Why Your Boat (or Caravan) Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smarter
And why it won't cost you twice what it should.
If you’ve ever renovated a house, you know the pain of dealing with electricians, wiring, and switches that all need to “talk” to each other. Now imagine doing that on a boat or in an RV — where space is tight, weight matters, and salt air destroys anything that isn’t built tough.
For decades, marine and RV electrical systems have been a tangled mess of proprietary gear. Buy a battery monitor from one brand and it won’t talk to the charger from another. Want to add smart lighting? That’s a whole separate system with its own app. Before you know it, you’ve got four apps on your phone, three different displays on the wall, and a wiring loom that looks like spaghetti.
We think that’s broken. And we’re not the only ones.
What If Everything Just Worked Together?
A few years ago, the biggest names in technology — Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung — agreed on something for the first time. They created a shared language for smart devices called Matter.
Think of Matter like a universal translator. Before Matter, every smart device manufacturer spoke their own language. Your Philips lights spoke “Philips.” Your Bosch appliances spoke “Bosch.” Your Schneider power system spoke “Schneider.” None of them understood each other without expensive translators in between.
Matter changed that. It’s a single, shared language that any device maker can build into their products — for free. No licensing fees, no gatekeepers, no lock-in. That’s what “open protocol” means in plain English: anyone can use it, no one owns it, and every device that speaks it can talk to every other device that speaks it.
There are now over 2,000 Matter-compatible devices on the market, from household names like LG, Legrand, Schlage, Philips Hue, and Schneider Electric. And that number is growing fast.
So What Does This Mean for Your Boat or RV?
At Safiery, we’ve built our entire product ecosystem around Matter. That means when you install a Safiery system, you’re not locked into buying only our gear. You can mix and match from hundreds of brands — and it all works together seamlessly.
Here’s what that looks like in practice.
DC Power — The Heart of Any Off-Grid System
Most boats and RVs run on DC power — the same type of power that comes from your batteries. Our system handles everything on the DC side:
- A 48-volt battery management gateway that monitors up to 10kW of battery capacity
- USB power delivery up to 250 watts — enough to charge a laptop at full speed
- DC-to-DC converters handling up to 3,000 watts for 12V and 24V systems
- Fuseless power distribution — smart electronic protection that replaces old-fashioned fuse panels, saving weight and space
AC Power — When You Need Mains Electricity
When you’re plugged in at a marina or campground, or running an inverter, you need AC power too. Our system integrates both sides:
- Smart AC power switches that mount in a wall or electrical panel, rated for 230V or 110V systems worldwide
- A Matter Bridge that brings older, non-Matter devices into the ecosystem — so your existing Victron inverter or legacy equipment isn’t left behind
Coming Q4 2026: The Quasar Inverter Platform
We’re developing something we’re particularly excited about: a modular inverter system small enough to mount inside a wall cavity. Each module is just 200 × 120 × 50mm — roughly the size of a paperback book — and delivers 2,400 watts of pure sine wave AC power.
The clever part? They stack. Need more power? Add another module. Need redundancy so your system keeps running even if one unit fails? The N+1 architecture has you covered. Two modules give you 4kW with full redundancy — meaning one can fail and you won’t even notice.
Nine Ways to Switch — Because One Size Never Fits All
Here’s where the open ecosystem really shines. Because everything speaks Matter, you’re not limited to a single type of switch or control. We support nine different ways to control your system:
- IKEA smart buttons — affordable wireless switches you can stick anywhere
- Custom glass touch panels — for a premium, modern look
- Rubberised IP67 CAN switches — waterproof and built for harsh marine environments
- Traditional rocker switches — because sometimes familiar is best
- Bluetooth switches — no wiring needed at all
- Victron touch displays — if you’re already in the Victron ecosystem
- Amazon or Google smart displays — voice control included
- Any Matter-compatible switch from any manufacturer
- Our Quasar 3D display — an interactive touchscreen where you can spin a 3D model of your boat with your fingers and tap on any device to control it
The point is: you choose. Not us. Not a single manufacturer. You pick the switches, displays, and controls that suit your taste, budget, and environment.
The Real Headline: 50% Less to Install
All of this isn’t just about clever technology. It’s about cost.
Traditional marine and RV electrical systems require miles of heavy copper wire running from every switch back to a central panel. Every circuit needs its own fuse, its own wire run, its own labour hours. It’s expensive, heavy, and time-consuming.
Our system uses smart digital switching at the point of use. A thin data cable replaces bundles of heavy power cable. Intelligent electronic protection replaces mechanical fuse panels. And because everything communicates wirelessly or over a simple network, installation time drops dramatically.
The result? A 50% reduction in installed cost compared to traditional wiring approaches. That’s not a marketing number — it comes from real-world installations where we’ve measured the cable, the labour hours, and the total system cost.
Open Source Means You’re Never Locked In
We chose to build on open standards for a reason. If a better switch comes along next year from a brand that doesn’t exist yet, it’ll work with your system. If you want to add smart lighting from IKEA today and upgrade to custom glass panels tomorrow, go right ahead. Your system grows and changes with you.
That’s the promise of an open framework: hundreds of devices, all talking together, with you in control.
Safiery is an Australian manufacturer of marine and RV electronics, based on the Gold Coast. Our STAR Controllers and Range Master AI systems are trusted in vessels and vehicles worldwide. Learn more at safiery.com.
What exactly is Matter?
Matter is a manufacturer-independent connection standard for IOT. It is an open protocol and is listed on Github. Its goal is to simplify and improve the communication of devices. Matter (link) is intended to put an end to the tiresome search for compatible smart home products. Regardless of their origin, lamps, thermostats, plug adapters, sensors and other components can be combined with each other at will – as long as they comply with the Matter standard.
- Lights (LED’s, lamps and switches)
- RGBW Colour control and diming of LED’s,
- Electricity (sockets and switches)
- Heating/HVAC (thermostats and controllers)
- Solar Controllers and Panels
- Battery Systems
- Inverters and Inverter Charger
- DC DC (Any voltage to any voltage)
- Heat pumps.
- Blinds (shades, shutters)
- Sensors (motion and contact)
- Door locks (smart locks)
- Media player (for streaming)
- Bridges (for Zigbee, Z-Wave etc.)
- Refrigerators,
- Dishwashers,
- Laundry Washers,
- Air Purifiers,
- Room Air Conditioners,
- Robot Vacuum Cleaner,
- Fans, Air Quality Sensors,
- Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm.
- Microwaves,
- Tumble Dryers
- Electric Vehicle Charging
- Camera and Video Streaming
Blockchain Technology used for Matter devices
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) supports and utilizes blockchain technology specifically through its Distributed Compliance Ledger (DCL). While Matter uses standard cryptographic suites (like AES-128) for the actual encryption of data packets, it relies on this blockchain-based ledger to ensure that only authenticated, non-tampered, and certified devices can join the network.
Open Protocol Benefits
There are over 2,000 other devices that are Matter compliant or about to be. You can integrate automation with any of these devices and the STAR controllers. Cameras and Imaging was introduced in November 2025 with the benefit that compliant cameras are under blockchain security so there is no chance of imaging “leaking out” to the internet. Privacy is assured.
What is the Multi-Admin mode?
One advantage of Matter over previous solutions such as Apple HomeKit or Samsung’s SmartThings is that lights, switches, sensors and other products can be accessed via multiple systems in parallel. They are no longer exclusively bound to one control system.
Apple, Google, Amazon and Samsung are all committed to communicate on Matter.
