Smart Home & Lighting Automation, Installed by Electricians in Lewiston & Clarkston
Lights that dim for movie night, a porch that turns itself on at dusk, a thermostat that knows you're gone, a whole house that goes dark from one button by the bed. RD Electric wires and installs smart lighting, controls, and audio for homes across the LC Valley — done at the switch and the panel, not with a bag of plug-in gadgets.
Why smart home work belongs to an electrician
Plenty of the valley's homes went up between the 1950s and the 1990s, and a lot of those switch boxes have no neutral wire, a three-way that was never wired to code, or a dimmer feeding LED bulbs it was never rated for. That's why the smart switch from the hardware store blinks, buzzes, or won't pair. The problem is usually behind the wall, not in the app.
We start at the switch box and the panel. Right wire, right load, right device, then the app setup is the easy part. Everything is permitted where the code calls for it, and it's the same crew that does the valley's panel and generator work, so when the job runs into an old aluminum circuit or a maxed-out panel, we fix that too instead of working around it.
NEUTRAL?
Older house, no neutral in the box — still doable
Most smart switches need a neutral wire. Many pre-1990 homes here don't have one at the switch. We either pull one, use a no-neutral system built for exactly this, or run a dedicated lighting control circuit. You don't have to rewire the house to get smart lights.
What we install
Hardwired, permitted, and set up before we leave. Not plug-in gadgets.
Smart switches & dimmers
Replace the switches you already have with app- and voice-controlled ones. Dimmers matched to your LED fixtures so they don't flicker.
Lighting scenes & keypads
One button for "dinner," "movie," "all off," "leaving." Keypads by the door and bed, schedules that follow sunrise and sunset in the valley.
Smart thermostat wiring
Most thermostat installs fail on a missing C-wire. We add it and wire the thermostat correctly for your furnace or heat pump.
Whole-home audio
In-ceiling speakers, zoned volume, one app. See what it sounds like in our home audio showroom before you buy.
Outdoor & landscape lighting control
Path, deck, and security lighting on dusk-to-dawn schedules, motion, or a phone tap. Low-voltage transformers wired to a proper circuit.
Generator & EV integration
Get outage alerts from your standby generator and set charge schedules on your EV charger, all from the same phone.
Structured wiring & network drops
Wi-Fi is the weak link in most smart homes. We run Ethernet to TVs, offices, access points, and the garage so devices stay connected.
Motorized shades
Shades on a schedule keep summer heat out of west-facing rooms and open with the lights in the morning. Hardwired so you never change a battery.
How far do you want to take it?
Three common starting points. All of them can grow later without redoing the work.
Kitchen, living room, porch
Smart dimmers where you actually use them, a keypad by the front door, and outdoor lights on a dusk schedule. Usually a single visit.
Every switch, scenes throughout
Lighting control in every room, keypads at entries and the bedroom, thermostat and audio tied in. One app for the house.
Wired for it from the start
The cheapest time to do this is while the walls are open. Neutrals in every box, low-voltage runs, speaker wire, and a plan that matches the finish lighting. Pairs with our new home wiring.
How it works
Walkthrough
We look at your switch boxes, panel, fixtures, and Wi-Fi coverage, and talk through which rooms matter. Free, no obligation.
Written quote & device list
Every switch, keypad, and hub by room, with labor, materials, and permit in one number. You'll know exactly what's going in each wall before we start.
Install
Switches swapped, neutrals pulled where needed, thermostat and audio wired, network drops run. Most whole-home lighting jobs are one to two days.
Setup & handoff
We program the scenes and schedules, connect Alexa or Google, and walk you through the app. If you rename a room next year, you can do it yourself, and we're a phone call away if you'd rather not.
Come push the buttons at the showroom.
Smart home systems are hard to judge from a box on a shelf. Our Main Street showroom has working lighting control, dimmers, and audio set up the way they'd be in your house. Twenty minutes there answers most of the questions people have.
Often added at the same time
Smart home questions we get every week
Why won't the smart switch I bought work in my house?
Nine times out of ten it's a missing neutral wire in the switch box, common in valley homes built before about 1990. Sometimes it's a three-way circuit wired in a way the switch can't handle, or an LED fixture the dimmer isn't rated for. We can make it work, but it usually takes the right device plus a wiring fix, not just a different brand.
What brands do you install?
We standardize on professional lighting-control systems that don't depend on a cloud service to turn your lights on, and we'll install a system you've already chosen if it's a good fit for your wiring. We'll tell you which is which on the walkthrough.
Does it work with Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home?
Yes. Every system we install connects to at least one of those, most to all three. We set the voice assistant up as part of the handoff.
How much does home automation cost?
It scales with how many switches and rooms you want on the system. A few rooms of smart dimmers with a keypad is a modest job; a whole-home lighting system with audio and shades is a larger one. We quote by room with a device list so you can add or cut before we start.
Can I start small and add rooms later?
Yes, and it's the most common way people do it. The systems we install are designed to grow. If you start with the kitchen and living room, adding bedrooms next year is a short visit, not a redo.
Will it still work if the internet goes down?
With the systems we install, yes. Switches, keypads, and schedules run locally in the house. What you lose during an outage is control from your phone while you're away, not the light switches on the wall.
Where we install smart home systems
RD Electric installs lighting control, smart home, and audio systems across the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and the surrounding area:
Contact
Need Electrical Services Help?
Don't hesitate to call us on any Electrical Service, our team awaits your call.