We swap old thermostats for smart ones, replace doorbell buttons with video doorbells, and put up and pair cameras, hubs and sensors in homes around Cedar Mill, Beaverton and Bethany. A thermostat swap in the Portland area usually runs $150 to $350 for labour alone (market data, November 2026) . Text a photo of the wires behind your current thermostat and we'll tell you what it takes. If you're also after a keypad deadbolt, it can go on the same visit as the lock work.
Slava has 7 years of hands-on experience.
How much does smart thermostat installation cost around Portland?
Portland-area market figures, not our own invoices yet. The device isn't included.
| Job (labour only, per job) | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smart thermostat swap | $150 | $225 | $350 |
| Video doorbell or camera installation | $150 | $250 | $500 |
| Smart device setup (hubs, sensors, plug-in devices) | $150 | $300 | $600 |
Things that push a job toward the high end:
- no C-wire;
- a heat pump or a two-stage system;
- a second thermostat, or remote room sensors;
- for doorbells, a chime that needs the maker's kit, or a mount on brick or stucco.
Other rates are on the pricing page.
Will a smart thermostat work with my furnace?
Usually, yes. A furnace with a blower fan normally runs on a low-voltage (24 V) thermostat, and that's what Nest, ecobee, Honeywell Home and Amazon models are built for. The wires behind your current thermostat tell most of the story, so we ask for that photo first.
A two-wire, heat-only thermostat with no C-wire is common on older furnaces, including in 1960s-80s west-side houses. A smart thermostat can still work there, but the power question has to be solved first, either with an adapter at the furnace or a spare conductor in the cable. We settle it from your photos .
Electric baseboard and wall heaters run on line-voltage thermostats, which a standard smart thermostat doesn't fit; separate smart models exist for them .
Heat pumps, two-stage, zoned and boiler systems take more setup .
Can I replace a thermostat myself?
Plenty of owners do a straight swap on a 24 V furnace without trouble. The usual snags: no C-wire, a heat pump that heats when it should cool because one setting is reversed, a dark screen after the swap, Wi-Fi that drops out at the hallway wall, or a bare patch the new unit is too small to cover.
If you'd rather hand it off, we do the swap on a working system, set up the app and schedule with you, and test both modes before leaving . New owners often inherit an old thermostat; the new homeowners page lists other first-month jobs.
Is there a rebate for a smart thermostat in Oregon?
There can be, if your house is heated mainly by a gas furnace. Energy Trust of Oregon lists $100 for a qualifying smart thermostat in homes that get their gas from NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas or Avista, and that tier may be self-installed (checked November 2026). The model has to be on Energy Trust's qualified products list and be online and set to your home's location. One incentive per home; single-family, manufactured, townhome and duplex-to-fourplex homes qualify.
Energy Trust also lists a separate tier for contractor-installed thermostats, with its own conditions; read its current terms before relying on it . Check the live offer before you buy. A thermostat won't fix drafts, though; draft-proofing does.
Can you install a video doorbell where my old doorbell is?
Yes. A wired video doorbell replaces your current button; a battery model goes anywhere near the door. Before mounting, we check that the doorbell transformer puts out what the new doorbell needs, whether the chime is mechanical or digital and needs the maker's kit, what the wall is (lap siding, fiber cement, brick or stucco), and whether a wedge is needed to aim the camera down the walk.
If the transformer is too weak, there's a choice to make . Rain matters here too. A button under a covered porch stays mostly dry, but one on exposed siding takes the weather all winter, so we seal behind the mounting plate and check the maker's weather rating .
Do you mount outdoor cameras?
We place, mount, aim and pair battery, solar and plug-in Wi-Fi cameras . Douglas firs and deep eaves can keep a solar panel in shade most of the day, so we look at where the sun actually lands before picking a spot. A camera on a detached garage needs Wi-Fi that reaches it, so we test before drilling.
We aim cameras at your own walk and driveway, not the neighbor's windows. Masonry mounting is part of our hanging and mounting work .
What other smart devices can you set up?
Hubs, smart plugs, door and window sensors, water-leak sensors, smart speakers, and battery smart smoke and CO alarms, which our smoke and CO alarm page covers in more detail . Leak sensors earn their place in a wet climate: put one by the water heater, one under each sink and one at the crawl-space hatch, where a burst pipe in a freeze shows up first. Problems under the house are crawl space repair.
Smart light switches and dimmers are a separate job; that work lives on the outlets and switches page.
Who do I call if my thermostat stops working?
If the screen went blank after a swap, or the thermostat lost power, or the settings look wrong, we can take a look, especially if we put it in . If the furnace, heat pump or AC itself won't heat or cool, keeps short-cycling, smells odd or trips a breaker, call a heating and cooling company. We don't repair heating or cooling equipment; see work we don't do.