Cotswold AutomationBook a free call
HomeAssessments & focused reviews

ASSESSMENTS & FOCUSED REVIEWS

Know what to change.
Before spending more.

Want to spend less on energy, stop juggling apps or automate the jobs you repeat every day? A review identifies the worthwhile opportunities in your home and gives you a practical plan, with no obligation to buy an installation.

Illustrative home with solar panels
Private preview · proposed launch packages

These are the packages being prepared for launch. The current booking form requests an introductory call and does not take payment.

See an example of what you receive →

ONE QUESTION. A CLEAR PLAN.

Focused Remote Review

£195

60-minute video call

You have solar, a battery or heating controls and want to understand one specific problem.

  • One topic: solar and battery coordination, or heating controls
  • Review of relevant models, screenshots and schedules before the call
  • A concise written action plan with up to five priorities
  • One 15-minute follow-up within 30 days

Advice and screen sharing. No equipment installation or remote setting changes included.

Check this is right for me

LET’S LOOK AT IT TOGETHER.

Focused Home Visit

£295

Up to 90 minutes at your home

You would prefer someone to see the controls and equipment in person, or the problem is hard to explain remotely.

  • One topic: solar and battery coordination, or heating controls
  • Pre-reading plus a walkthrough of the relevant equipment
  • A concise action plan separating settings, monitoring and specialist issues
  • One 15-minute follow-up within 30 days

A controls and integration review. Servicing, repairs and installation work are separately scoped.

Check this is right for me

THE WHOLE HOME.

Smart Home & Energy Assessment

£395

2–3 hours at your home

You have several separate systems, too many apps or a plan to bring lighting, comfort, security and energy together.

  • Pre-visit review of your equipment and priorities
  • Overview of the main systems, controls and network dependencies
  • Prioritised report: keep, improve now and consider later
  • Phased implementation options with indicative costs
  • One 30-minute report discussion within 30 days

An assessment and roadmap, rather than a full detailed installation design. Larger or unusually complex properties are scoped separately.

Check this is right for me

What will I actually receive?

A report should help you decide what to do. Yours will explain the current setup, the important limitations and a short list of next steps. Each recommendation will say why it matters, what evidence supports it and whether you can act on it yourself or need further help.

Example recommendation · illustrative

Observation: the EV charging window overlaps the period when the home battery supplies the house. Next step: check whether the inverter can distinguish or exclude the charger load before changing schedules. Evidence needed: a wiring overview and charge/discharge history. Benefit: establish whether the car is using stored energy intended for the house. No saving is assumed until the data supports it.

What if there’s little to improve?

That is a useful answer. We’ll explain what is working well and where spending more is unlikely to help. If the first call suggests the issue belongs with your existing installer, or that the available information cannot support a useful review, we’ll say so before you book.

Renovating or ready to implement?

Renovation planning and integration projects receive a fixed quotation after a scope discussion. A small planning brief, a complete house design and a finished Home Assistant installation need different amounts of work. Your quote separates hardware, configuration, specialist work and handover, with acceptance criteria for the agreed result.

See indicative integration budgets from £1,500 and what affects the price.

Clear costs and boundaries

Proposed launch prices for private review. Local visits include travel within 15 road miles of central Cheltenham; any additional travel is agreed upfront. Your written proposal confirms the complete payable price, scope and delivery date before booking. Reports are planned within seven working days, subject to the date agreed in your proposal. Hardware, installation, ongoing support and specialist services are separate. Review fees pay for the advice and are not automatically credited against later projects.

For heating reviews, the focus is controls, schedules and available data. They do not include heat-loss calculations, mechanical diagnosis, servicing or certification. We discuss any further setting changes or implementation with you before quoting additional work.

See what to prepare

WHAT DOES £395 ACTUALLY BUY?

A plan you can act on.
And reasons behind every recommendation.

An assessment is useful when it helps you make a decision: what to fix first, which purchase to avoid, what could save energy and which automation would make daily life easier.

01

A clear picture of your home

A written overview of the main systems and how their controls interact. Know what you own, what works well and where the important gaps are.

02

A prioritised action list

See what to keep, what to investigate or improve now, and what can wait. Each priority has a reason and a practical next step.

03

An honest view of the benefit

Understand whether a recommendation is about potential savings, comfort or convenience. Financial estimates are included only where the available evidence supports them, with assumptions shown.

04

A way to budget the next step

Get phased options and indicative implementation costs. Detailed designs, equipment and installation are separately quoted, so the review does not commit you to a bigger bill.

05

Time to make sense of it

A 30-minute follow-up within 30 days lets you discuss the report and decide what to do. You keep the recommendations whether or not we carry out further work.

Is a whole-home assessment worth it for you?

It is most useful when several systems interact, you are considering further purchases, or you need a plan for the whole home. For one straightforward question, a £195 focused remote review may be enough.

We cannot promise that a review will recover its fee through energy savings. The first call checks whether there is a worthwhile question to answer. If it belongs with your installer or needs little more than existing guidance, we’ll tell you.

Look inside an example report →

WHY CHOOSE COTSWOLD AUTOMATION?

Someone to look at the whole picture.
And explain it clearly.

Work directly with Miles

Your assessment is with the founder. Miles brings experience as an engineering officer on submarines and in defence and industrial engineering, alongside personal and family Home Assistant, solar, battery and automation projects.

Start with the equipment you own

We check whether existing controls or settings can do the job before recommending extra hardware. Recommendations are tied to your priorities and the equipment’s capabilities.

Keep your options open

The report is yours. Implementation is separately quoted, and your own Home Assistant installation does not depend on buying our optional future care plan. Third-party dependencies are explained.

Know the limits as well as the possibilities

You receive a clear distinction between observations, estimates and questions needing a specialist. We agree scope and price upfront, including what is outside the review.

CHELTENHAM & THE COTSWOLDS

Start with a conversation.

Tell us what you have and what you’d like to improve.

Book a free call