Lighting Design Consultation in Portland & Beaverton: $499 Plan by a Master Electrician, Just $199 With Our Coupon
A lighting design consultation in Portland or Beaverton with Nexus Electrical Group puts a master electrician in your home to plan every room's lighting before anything gets installed. It's normally $499. Use our $300 coupon and the consultation is just $199. You get a plan built around how you actually live, from a licensed contractor (Oregon CCB #226988) with 30 years of electrical experience.
Most homes don't have a lighting problem. They have a planning problem: one overhead fixture per room, a switch in the wrong spot, and kitchen counters lit by your own shadow. A short design visit fixes that on paper first, when changes are free.
What is a lighting design consultation?
A lighting design consultation is an in-home visit where a master electrician walks your space, talks through how you use each room, and lays out where lights, switches, and controls should go. It covers fixture type and placement, brightness, color, dimming, and smart controls, and it checks that your wiring and panel can support the plan.
Think of it as the blueprint step. Instead of buying fixtures and hoping they work together, you start with a plan from the person who understands both the look you want and the electrical system behind your walls.
What does a master electrician look at during the visit?
A master electrician looks at three things at once: how each room is used, what the existing wiring and panel can handle, and which fixtures and controls fit your goals and budget. That combination is what separates an electrician's design from a showroom suggestion.
Layers of light, room by room
Good lighting uses three layers:
- Ambient light for general brightness, often recessed LED can lights. A typical upgrade in an existing home adds anywhere from 4 to 20 new recessed lights.
- Task light where you work: under-cabinet lighting over counters, pendants over an island, focused light at a desk or vanity.
- Accent light for character: a chandelier over the dining table, lighting on artwork, or a feature wall.
Brightness and color temperature
Brightness is measured in lumens, not watts. ENERGY STAR's light bulb buying guide lists about 800 lumens as the equivalent of an old 60-watt bulb and 1,600 lumens as the equivalent of a 100-watt bulb.
Color matters as much as brightness. Lower color temperatures (warm white, around 2700K–3000K) feel cozy and suit living rooms and bedrooms. Higher ones (cooler white) suit kitchens, workspaces, and garages. We'll recommend a color for each space so the whole home looks consistent.
| Room | Main lighting layers | Suggested color |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | Recessed LED cans + under-cabinet task lights + island pendants | Neutral to cool white |
| Living room | Recessed LED on dimmers + accent lighting | Warm white (2700K–3000K) |
| Dining room | Chandelier or pendant on a dimmer + soft recessed fill | Warm white |
| Bedroom | Dimmable ambient light + bedside task light | Warm white |
| Bathroom | Vanity task light + recessed fill light | Neutral white |
| Garage / workshop | Bright, even LED fixtures | Cool white |
Dimming and smart controls
The right controls make a lighting plan feel finished. Some homeowners just want good dimmers. Others want to run lights from a phone app, use voice control, or set "scenes" that change a whole room with one button. We install these systems and program the scenes and keypads ourselves, so you aren't left setting them up alone.
| Level | Control system | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Good | Leviton Decora Smart | A few smart switches and dimmers with app and voice control |
| Better | Lutron Caseta | Multiple rooms, scenes, and Pico remotes; a reliable retrofit |
| Best | Lutron RadioRA 3 | Whole-home lighting with keypads, scenes, and shades |
Can your wiring and panel handle it?
New lighting is usually a light electrical load, but a lighting project often comes with new circuits, relocated switches, or added outlets. During the visit we check whether your existing circuits and panel have room. If your home is on an older 60- or 100-amp service, we'll tell you honestly whether an electrical panel upgrade belongs in the plan.
Why plan lighting in an older Portland or Beaverton home?
Older homes reward planning. Many pre-1950 houses across Portland and inner Beaverton still have original wiring, and lath-and-plaster walls and ceilings are far harder to patch than drywall. Cutting one hole in plaster can mean re-plastering a whole wall or ceiling, so knowing exactly where every fixture goes before work starts saves real money.
If we find knob-and-tube wiring during the visit, we'll explain what it means for your project and your homeowners insurance. Our knob-and-tube wiring replacement work can often be coordinated with a lighting upgrade so walls are opened once, not twice.
How much does a lighting design consultation cost?
Our lighting design consultation with a master electrician is $499. With our $300 coupon, your consultation is $199.
| Lighting design consultation | Price |
|---|---|
| Regular price (master electrician) | $499 |
| Nexus coupon | −$300 |
| Your price with the coupon | $199 |
Get the $300 coupon here, then book your consultation online or call/text 971-410-7073.
Does switching to LED lighting really save money?
Yes. According to ENERGY STAR, certified bulbs use up to 90% less energy than standard bulbs and last at least 15 times longer. ENERGY STAR estimates each certified bulb saves about $55 in electricity over its lifetime.
Multiply that across 10 or 20 recessed lights, and an LED lighting plan pays you back every month. Certified bulbs also run 70–90% cooler, which matters in tight ceiling spaces. One caution: not every LED bulb is dimmable, so we match bulbs and dimmers in the plan to avoid flicker and buzz.
Do lighting projects need a permit in Portland?
Most new lighting circuits, added fixtures, and wiring changes need an electrical permit and inspection. The City of Portland's residential electrical permit page explains the requirements inside city limits, and Beaverton and other metro cities have their own process. As a licensed Oregon electrical contractor, we pull the permits and schedule inspections for the work we install.
What happens after the lighting design consultation?
After the visit, you have a lighting plan you can act on right away, phase over time, or take to your contractor or designer if you're remodeling. When you're ready to install, we can do the work: recessed LED lights, pendants and chandeliers, under-cabinet lighting, dimmers, and smart controls.
While we're there, we can also look at related upgrades that often pair well with a lighting project, such as whole-home surge protection to protect LED drivers, smart switches, and electronics.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a lighting design consultation in Portland or Beaverton?
A lighting design consultation with Nexus Electrical Group's master electrician is $499. With our $300 coupon, the consultation is $199. It covers an in-home walkthrough and a lighting plan for fixture placement, brightness, color, dimming, and controls, plus a check of your wiring and panel.
Who does the lighting design?
Our master electrician does the design in person. Nexus Electrical Group is a licensed, bonded, family-owned electrical contractor (Oregon CCB #226988) with 30 years of electrical experience serving Beaverton, Portland, Tigard, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, and the Portland metro area.
How many recessed lights does a typical room need?
It depends on the room size, ceiling height, and how the space is used. In existing homes, a typical lighting upgrade adds anywhere from 4 to 20 recessed LED lights. During the consultation we lay out the number and spacing so light is even, without dark corners or glare.
What color temperature should I choose for my home?
Warm white, around 2700K to 3000K, works well for living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. Cooler white suits kitchens, workspaces, laundry rooms, and garages. We recommend one consistent color for each space so your home looks uniform room to room.
Can you add smart lighting controls?
Yes. We install and program smart dimmers and switches, including options like Leviton Decora Smart and Lutron Caseta, and whole-home systems like Lutron RadioRA 3. We program scenes and keypads ourselves, so the system works the way you want from day one.
Do I need a permit for new lighting in Portland?
Most new circuits, added fixtures, and wiring changes require an electrical permit and inspection in Portland and surrounding cities. As a licensed Oregon electrical contractor, Nexus Electrical Group pulls the permits and schedules inspections for the lighting work we install.
How do I use the $300 coupon on a lighting design?
Get the coupon at nexuselectricalgroup.com/coupon, then book online or call or text 971-410-7073. Mention the coupon when you schedule, and your $499 lighting design consultation becomes $199.
Book your $199 lighting design consultation
Great lighting starts with a plan. A master electrician will walk your Portland or Beaverton home, design lighting around the way you live, and make sure your electrical system is ready for it.
Regular price $499. With our $300 coupon: $199.
- Grab the $300 coupon
- Book online
- Call or text 971-410-7073
Written by the team at Nexus Electrical Group, licensed electricians (Oregon CCB #226988) serving Beaverton and Portland, Oregon, with 30 years of experience in the electrical field. We design and install lighting, upgrade electrical panels, install EV chargers, remove knob-and-tube wiring, and install backup generators across the Portland metro.
Published: October 16, 2026 · Last updated: October 16, 2026