Whole-home control hub
Control4 or Savant as the brain of the house: one interface, one app, for lighting, climate, locks, and audio.
Keil Electric service
Smart home installation and whole-home automation.
One app for your lights, climate, locks, and scenes: Control4, Savant, and Lutron, integrated by a licensed electrician who can also add the wiring the system needs. Not a box of gadgets that do not talk to each other.
ALL THREE SHOPS COVER THIS
Smart Home Installation & Automation
Licensed · 5/10/Lifetime written warranty
Licensed electrician on every job. Veteran-owned, family-run.
5-year, 10-year & lifetime warranty on the install. Parts and labor. Stays with the house.
After-hours emergency dispatch. A real person on the line, not a robot.
Direct answer
Keil Electric installs and programs whole-home automation across San Diego County and the Austin metro: Control4, Savant, Lutron, and voice platforms unified into one system for lighting, climate, locks, shades, and scenes. As a licensed electrical shop we also handle the line-voltage side automation needs: neutral wires for smart switches, dedicated circuits for the equipment rack, and in-wall runs. Written quote first, warranty five years to lifetime.
01
- PICK YOUR LOCAL TEAM
Pick your local team.
Same scope at any of our shops. Pick the shop that covers your area and we will route you to the right crew.
02
- COST & TIMELINE
What this work usually runs.
03
- HOW THIS WORKS
How smart home installation & automation works.
Smart lighting control
Lutron RA3 and Caseta keypads and dimmers. Pairs with our Lighting Installation service for the fixtures themselves.
Climate, shades & access
Smart thermostats, motorized shade integration, and smart-lock access tied into the same system.
Voice & scenes
Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit tied into scenes like “good night,” “away,” and “movie” — the part that makes automation worth it.
What it costs
Automation is quoted by system size, not by device. A smart-lighting-plus-thermostat starter runs modest; a whole-home Control4 build with shades, locks, and keypads is a multi-day project. The wiring behind it — neutrals, circuits, rack power — usually moves the number, which is why an electrician quotes it more accurately than an AV-only shop. Fixed written number before we start; trip charge applies.
04
- PROCESS
Our process
01
Walk & discovery
We look at what you have, what you want it to do, and what is already in the walls.
02
Network & infrastructure plan
Everything modern runs on the network, so we scope that first.
03
Written scope & quote
A fixed number, in writing, before any work.
04
Permits when the district requires them
Many low-voltage jobs do not need one; circuit or panel work sometimes does.
05
Install day
One licensed crew handles the power and the low-voltage together.
06
Commissioning & walkthrough
We set it up, test it, and show you how to run it before we leave.
05
- BRANDS WE INSTALL
Equipment we trust.
We install equipment we'd put in our own homes. If you have a preferred brand, tell us, we'll work with it.
CONTROL4
SAVANT
LUTRON
SAMSUNG SMARTTHINGS
APPLE HOME
AMAZON ALEXA
GOOGLE HOME
HOME ASSISTANT
Permits
Permits and inspections
No permit required for this work in most jurisdictions. We confirm with the local building department before starting.
Warranty
What's covered
Written warranty: 5-year on outlets, fixtures, and EV chargers; 10-year on wire and breakers; lifetime on panelboxes and surge protection. Parts and labor. Transfers with the home.
Safety
Safety notes
Smart switches that need a neutral, dimmers overloaded past their rating, and rack gear on an undersized circuit are the failure points AV-only installers miss. We size the electrical to the load.
06
- PROOF · ALL THREE SHOPS
What this looks like in the field.
Real work from our San Diego and Austin shops. Same standards, same warranty, every job.
SAN DIEGO
AUSTIN
SAN DIEGO
AUSTIN
SAN DIEGO
AUSTIN
07
- WHO TO HIRE
Why hiring a licensed electrician matters.
For smart home installation & automation, here's the honest comparison. We'd tell you the same thing if we weren't trying to win the job.
Keil Electric
A licensed electrician
Licensed electrician walks every job. Veteran-owned, family-run.
Permits pulled and inspections coordinated when required by the AHJ
5/10-year + lifetime warranty in writing. Parts and labor. Transfers with the home.
Fully insured + workers' comp on every crew
The price you sign is the price you pay
A handyman
Unlicensed for electrical
No state electrical license. Can do simple swaps but not panel work, rewires, or service upgrades.
No permits. Work won't pass inspection if the city audits it later.
No structured warranty. "Call me if something breaks" isn't enforceable.
If something they did causes a fire, your homeowner's insurance can deny the claim.
Cash discount may show up on the invoice.
DIY
Doing it yourself
Cheap, but only if everything goes right. Most electrical work involves load calc, code, and permitting.
A failed inspection means redoing the work. Selling the home later, the buyer's inspector flags it.
No warranty if something fails. Replacement is on you.
Live wiring is a real safety hazard. Most fatal home electrical accidents are DIY.
If you know what you're doing, fine. If you don't, call us first.
08
- BEFORE YOU CALL
How to know when it is time, and what to expect.
When to bring us in for smart home installation
Most smart home calls start when the tech has outgrown the setup: a pile of apps and remotes you want unified, a renovation or new build where the wiring can go in clean, or a house that is smart in three rooms and dumb everywhere else. The earlier we walk it, the better the result. Bringing us in before the drywall closes means keypad, sensor, and network runs go inside the walls, and we can add the neutral wires smart switches need while the boxes are open. We are happy to plan a system at the design stage even if the install is still months out.
What we look at on the first visit
A walk of the home with attention to where you want control, keypads, thermostats, locks, and scenes, plus the network that has to carry it, the switch boxes (many older homes lack the neutral a smart switch needs), and the wiring paths through attic, crawlspace, and open walls. Where a run has to cross a finished wall, we find the cleanest path before we cut. The estimate we leave with is fixed for the scope as walked; change orders only happen for genuinely new findings, and you hear about them before we proceed.
Common questions about smart home installation & automation
Will one app really control everything, or do I end up with five?
That is the whole point of a hub like Control4 or Savant: one interface for lights, climate, locks, and audio. We integrate, we do not hand you five apps.
Do smart switches work in an older house without a neutral wire?
Sometimes not; many older homes lack a neutral at the switch box. As electricians we can run one, which an AV-only installer cannot. We check during the walk.
What happens to automation during a power outage?
Core wiring reverts to manual control; the automation layer returns when power does. We can add battery backup or generator integration for critical systems.
Can I start small and expand later?
Yes, we scope a system that grows. Start with lighting and climate, then add shades and audio onto the same hub over time.
Do you program it, or just install the hardware?
Both. We install, program the scenes, and walk you through running it before we leave.
09
- OTHER SMART HOME & HOME TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
Other smart home & home technology services we deliver.
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10
- REQUEST
Need smart home installation & automation?
Tell us what you want the house to do on its own. We design the system, run the wiring it needs, and program it end to end.