Welcome to our Control System documentation home.

Sensa Control System

The Sensa Control System is the platform that powers both Nomad (Vehicle) and Helm (Marine). The same install, configuration, and maintain process applies to both editions. The edition you chose will alter the Scenes, Dashboards and Automations created by the installation, but the journey is the same.

The Journey

• Plan your system first, covering power, network, switches, and devices, and design it in Sensa Studio. If you are here installing then this part should have already been completed.

• Install core. Most customers will have purchased a Sensa Core from us. We offer 4 models, offering different levels of device support and functionality.

• With the core powered on, connect and discover your devices.

• Then enjoy using your edition, starting with the dashboards: Nomad for RVs, Helm for marine.

• There is relatively little maintenance needed to maintain the system. We try and take care as much as possible.

Three choices before you buy

Your system is shaped by three independent choices.

• Edition is Nomad for RVs and campervans, or Helm for boats.
• Tier is Base, Pro, Vision or AI. Your tier sets which features you get and how many devices you can add.
• Deployment Type is how Sensa runs on your hardware: Nomad Appliance, Enthusiast or DIY.

See Licensing for how the licence works.

Which Deployment Type should I choose?

For almost everyone, the answer is the Nomad Appliance, our turnkey system. It is the right choice for around 99% of people, and it is the one we recommend unless you have a clear reason to pick something else. If in doubt, choose the Nomad Appliance.

• Nomad Appliance (recommended). We build and ship you a ready-to-go server. It works out of the box with nothing to set up, we look after the updates and backups for you, and you need no Home Assistant knowledge. It just works and quietly looks after you.
• Enthusiast. You supply your own hardware and flash our image onto it. You get full Home Assistant access and run Home Assistant OS, and you look after your own updates, backups, hardware and remote access. For people who want to run Sensa on their own kit and are happy to maintain it.
• DIY. You already run Home Assistant and add Sensa on top as an application. The most hands-on option, with full control and fully portable. Ideal if you are already a confident Home Assistant user.

Who looks after what

The biggest practical difference between the three is who is responsible for keeping things running.

Responsibility	Nomad Appliance	Enthusiast	DIY
Server hardware	Sensa	You	You
Operating system	Sensa	Sensa image	You
Updates and backups	Sensa	You	You
Home Assistant	Sensa	You	You
Remote access	Sensa	You	You

With the Nomad Appliance, all of this is our job. With DIY, all of it is yours. Enthusiast sits in between. This is why the Nomad Appliance is the right fit for the vast majority: there is nothing for you to maintain.