a consultation with our team or call 1300 003 853.
