Building a Smart Campervan opens up a new level of comfort, efficiency, and convenience, especially for vanlifers, digital nomads, or anyone using their vehicle as a mobile home. With the right setup, you can control lighting, heating, ventilation, security, and even entertainment systems from a single Control Panel, phone or even voice control. Remote access may also be possible depending upon the chosen system.
Why?
At first it seems strange that van automation exists, but it can offer some very useful options:
- If you leave your van without your dog, wouldn’t it be great to automatically sense this and enable the internal CCTV, open the roof vents, maybe turn on the fans if it gets warm or even the lights if it’s close to sunset.
- When it’s time to go to sleep, it would be useful to just switch everything off in one automation.
- Maybe the van could sense when you return and enable a step, then turn the lights on for you as you open the side door.
- With presence sensing enabled, this opens up a myriad of security settings which could be done from sirens to push notifications.
Some Options
Home Assistant
This is a popular home automation platform and is an open-source product. It does not come with any hardware as such and therefore you are free to choose as few or as many protocols and sensors as you wish. You can run the software on anything from a Simple Board Computer (SBC) such as a Raspberry PI all the way up to a dedicated full PC. However typically only small mini PC’s are required and often Home Assistant is run inside a container or as a virtual machine on a system running other tools.
Home Assistant is a local-first, it doesn’t require an internet connection to function, which is a big advantage when traveling off-grid. It supports thousands of integrations, from smart switches and sensors to custom vehicle monitoring systems, giving you full flexibility to tailor the automation to your needs.
Home Assistant software is free, but you do need to purchase a suitable hardware platform, then install and configure Home Assistant. Hardware can range anything from £130 upwards depending upon how fancy you want to go and how many technologies you need to support.
We chose Home Assistant for BlackPaw because it supports the widest range of devices and runs entirely locally. The trade-offs are a steeper learning curve and some ongoing maintenance.
SavvyVan
SavvyVan is a relative newcomer to the van automation scene, setup in 2020, but has really started to gain traction since SavvyVan V3 has been released. SavvyVan is a complete software and hardware system with several additional modules available to extend the base functionality.
The system is similar to Home Assistant in that it does not require internet connection to function. The system offers a comprehensive set of features for van automation, but it is proprietary and therefore can only do what it can do. No doubt this will expand over time and it will increase with additional hardware options and further software enhancements.
The base SavvyVan V3 system starts around £400.
Homey
Now owned by LG, Homey is a user-friendly interface with wide device compatibility. One of the stand-out features is a strong automation engine called Flows. The system consists of both hardware and software, supporting a broad range of sensors, devices and protocols with a clean, well-designed interface.
If using local protocols e.g. Zigbee, ZWave, IR, Bluetooth, then Homey can function 100% offline. However internet connection will be required for other cloud based options, e.g. backups, Alexa, Google Assistant and some local apps which require cloud APIs.
Homey Pro is typically available for around £399.
Samsung SmartThings
SmartThings hub has good device compatibility, especially with Zigbee and Z-Wave. The app is user-friendly and integrates with multiple brands. However, once again this option is cloud reliant for most features. Ideal for those who want a straightforward hub-based system without too much tinkering and have a constant internet connection.
SmartThing hubs start from around £50.
For privacy reasons and poor offline capability, SmartThings is not ideal for a main automation system in a van.
Amazon Alexa
Alexa voice control is seamless, it has a huge ecosystem of compatible devices, relatively easy to set up. However it has a strong reliance on the cloud and therefore has limited offline control. All automations run in the cloud and not locally. This is obviously not ideal for van automation. Alexa maybe a second or supplemental system if the internet or privacy is not a high priority.
Alexa items are typically a hardware hub and software, but they can integrate with other protocols and devices. Ideally a separate Zigbee or Wave hub is required to use in parallel together with switches and sensors.
For privacy reasons and poor offline capability, Alexa is not ideal for a main automation system in a van.
Google Assistant
This is an excellent voice recognition system but again has a cloud reliance and poor device support. A Google Speaker does not include any hardware hub and has no integration to other protocols.
Google Assistant small mini hubs start from just £25.
For privacy reasons, poor offline capability and poor device support, Google Assistant is not ideal for a main automation system in a van.
Alternative Mentions
The following systems are also worth a mention for various reasons:
Victron Cerbo GX
Victron is one of the pioneers when it comes to van electrical systems and integrating automation. Almost all of the Victron equipment in the Eco System can now talk to their Cerbo GX system. This system offers a way for the user to have visibility of their whole electrical system via a browser or connected screen. Also as of of late, bluetooth sensors and relays can now be connected. Configuration is limited to whatever they support
The Cerbo GX starts from £165.
Philips Hue
Hue offers a hardware and software based solution. Hue lights are typically based on Zigbee protocol communicating with the local hub. The hub has a local API, so other systems, e.g. Home Assistant, Homey can connect to Hue and control everything when offline.
Philips have a habit of discontinuing hubs and forcing purchase of new hubs. The prices of Philips Hue items are very high and the quality of the lights are often lower than cheaper alternatives.
Due to the price and long-term support concerns, there are better options available for lighting.
Summary
Smart Home Platforms Comparison
| Product | Internet reliance | Ease of use | Hub vs. software | Typical costs* | Devices supported | Privacy posture | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Assistant | Low (local-first; cloud only if needed) | Medium (powerful, more setup) | Software + optional hub (e.g., Home Assistant Green) | Software: free; HA Green hub ≈ £110–125; add radios (Zigbee/Z-Wave) if needed. Can also be run as a container or virtual machine on a dedicated PC | 1000+ brands / 3000+ integrations (very broad) | Strong: runs locally; no data to vendor cloud by default | Best for tinkerers or anyone who wants full local control and flexibility. |
| SavvyVan | Low (vehicle-local) | High (turnkey panel) | Hardware panel (for Campervans/RVs) | Control board/panel ≈ £440–£600; not a home system | Vehicle-specific systems (not general home devices) | Local by design | For vans/RVs, not residential smart home automation. Likely out of scope. |
| Samsung SmartThings | Medium (increasing local-first; many features still cloud-linked) | High (user-friendly app) | Requires hub (Aeotec SmartThings Hub / upcoming Hub 2) | Hub ≈ £100–130; devices extra | Thousands; V3: Zigbee/Z-Wave/Matter; Hub 2: Zigbee/Thread/Matter (no Z-Wave) | Mixed: local automations supported; account/cloud used for remote + some device clouds | Great for quick setup. Check protocol needs (Z-Wave vs newer Hub 2). |
| Amazon Alexa | High for voice; some local control with Matter on select Echo devices | High (voice-first) | Software on Echo speakers/displays; optional Echo Hub | Echo devices £30–250; Echo Hub ~£200; devices extra | 140k+ compatible devices (claimed) | Cloud-centric; voice recordings sent to Amazon (deletion options available) | Best if you want voice-first control and broad compatibility; relies on Amazon cloud. |
| Google Assistant | High for voice; local control for Matter on supported hubs | High (simple app; improving) | Software on Nest devices/Android TV; acts as Matter hub | Nest Mini £30–60; Nest Hub £70–150; devices extra | Thousands of brands via Works with Google Home + Matter | Cloud-centric for voice; recordings tied to Google account (controls available) | Good ecosystem reach; Matter brings more local control on newer hubs. |
| Homey Pro | Low (local-first hub; cloud for remote/app store/backups) | High (polished app & flows) | Hardware hub (Pro / Pro mini) | Homey Pro ≈ £399; Pro mini ≈ £199; optional £10/yr backups | 50,000+ products via 1,000+ brand apps | Local automations; some cloud services optional | Great balance of ease + local control; excellent multi-radio support (Pro). |
*Costs are approximate as of 2025. Hardware devices (lights, sensors, etc.) are always extra.
Smart Home Automation Scoring Matrix (with Privacy Details)
| Product | Privacy-first | Convenience-first | Budget-conscious | Ease of use (1–5) | Privacy posture (1–5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Assistant | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 3 | 5 |
| SavvyVan | 4.2 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 5 | 5 |
| SmartThings | 3.3 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 5 | 3 |
| Amazon Alexa | 2.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 5 | 1 |
| Google Assistant | 2.1 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 5 | 1 |
| Homey Pro | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 5 | 5 |
Insights by privacy posture
- Home Assistant, SavvyVan, Homey Pro have a perfect privacy score (5/5).
- Alexa and Google Assistant scored low on privacy posture (1/5) due to their cloud reliance.
- Home Assistant and Homey Pro remain the best all-rounders for privacy-first users.
Insights by primary focus
- Privacy-first users → Best fits: Home Assistant (4.8), Homey Pro (4.5).
- Convenience-first users → Best fits: Homey Pro (4.3), Alexa (4.2), Home Assistant (4.2).
- Budget-conscious users → Best fits: Home Assistant (4.6), Alexa (4.2), Google Assistant (4.0).
- Ease of use → Almost all rank 5 (very easy), except Home Assistant at 3 (steeper learning curve).
Charts
