Frequently asked questions
The questions we get asked most, answered plainly. If yours is not here, ask us and we will add it.
Start here
The basics
What Sensa is, and what it does to a vehicle.
What is Sensa?
Sensa is a control system for campervans, motorhomes and boats, built by Sensa Systems Ltd, a UK company. It connects the separate systems in a vehicle, heating, power, lighting, water and security, so they can be controlled from one app and can act together instead of as isolated islands.
What is Sensa Nomad?
Sensa Nomad is the campervan and motorhome edition of the Sensa control system. It comes in four tiers: Base at £699, Pro at £999, Vision at £1499 and AI at £1999, each sold as a self-install kit. Sensa Helm is the marine edition and is scheduled for 2027.
Do I have to replace the equipment already in my van?
No. Sensa sits on top of the systems you already have rather than replacing them. Your existing switches, control panels and remotes stay installed and keep working exactly as they did. Sensa adds a single dashboard over them, plus behaviours that act across systems.
Is Sensa based on Home Assistant?
Yes. Sensa runs on Home Assistant, an open platform, on hardware you own. That is deliberate: it means no vendor lock-in, no licence server, and your system keeps running whatever happens to us. What Sensa adds is the integration work, the dashboards, the protective behaviours and the support.
What are instincts?
Instincts are the 13 protective behaviours every Sensa Nomad ships with, switched on from the day the system goes in. They watch for things like a low battery, a shore power lead still connected when you start the engine, tanks running low, or temperatures dropping while you are away. Nobody sets them up and nobody wires them together.
Money
Cost and what is included
Published prices, and an honest account of what the number does not cover.
How much does a Sensa system cost?
Sensa Nomad costs £699 for Base, £999 for Pro and £1499 for Vision, in GBP as of August 2026. Each is a self-install kit and the price covers the brain with the Nomad software installed. A typical all-in Base build comes to about £819 once you add a touchscreen and a relay module. Full detail is on the pricing page.
Is there a subscription?
Not to control your own vehicle. Sensa Nomad has no licence fee, and a system with nothing paid on it keeps running offline and indefinitely. There is one optional annual plan, the Sensa Nomad Support Plan, covering remote access to your van, remote support from us, cloud backups, the Nomad software updates we deliver and Radar Premium licences (one on Base, two on Pro, two on Vision and two on AI). The first year comes with every Nomad system and it renews at £99 to £169 a year depending on tier. Sensa Studio Premium is a separate optional subscription at £19 a month.
What happens if I do not renew the Support Plan?
Your van keeps working. Scenes, instincts, switching, monitoring and the dashboard all run on the computer inside the vehicle, so none of them depend on us or on the internet. What stops is reaching the van from outside it, us signing in to help, backups leaving the vehicle, new software updates, and the Radar Premium licences, which drop back to Radar Free. Your system stays on the version it is running. Renew at any time and all five come back. See the Support Plan page.
Is installation included?
No. Sensa Nomad is sold as a self-install kit. If you would rather not fit it yourself, our trade partners install Sensa systems, and a design consultation costs £99, credited in full against the purchase of a brain.
Are sensors and devices included in the price?
No. Sensa controls the kit in your van rather than supplying it, so the tier price does not include your electrical gear, lighting, heating, pumps, router or sensors. You keep what you already own and buy the rest from whoever you like. The rated devices list covers what we have tested.
The bad day
Reliability and failure
What happens when things go wrong. More detail on the reliability page.
Does Sensa work without an internet connection?
Yes. A Sensa Nomad system runs on a computer inside the vehicle, so control, instincts and routines all work with no connection. Only features that depend on the outside world need one: live maps and nearby places in Sensa Radar, weather and solar forecasts, and checking the van remotely.
What happens if the Sensa unit fails?
Everything keeps working. Heating, lights, water pump and power each run on their own controls, exactly as the manufacturer built them. Sensa is a layer on top, never a single point of failure. You lose the single dashboard and the automatic behaviours, not the ability to run the van.
What happens to my system if Sensa stops trading?
Your system keeps running. It is built on an open platform, on hardware you own, with your data stored on board. Nothing phones home to unlock it. You would lose future updates and our support, not the system itself.
Where is my data stored?
On board the vehicle. The dashboards, the instincts, your routines and your history all live on the computer in the van rather than in a data centre. Remote diagnostics only happen with your permission, on your say-so, and every access is logged.
The rest of the range
Radar, Studio and the shop
The products that sit alongside the control system.
What is Sensa Radar?
Sensa Radar is a location-aware amenity finder with vehicle-aware routing. Tell it your height, width and weight once and it routes around low bridges, weight limits and width restrictions. Radar finds places anywhere in the world, and plans routes in Great Britain today. It runs on the web, iOS, Android and inside Home Assistant. Radar is free; Premium costs £3.95 a month or £24.95 a year, starts with a 7-day free trial, and is included with every Nomad system.
What is Sensa Studio?
Sensa Studio is a system design tool. It produces network topology, power budgets, fuse sizing, shopping lists and wiring diagrams for a build. Studio is free to use; Studio Premium adds a full manual editor for £19 a month.
Can I try Sensa before buying?
A live demo and a device simulator are both in development. In the meantime, Sensa Studio is free and lets you design and cost a system before committing to anything, and Sensa Radar is free to use today.
Who you are buying from
About Sensa
Company facts are on the company facts page.
Who makes Sensa?
Sensa Systems Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales, company number 16958196, VAT number GB513010854. It was founded by Richard, who spent nearly four decades in corporate IT and the last ten as a Platform Engineering lead, after building his own campervan and running into the problem Sensa solves.
Is Sensa a UK company?
Yes. Sensa Systems Ltd is registered in England and Wales and support is UK-based. You can reach us at [email protected] or on 0330 223 7715.
Do you work with converters and installers?
Yes. We run a trade programme for installers and converters, with trade pricing and support after handover. See the trade page for what we offer and what we ask.
Not answered here?
Ask us directly. If it is a fair question, it probably belongs on this page.