Can one app run the whole house with Josh.ai and Control4?

Why does every device come with its own app?

Because each manufacturer builds an app for its product and no one builds one for your house. A thermostat app, a lighting app, a shade app, a camera app, a TV remote and a speaker app each work in isolation. The person who has to remember which is which stops using most of them.

Rivas Technology Group installs Control4 as the platform that holds all of those devices, and Josh.ai as the voice and app layer that makes talking to them natural. We are a Control4 Authorized Dealer, listed on Control4's integrator map, and a Josh.ai dealer since 2023. Here is what each system looks like when it runs from one place.

How does unified control work?

A Control4 controller sits on the home network and talks to each device through a driver written for that model. Control4 works with 25,000+ third-party products and runs in over 500,000 homes (Control4), so the TV, receiver, thermostat and lock you already own are usually covered. The app, a touch screen, a wall keypad and a remote all show the same rooms and the same scenes.

Josh.ai adds a microphone and a language model, so "turn the kitchen down and play the news" works as one sentence instead of three taps. Josh.ai processes your voice with privacy as a design goal and does not sell your data, which is why we prefer it to consumer assistants in a client's home.

Lighting

Lighting is the first system most clients notice. Every dimmer in the house becomes a device the controller can see, so a keypad by the door shows "Evening", "Entertain" and "Off" instead of nine switches. Scenes run on schedule or on sunset, and the app shows which lights are on from anywhere. If you leave for Tacoma and cannot remember the garage light, you look, and you press. The smart lighting page covers the keypads, the wireless dimmers that replace existing switches, and the fixtures.

Motorized shades

Shades join the same scenes. A west-facing living room in Gig Harbor gets glare at four in the afternoon. The shades close on schedule or on a light sensor, and open again for sunset. The "Movie" scene drops them with the lights. The "Goodnight" scene closes every shade on the main floor with one press or one sentence to Josh.ai. Battery, wired and PoE shade options are on the shades page.

Multi-room audio and video

One app shows every audio zone and every display, and anyone in the house can pick a room and a source. Music can follow you from the kitchen to the patio, or play something different in each room. At the end of the evening the whole house fades on one button. Video works the same way: the same remote runs the display, the streaming box and the receiver in each room, so nobody hunts for the right input. Options are on the home theater and audio page.

Network

None of this works on a weak network, and the network is not a mesh puck from a big-box store. We install an Island Router, a wired, subscription-free router built in the United States. It runs with wired access points on every floor, a PoE switch and VLANs that keep cameras, automation and guests apart (Wi-Fi and networking). The controller, the audio, the cameras and the phones all ride on it, so it is designed first.

Security

Cameras, door contacts and the alarm show up in the same app, and the systems talk to each other. We install Ajax for intrusion and cameras. A MotionCam sends its first photo within 9 seconds of a trigger (Ajax MotionCam). Through Control4 an alarm can turn on every light in the house and put the camera on the nearest screen. Arming the system is part of "Goodnight" and "Away", so the alarm is set because you left, not because you remembered.

What drives the cost?

Device count, room count and how much of the house is new wiring versus wireless retrofit. A main-floor lighting system with audio in two rooms and the app is a smaller job. A whole-home system with shades, security, a theater and touch screens in every room is a larger one. Control4 pricing and what each tier includes are on the Control4 page; for a number, use the instant quote.

Need it installed?

Rivas Technology Group designs and installs Control4 and Josh.ai systems from Kent across south King County and Pierce County, with the network and security built by the same team. Book a walk-through and we will map what you own onto one app.