Smart home automation
for Kent, Tacoma and the South Sound

What does a smart home automation system do?

It replaces six apps and three remotes with one control layer that runs every system in the house from a keypad, a remote, a phone or your voice. A controller on the home network talks to lights, shades, thermostats, TVs, music, locks, the garage door and the alarm through a driver written for each model. A scene fires several of them at once. The "Goodnight" scene locks the doors, arms the alarm, closes the shades and turns off the light in the garage. The "Away" scene does the same, then moves lights through the evening so the house looks occupied.

Automation also runs without a button. Exterior lights come on at sunset, the thermostat sets back when the alarm arms, and the kitchen shades drop when the west sun hits the glass. This page covers the category. The residential hub shows the six systems we design together, and the Control4 page has the platform detail.

Which platform do we install?

Control4 for automation, Ajax for security, Josh.ai for voice. Control4 runs in over 500,000 homes and works with 25,000+ third-party products1, which is why the thermostat, streaming boxes and garage opener you already own usually come along. We are a Control4 Authorized Dealer, listed on Control4's integrator map. Security stays a separate system on purpose. Ajax keeps its own app, its own encrypted radio and its own reporting path to Becklar, a UL-listed central station. A Control4 driver links the two so you arm from any keypad.

Read residential security or the security hub for the alarm side. We have been a Josh.ai dealer since 2023, and Josh.ai adds voice control that processes commands on hardware in the house. Alexa and Google Home are command-and-response devices Control4 can talk to; they are not the automation. What counts as intelligence in a house is on AI in the home.

What goes into each room?

Keypads, dimmers, shade motors, speakers, and the cable that feeds them. A typical main floor gets an engraved keypad at each entry in place of the switch bank and dimmers on every circuit. It also gets a touch screen in the kitchen and in-ceiling speakers where music matters.

Bedrooms get a keypad by the door and a shade motor on the windows that face the street. The media room gets one remote that runs the display, the receiver and the lights. Each subsystem has its own page: smart lighting, motorized shades, home theater and audio, outdoor living, and estate technology for properties with a guest house or a gate.

Can automation go into a house that is already built?

Yes. Most of our residential work is in finished homes. Control4 wireless dimmers replace the switches already in the wall, and Ajax detectors mount without cable. Wi-Fi thermostats swap in place, and rechargeable shade motors run 6 to 12 months per charge2.

The controller, the switch and any hardwired keypads go where cable can reach, usually a closet or the mechanical room. We plan those runs with you before anything is opened. New construction is the cheaper path: Cat6A to every keypad, TV and access point while the walls are open, then devices after paint. A remodel gets the same plan sequenced around your contractor.

What sits behind the walls?

A network sized for the device count, a ventilated rack and battery backup. Every keypad, camera, speaker and shade rides the network, so it goes in first. That means an Island Router, which is wired and subscription-free3, Ruckus or Alta Labs access points, PoE switches and labeled Cat6A in a rack. A UPS lets the alarm and the network ride through a power blip. Homes with weak cellular coverage get a booster so the Ajax hub's cellular backup has signal to use. Detail is on Wi-Fi and networking and the Island Router page.

What drives the cost?

Rooms, systems, wall access and what you already own. As of September 2026, a single-room package with lighting and audio control starts at a few thousand dollars installed. A whole-home system with lighting, shades, security, audio, theater and networking is a mid to high five-figure project as of the same date. A Control4 entry system runs $15,000 to $25,000 and a whole-home Control4 system $35,000 to $100,000 or more, each including the controller, keypads, programming and the network it runs on.

Wireless platforms keep retrofit labor down; open walls let us pull cable once. Every proposal is a fixed price before work begins, and a whole-home job is quoted room by room so you can phase it. The full table with inclusions is on smart home installation cost, and the instant quote gives you a number in a few minutes.

How does the process work?

Walk-through, written design, install, then support from the same people. We call or text back within one business day, and the walk-through is free within 20 miles of Kent. The proposal lists what each room gets. Installation takes three to seven days on site for a typical home. Network and rack go in first, then devices, then programming, then a room-by-room walkthrough until every scene does what you expect.

Afterward you have a 90-day workmanship warranty, support at published rates, and the optional CURATOR care plan, which watches the system remotely and fixes most issues before you call. Our own team designs and installs in homes; on commercial projects we bring in licensed trade partners under our design and supervision.

Where do we install smart home automation?

South King County and Pierce County, from our office at 415 Railroad Ave S in Kent. That includes Kent, Renton, Tukwila, Federal Way, Auburn, Covington and Maple Valley, Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Tehaleh, University Place and Gig Harbor. Olympic Peninsula by appointment. Tacoma is 25 to 30 minutes from the shop. Across the lake, Bellevue and Mercer Island have their own pages with the travel terms stated.

Why Rivas Technology Group?

Because each claim can be checked on a page we do not control. WA electrical contractor license RIVASGL799DR, active, bonded and insured4. Control4 Authorized Dealer, listed on Control4's integrator map. Ajax Systems dealer, listed on ajax.systems. Josh.ai dealer since 2023. CEDIA member 2022 to 2026. BBB accredited, A+5. 5.0 from 49 Google reviews. Founded in Kent in 2020. The people are on about us.