He Spent $600 on Smart Home Gadgets That Sat in Boxes for 8 Months. One Handyman Call Changed That.

Tom Reilly bought the smart thermostat in September. A video doorbell in November. Smart locks in January. By March, three unopened boxes sat in his Latham hallway and his wife had stopped asking about them.

“Every time I looked at the instructions, there were wiring diagrams I didn’t understand. I’d find something else to do,” he says.

Tom called A&S Home Services to fix a leaky faucet. While the handyman was there, Tom mentioned the boxes. An hour later, all three devices were installed and connected to his phone — and the technician walked him through the app settings before leaving.

“I don’t know why I waited eight months,” Tom says. “It was one of the easiest things I’d ever gotten off my to-do list.”

The Smart Home Problem Nobody Talks About

Smart home products are marketed as “easy to install — no electrician needed.” That’s technically true for some of them. But the gap between technically possible and actually happening is where most people get stuck.

Wiring a Nest or Ecobee thermostat requires identifying your existing HVAC wires by color, sometimes adding a C-wire if your system doesn’t have one, and correctly attaching the right terminals. One wrong connection and your heat pump runs all night. For homeowners in the Albany and Latham area, that’s not a risk worth taking.

Smart locks require drilling or adjusting the door bore, and alignment issues are common in older Upstate NY homes where door frames have settled. Video doorbells need to tap into existing doorbell wiring — which in older Capital Region homes can be ancient and unreliable.

What a Handyman Can Do With Your Smart Home Setup in Latham or Albany

A handyman with smart home experience can handle all of it in a single visit — usually two to three hours for a standard setup. Here’s what a typical installation includes:

Smart thermostat installation: Safely shut off HVAC power, remove the old thermostat, identify and connect existing wiring (adding a C-wire adapter if needed), mount the new unit, restore power, test all modes, and set up the app on your phone.

Video doorbell installation: Remove existing doorbell, connect to low-voltage wiring, mount and level the new unit, configure WiFi and motion zones, verify live video before leaving.

Smart lock installation: Remove the old deadbolt, install the new lock, adjust strike plate alignment if needed, test all entry methods, and set up access codes.

Is It Worth Hiring Someone vs. DIY?

For most Upstate NY homeowners — especially in older homes — yes. The cost of a handyman for a smart home setup in the Latham or Albany area typically runs $150–$300 for two to three devices. Compared to the $600+ already spent on devices sitting in boxes, it’s a small price to actually use what you bought.

Ready to Finally Use That Gear?

A&S Home Services handles smart home installations throughout Albany, Latham, Clifton Park, and the Capital Region. If you’ve got devices waiting to be installed — or you’re planning a smart home upgrade — call us to schedule a visit. We’ll have everything up and running before we leave.