Private home automation stack in operation — live Grafana dashboards, Home Assistant, and energy monitoring across a dedicated local server build.
Engineered for the way you actually live.
LEX is a consultative smart home design firm. We don't sell hardware. We don't do installation. What we do is design systems that actually work — and provide the programming support that turns good equipment into a great system.
Whether you're a homeowner trying to make sense of a dozen different devices, or a contractor looking for a design partner who speaks your language, LEX delivers the intelligence layer your project needs.
We assess your space, devices, and goals, then produce a clear design that maps every system to every outcome. No guessing. No retrofitting decisions that should have been made on paper first.
We configure your smart home platform to connect your HVAC, security cameras, sensors, and appliances into one unified, local-first system. One interface. One logic layer. Everything working together.
Not sure what you need? We help you make informed decisions before you spend a dollar on hardware. No commission on equipment. No preferred vendor relationships that compromise the recommendation.
Every LEX design is built to run in your home, on your hardware — whether the internet is up or not.
Cloud services are optional integrations — not the foundation. The dominant smart home model is built on vendor clouds: your device checks in with a server in another state, gets its instruction, and comes back. That server can go down. That company can be acquired. That product can be discontinued. Your home ends up holding the bag.
We design around a local hub running on hardware you own. Automations execute locally. Sensors report locally. The internet going out doesn't mean your lights stop responding. You're not dependent on a company's uptime or product roadmap to live in your own home.
No monthly fees. No vendor lock-in. No surprise deprecations. The system we design today runs the same way five years from now. Your investment is in hardware and design — not a recurring subscription that evaporates when you cancel.
Chosen for reliability, local capability, and field-proven performance — not marketing.
Modern HVAC systems — variable speed, heat pump, multi-zone — generate a rich data stream. Where a manufacturer allows integration, we capture that data and put it to work: temperature history, runtime analysis, efficiency trends, and real-time alerts. No thermostat swap required. Platform: Resideo / Honeywell Home.
Z-Wave is our primary contact sensor protocol: no cloud dependency, encrypted mesh, and battery life measured in years. We design for scale — 25+ sensors in a single system isn't uncommon. Budget-conscious options bring per-unit cost down to around $15 without sacrificing reliability.
Ring is our preferred camera platform for its proven integration, wide product line, and field-proven reliability. We design motion automations, doorbell alerts, and notification routing as part of every security scope. Budget alternatives are available where applicable.
YoLink is our preferred leak detection platform — long range, local MQTT capable, and purpose-built for sensors that have to work every single time. Garage, HVAC drain pan, laundry, bathrooms — every risk point covered. YoLink's LoRa protocol reaches where Wi-Fi doesn't.
We work with Samsung SmartThings as a compatible integration layer. Your washer, dryer, and refrigerator aren't just appliances — they're nodes in your automation system. Left the fridge door open? You'll know. Laundry done? You'll know that too.
We use ntfy as the notification backbone — self-hosted, fast, and free. Every alert your system generates routes through a single, privacy-respecting push notification stack. No third-party apps required. No ads. No data harvesting.
Aladdin Connect provides open/close state, last-event timestamps, and full automation integration. Know when the garage opened, who triggered it, and set automations that close it automatically at a set time or when the house enters an away state.
Tesla Powerwall integration surfaces grid power, solar production, battery charge state, and per-circuit load data through Grafana dashboards backed by InfluxDB time-series storage. Real-time energy intelligence: generation vs. consumption, cost tracking, and historical trend analysis.
Kasa smart switches and plugs operate entirely on the local LAN — no cloud account needed for automation. Fast response, reliable scheduling, and full integration with the home automation hub via Node.js services on the local network.
Live energy dashboards — Powerwall charge state, solar production, grid draw, battery flow, and real-time cost tracking against TXU Solar Buyback Plus.
These systems aren't theoretical. They run on a dedicated on-premise home server that powers both the private tooling stack and the home automation platform for this residence.
Home Assistant with Lovelace UI is the automation hub — handling device states, automations, scenes, and presence detection. The UI is fully custom: JSON and HTML configuration throughout, with every dashboard panel purpose-built for the actual use case rather than a generic template.
Node.js integration services bridge manufacturer APIs directly — Kasa lighting, YoLink sensor data via MQTT, SmartThings appliance states, Resideo thermostat, Tesla Powerwall energy data, and Aladdin Connect garage access. No cloud middleware. Data flows from device to local service to hub.
Grafana dashboards backed by InfluxDB provide time-series visibility across the whole system — energy production and consumption (grid/solar/battery), environmental sensors (temperature, humidity, air quality), appliance states, and security events. The energy dashboard tracks per-session cost, daily kWh totals, and Powerwall charge percentage in real time.
Tailscale VPN provides secure remote access to the entire stack — monitoring and control from anywhere, with no ports exposed to the public internet.
Powerwall control dashboard, energy flow v2 (solar / home / battery / grid), and 10-day weather forecast — all running on-premise, 24/7.
Two different clients. The same commitment to clean design and honest advice.
You want a smart home that works without a monthly subscription or a tech degree. LEX gives you a system designed around your life, not a vendor's ecosystem. You tell us how you live. We design around that — not around what's easiest to sell.
You need a design partner with real-world engineering experience who can hand off clean, documented system designs you can execute with confidence. We've built systems like this from scratch across dozens of platforms. We know what fails, what lasts, and what matters — and we document it well enough that you're never guessing.
Professional inquiries, project consultations, and trade partnerships welcome.
Describe your space, your devices, and your goals. We'll tell you what a real design looks like — before you commit to any hardware.
stovey@limitedenergy.net →The views, tools, and content on this site are personal and independent. They do not represent the positions, products, or work product of any current or former employer. No warranty is expressed or implied regarding the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for purpose of any design, configuration, or recommendation presented here. All output is provided for preliminary planning only and must be reviewed by a qualified professional before implementation. No liability is accepted for errors, omissions, or downstream use.