Power → Network
The far building needs its own supply
A wireless link to a barn or a neighbour only works if the radio at each end stays on. We size a small solar and battery kit for relay points where there's no mains.
Cornwall · Off grid · Farms · Rural sites
Power.Network.Control.
a30.tech is a Cornwall-based systems integrator for farms and remote sites. We design off-grid power on Victron, Ubiquiti networks and CCTV, and the automation that ties them together. We start with what the site needs to do, then choose the kit.
Three trades, one wiring diagram
Most farms call an electrician, an IT firm and an alarm company, then spend months finding out whose problem it is. Off grid and spread across a yard, the three jobs depend on each other.
Network → Control
Automation needs a network you can trust
A gate that opens on an alarm event, or a load you switch from your phone, is only as reliable as the network behind it. We build that network, so we know it.
Control → Power
A battery lasts longer when loads behave
Shedding the water heater, pump or charger when the battery is low, and starting the generator when it's needed, is where most off-grid systems win or lose.
Requirements first, kit second
Anyone can sell a box of cameras or a pallet of batteries. The skill is working out what the site has to do, designing a system that does it, and proving it works before we leave. Every job starts with a short list of what you need, in your words. We design to that list and test against it at handover.
What you need
How we meet it
How we prove it
Keep the water pumping through a grey week in December
System sized on winter solar yield. Pump runs on surplus, generator starts automatically at a set battery level.
Generator start tested at handover. We review the VRM history with you after the first month.
Know who's at the yard gate before it opens
Camera placed for a clear face and plate view. Gate opens only through the alarm logic you've agreed.
We walk every gate scenario with you on site, including what happens when the alarm is set.
CCTV that still records when the internet or mains drops
Footage recorded on site, not in the cloud. Recorder and cameras run from the Victron-backed supply.
We pull the internet and the mains at handover and check the recording carries on.
Usable WiFi in the lambing shed, not just the farmhouse
Coverage planned from a site survey, with outdoor access points and a wireless link where cable won't reach.
Speed measured in each building and recorded in your handover pack.
What we install
Each service stands on its own. You can hire us for one, and the other two will be easier to add later because the groundwork is already right.
Power
Off-grid power
Off-grid and backup power for farms, remote buildings and sites where the mains doesn't reach or can't be relied on. Built on Victron, with generators that start themselves when the batteries need them. Sized for the darkest weeks of winter, not a summer afternoon.
- Full off-grid systems for farms, cabins and remote sites
- Ground-mount and agricultural-building solar arrays
- Battery banks for barns, workshops and outbuildings
- Generator supply, changeover and auto-start
- Small standalone kits for gates, cameras, pumps and radio masts
- Kit
- Victron MultiPlus and Quattro inverter/chargers, SmartSolar MPPT, Cerbo GX
- Sized from
- Your load profile and winter yield, not the brochure figure
- Monitoring
- Victron VRM: battery, solar and generator hours from your phone
Network
Ubiquiti networks
We're a network integrator working mainly with Ubiquiti. Most jobs are WiFi that covers the whole yard properly, not just the farmhouse kitchen. Some go further: point-to-point links between buildings, and small wireless ISPs that share one good connection across a farm or hamlet.
- UniFi WiFi, switching and gateways, planned by survey
- Outdoor coverage for yards, sheds and livestock buildings
- Point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless links
- Mini WISP builds: one backhaul shared to several properties
- Separate networks for cameras, guests and farm equipment
- Bands
- 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz WiFi; 5 and 60 GHz links
- Link range
- Hundreds of metres to several kilometres, line of sight
- Managed
- Remote monitoring and updates after install
Network + Control
CCTV & security
UniFi Protect CCTV, access control and bespoke security systems, designed around how your site actually works: where vehicles come in, where stock, machinery and fuel are kept, and who needs access when. Where an off-the-shelf package doesn't fit, we build one that does.
- UniFi Protect cameras and recorders, with no monthly subscription
- Approach and number-plate cameras on lanes and gates
- Access control for yards, stores, workshops and fuel tanks
- Off-grid camera points on solar, linked back by radio
- Bespoke systems where alarm, gate, lighting and cameras act together
- Recording
- On site, on your hardware. Keeps going when the internet drops
- Power
- Cameras on a battery-backed supply, so a power cut doesn't blind them
- Weather
- Rated housings and stainless fixings for exposed, salty Cornish sites
Control
Practical automation
Not blinds and TV scenes. This is automation that does a job: switching loads when power is short, starting equipment on a schedule or a sensor, and opening a gate as part of a proper security system.
- Load control and shedding tied to battery state
- Generator start and stop on battery level or demand
- Gate and barrier control linked to alarm and cameras
- Borehole pumps, heaters and chargers run on surplus solar
- Alerts to your phone when something needs attention
- Works offline
- Logic runs on site, so it keeps working if the internet drops
- Manual override
- Every automated load still has a switch you can use
- Security
- Gate and alarm events logged and linked to camera footage
Typical jobs
The kind of work we do. Most use two or three services together.
Power · Network · Control
Smallholding with no mains
Victron system for the house and workshop, generator backup for winter, a wireless link to the stables and a gate that opens from the alarm keypad.
PV6.4 kWp ground mount
InverterMultiPlus-II 48/5000
Storage15 kWh LFP
Backupauto-start generator
LinkPtP, 5 GHz
Network · Power
Broadband shared across a hamlet
One fibre connection at the farmhouse, shared by radio to nearby homes. The relay mast on the hill runs on its own small solar kit.
Backhaul1 fibre line
Sites6 properties
TopologyPtMP from relay mast
Relay powersolar + battery
Network · Control
Livestock farm, secure yard
WiFi across the yard and sheds, cameras on the calving pens, and the yard gate tied into the alarm so it locks out when the site is set.
APsoutdoor, yard-wide
Camerason managed VLAN
Gatealarm-linked
Accessremote, logged
How a job runs
One point of contact from the first visit to the support call years later.
Listen
We walk the site with you: buildings, cable routes, line of sight, what you run now and what keeps going wrong.
Write it down
A short list of requirements in plain language. You agree it before any kit is chosen.
Design
A written design and fixed quote that answers each requirement, with power, network, security and control drawn as one system.
Install & prove
Fitted, labelled and tested against your list with you there. You keep the drawings and the test results.
Support
Remote monitoring where you want it, and one person to call who knows how it all fits together.
Tell us about the site
Send a few details about the site and what you want it to do. We'll get back to you with questions or a time to visit.
Useful to mention
- Rough distances between buildings
- What you run now: generator size, pumps, heaters
- What keeps going wrong