Smart home design and installation, Quebec and Ottawa
A home that keeps working when the internet does not.
IntelliKrib designs, installs and commissions cameras, water leak protection, locks, heating, lighting, shades and audio as one control system, in homes and buildings across Quebec and in Ottawa. There is no monthly subscription and no vendor cloud between you and your own home.
- Local-first
- Automations run on a dedicated controller in your home, not on a server somewhere else.
- No subscription
- You buy the system once. Nothing switches off when a plan lapses.
- Open standards
- Built on Matter and Thread, so no single brand or dealer can lock you in.
Systems we build
Twelve categories. One system.
Everything below is designed to work with everything else and to run locally. We install across Quebec and in Ottawa, in houses, plexes, condos and commercial buildings. You can start with one category and add the rest later without replacing anything.
- Cameras & video surveillanceLocal recording on your own drive. No cloud plan, no per-camera fee.Learn more
- Alarm & securityContacts, motion and glass-break sensors, sirens and arming modes on your own controller. No monitoring contract required.Learn more
- Locks, doorbells & garageLocks, keypads, doorbells and garage doors that work from your phone, a code or a key, and keep working offline.Learn more
- Water protectionLeak sensors at every risk point and a motorised valve on the main. It closes on its own in under a second.Learn more
- Heating, cooling & ventilationThermostats, heat pumps, air exchangers and humidity control that respond to presence and open windows, locally.Learn more
- LightingScenes, dimming and presence-based lighting on Thread. Wall switches still work as switches.Learn more
- Smart window coveringsMotorised shades and blinds that follow the sun, the season and the room, quietly, on Thread.Learn more
- Multi-room audioWhole-home audio with AirPlay 2, wired where it matters, grouped by room.Learn more
- Sensors & presenceMotion, occupancy, doors, windows, temperature and air quality. The inputs every automation depends on.Learn more
- Energy & EV chargingSee where the power goes, keep the EV charger and the water heater off peak, and let the house follow your utility's peak pricing on its own, such as Hydro-Québec peak events or Ontario time-of-use rates.Learn more
- Controller, bridges & Matter/Thread networkingThe dedicated controller, Thread border routers and network design that make everything else reliable.Learn more
- AI assistant (Claude & ChatGPT)Ask your house questions and give it instructions from Claude or ChatGPT, through an open-source MCP server on your own controller.Learn more
How it is built
Four layers. The internet is not one of them.
Every system we install is built the same way. What you touch is on top, the devices are at the bottom, and a dedicated controller and its own network sit in between. The internet plugs in from the side, and the house does not wait for it.
How you use it
Wall keypads and one app for the whole house, with Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, Claude or ChatGPT as optional front doors.
The controller
Automations, schedules and device history run here, on a dedicated controller in your house, not on a server somewhere else.
The network
Thread, Matter and PoE on a network segment of their own, wired wherever walls are open.
The devices
Cameras, locks, the water valve, thermostats, shades, speakers and sensors, all answering to the same controller.
Internet (Optional)
Remote access and the AI assistants come in this way. If the connection drops, the house carries on as normal.
Why IntelliKrib
Built to be owned, not rented.
Local-first
Automations run on a dedicated controller in your home, not on a server somewhere else. If your internet goes down, lights, locks, heating and the water valve carry on as normal. Remote access is a feature layered on top, not a dependency.
No subscriptions
You buy the hardware once and it is yours. There is no monthly plan to keep recording and no fee to keep a feature switched on. If we closed our doors tomorrow, your home would keep working.
Integrator-grade, without the lock-in
You get what a proprietary control system gives you: a dedicated controller, wall keypads, programmed scenes and one app for the whole house. The difference is what it is built on. Matter and Thread are open standards, so you are not tied to one manufacturer, one dealer or one licence.
Commissioned and documented
Every install is tested room by room and handed over with a written record: what is installed, where, on which network, and what each automation does. Whoever services the house next can read it.
Talk to the house
Ask it a question. Ask it to build a routine.
Through an open-source MCP server on your controller, Claude or ChatGPT can read the state of your home and write automations for you, in plain language. The rules it creates run locally, like everything else.
You: Is everything locked, and is the garage closed?
Tool call: ha_get_statelocks, garage, windows5 entities
Claude: Front and back doors are locked. The garage door has been closed since 6:42 pm. One thing: the basement window contact is still open.
You: Open the bedroom and kitchen blinds at 7 every morning, but only on weekdays and only if someone is home.
Tool call: ha_config_set_automationweekday_morning_blindscreated, backup taken
Claude: Done. Weekday morning blinds: 7:00, Monday to Friday, when anyone is home, opens the four shades in the bedroom and the kitchen. I took a backup first. Want it to skip statutory holidays?
You: Yes. And set the heat to 18 when we all leave, then back to 21 an hour before we usually get home.
Tool call: ha_get_historypresence, 30 dayshome by 5:40 pm most weekdays
Tool call: ha_config_set_automationaway_setback, welcome_home_heat2 created, backup taken
Claude: Added. Heating drops to 18° when the last person leaves and returns to 21° at 4:40 pm, since you are usually back by 5:40. The blinds now skip Quebec statutory holidays. All three rules run on the controller, so they keep working without internet.
What changed
- Locks2 of 2 locked
- GarageClosed
- Basement windowOpen
- ShadesWeekdays 7:00, when home
- HeatingAway 18°, home 21°
- Backups2 taken before changes
Runs on the controller. Nothing here needs the internet, except sending your message to the AI provider you chose.
Illustrative conversation. Names, times and figures are examples, not a recording.
The alternatives
How it compares.
Three other ways to make a house smart, and where each one leaves you in five years.
Monthly fee
- Subscription security brands
- Yes, for monitoring, recording or the app
- Proprietary control systems
- Usually none, but licences and dealer service calls
- DIY gadgets
- Often, per camera or per feature
- IntelliKrib
- None
Works without internet
- Subscription security brands
- Partly
- Proprietary control systems
- Yes
- DIY gadgets
- Rarely
- IntelliKrib
- Yes, by design
Who can change the programming
- Subscription security brands
- The provider
- Proprietary control systems
- Only an authorised dealer
- DIY gadgets
- You, one app at a time
- IntelliKrib
- You or us. You hold admin access
Hardware choice
- Subscription security brands
- The provider's own
- Proprietary control systems
- One manufacturer's range
- DIY gadgets
- Whatever was on sale
- IntelliKrib
- Any maker that speaks Matter, chosen for the job
Documentation you keep
- Subscription security brands
- None
- Proprietary control systems
- Varies by dealer
- DIY gadgets
- None
- IntelliKrib
- A full handover pack
If the company disappears
- Subscription security brands
- Service ends
- Proprietary control systems
- You need another dealer for that brand
- DIY gadgets
- Cloud devices may stop working
- IntelliKrib
- Everything keeps running
These are generalisations about categories, not statements about any one company. They are also six good questions to ask any provider, including us.
How it works
Three steps, each with something in writing.
Site survey
We visit and walk the house with you. We note the things that decide the design: where water enters, which doors matter, where the panel is, how the network is laid out and what you actually want to happen day to day. There is no charge and no obligation.
Design and quote
You receive a written design: a room-by-room list of devices, how they connect, what runs locally and a fixed price. We explain the trade-offs plainly. If you want to phase the work, we say what to do first.
Install and commission
We install, label and program every device, then test each scene and automation with you in the room. You are left with one app for the whole house, wall controls where you need them, a documentation pack and a walkthrough of how to change things yourself.
Water protection
The valve closes before you know there was a leak.
A failed supply line under a sink does its worst damage in the hours when nobody is looking. In a Quebec or Ottawa winter, a frozen pipe does the same in a house that is empty for the week. Our water protection is built in three layers, so that no single failure lets the water keep running.
- Layer 1
It closes on its own, locally
Leak sensors sit at every point of risk: the water heater, the washing machine, the dishwasher, under sinks, at the sump. When one gets wet, the motorised valve on your main line closes. The decision is made on the controller in your house, and the valve closes within a second. No internet, no phone, no app.
- Layer 2
You get an explanation, not just an alarm
Your phone tells you which sensor tripped, when, and what the system did about it. You know whether to call a plumber tonight or in the morning, and you know the water is already off.
- Layer 3
Nothing depends on the internet being up
The valve, the sensors and the controller talk over Thread inside your walls. If the router is off, the power flickers or our company disappears, the shutoff still works. We specify valves that can also be operated by hand.
- Away mode closes the valve with one tap when you leave for a trip, or for the winter.
- Temperature sensors warn before pipes freeze.
- The handover pack shows where every sensor sits and how to test it.
Recent work
Installed, labelled, tidy.
Real installations, photographed as we left them. More photographs are added as projects finish.
Questions
What people ask before they book.
Does a smart home from IntelliKrib work when the internet is down?
Yes. Automations, schedules, lighting, locks, heating and the water shutoff run on a controller inside your house. An internet outage only removes remote access from outside the home. Everything inside keeps working.
Is there a monthly subscription?
No. You buy the hardware once and it is yours. Cameras record to a drive in your home rather than to a paid cloud plan, and no feature switches off if a plan lapses.
Does it work with Apple Home, Google Home or Alexa?
Yes. Matter lets the same devices appear in Apple Home, Google Home and Alexa at the same time, so everyone in the house uses what they prefer, including Siri and the other voice assistants. Those apps are front doors. The scenes and automations run on the dedicated controller we install, so nothing depends on any one of them.
Can I talk to my house with Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes. We install ha-mcp, an open-source Model Context Protocol server, on the Home Assistant controller in your home. You can then ask questions and give instructions from Claude, ChatGPT and other AI clients, with permissions and a read-only mode set the way you want.
Can an automatic water shutoff valve lower my home insurance in Quebec?
Several Quebec insurers offer a discount or a rebate for a leak detection system that closes the main water valve automatically. The amount and the conditions vary by insurer. Ask yours before the install and we will provide the documentation they need.
Do you install outside Montreal, in Quebec City or Ottawa?
Yes. We install anywhere in Quebec and in Ottawa. The site survey is free in Greater Montreal, the Quebec City region, Gatineau and the Outaouais, Ottawa, the Laurentians, Lanaudière, the Eastern Townships and Mauricie. Anywhere else in Quebec, tell us where the house is and we will plan the visit.
Do you work in condos and plexes?
Yes. Most of what we install fits a plex or a condo as well as a house. Where the main water valve sits in a condo depends on the building, and we confirm what is possible during the survey.
Can I start with just water protection?
Yes. Water protection is the most common first project. Everything we install shares the same controller and the same standards, so cameras, lighting or locks can be added later without replacing anything.
Do I have to replace what I already own?
Usually not. Equipment that speaks Matter, Thread or HomeKit can join the system. Older devices that only work through a manufacturer's cloud are the exception; we will tell you which ones during the survey.
What does the site survey cost?
Nothing in our main regions, listed under Service area. We visit, walk the house with you and follow up with a written design and a fixed price. There is no obligation.
What runs the automations?
A dedicated controller in your home running Home Assistant, professionally configured, monitored for updates and backed up automatically. It is open source, runs locally and speaks Matter, Thread, Zigbee and the rest. You receive admin access at handover.
Do you take on hotels, offices or multi-unit buildings?
Yes. The same local-first system scales to a floor of hotel rooms, an office or an apartment building, with cooling and lighting that follow occupancy and a water shutoff on the main. We usually start with one project, measure the result against the rest of the building, and scale from there. The commercial page explains how that works.
Service area
Where we work.
We design and install across Quebec and in Ottawa. Site surveys are free anywhere in the regions below. Anywhere else in Quebec, tell us where the house is and we will plan the visit.
Greater Montreal
Montreal, Laval, the West Island, the South Shore, the North Shore and Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
Quebec City region
Quebec City, Lévis, Sainte-Foy, Charlesbourg, Beauport, L'Ancienne-Lorette.
Gatineau and the Outaouais
Gatineau, Hull, Aylmer, Chelsea, Cantley.
Ottawa
Ottawa, Kanata, Orléans, Nepean, Barrhaven, Stittsville.
Laurentians and Lanaudière
Saint-Jérôme, Saint-Sauveur, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Mont-Tremblant, Joliette.
Eastern Townships and Mauricie
Sherbrooke, Magog, Granby, Bromont, Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan.
Bilingual service in French and English.
Consultation
Book a free consultation.
Tell us a little about the house and what you want it to do. We reply by email or phone to arrange a site visit. There is no charge and no obligation.