8 Important Electrician Skills You Should Master

If you’ve thought about hiring an electrician for your home repair or renovation, you may be wondering if electrician skills are a match for the work you need done. While some jobs will clearly require a licensed electrician, you may be uncertain about others. Given the fire and safety hazards that electrical issues can pose, it is important to understand how an electrician can keep your home safe.

To help you know when it’s time to seek the help of professional electricians, you should learn about what they do. We’ve put together a list of electrician skills that you need to look for:

Skill #1: Wiring Upgrades

Wiring upgrades is one of the most important electrician skills and abilities. Older homes usually have outdated electrical wiring. Unless an upgrade has already been done, you could be living with outdated technology in your walls.

Older systems, such as knob and tube or aluminum wiring, can be dangerous and should be replaced. A licensed electrician will upgrade your entire house to a modern, plastic-sheathed system, giving you peace of mind and updated equipment.

Skill #2: Electrical Panel Upgrades

There are plenty of reasons you may want to upgrade your electrical panel or fuse box. Have you done a recent renovation that causes your home to draw more power than it did? Are you planning to install an air conditioner, hot tub or other major appliance? Is your fuse box making crackling or buzzing noises? Only a professional electrician should be trusted to upgrade or replace your panel with a more modern breaker panel.

Skill #3: Circuits and Wiring

If you have a sneaking suspicion that your flickering lights or overloaded circuits are unsafe, you are probably right. Overloaded breakers, loose or burnt-out electrical outlets or exposed junction boxes are common electrical issues that can pose a serious hazard to your family’s safety.

If you have niggling concerns over the safety of your circuits and wiring, a qualified electrician will ease your mind by conducting a full inspection and making upgrades, where necessary.

Skill #4: Surge Protection

Most homeowners own electronic devices that are sensitive to the quality and flow of electricity. Although many people assume a surge-protecting power cord is enough to protect their technology, they are mistaken. True surge protection requires both internal and external coverage and should be handled by a licensed electrician.

Skill #5: Code Compliance

If you have completed a renovation, are concerned about electrical safety in your home or have been contacted by the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) regarding compliance, you will want to make sure your home’s systems are compliant with current codes and regulations.

An electrician will make sure your project or home is in line with local safety standards. They will likely make sure your plugs are tamper-resistant, that receptacles installed near sinks or other sources of water are protected by a ground fault circuit interrupter and much more.

Skill #6: Home Safety

When it comes to home safety, many of our built-in tools can be managed by an electrician. Did you know, for example, that an electrician will install a combination smoke / carbon monoxide alarm system, or that they can install your home security system?

While you have an electrician in your home, ask for an inspection of your plugs and switches to make sure you are not creating a fire hazard by overloading your systems.

Skill #7: Energy Efficiency

Part of an electrician’s job is making sure your home works as efficiently as possible. By installing dimmers, timers and motion detectors, an electrician will help you extend the life of your lighting, while providing both mood and security options. If you are doing a renovation or build, consider adding in-floor heating cables to warm your kitchen or bathroom in the winter months, to warm your feet when they need it most.

There are plenty of ways to help your home save more energy. If you are thinking about making your house more environment-friendly, be sure to include an electrician in your plans.

Skill #8: Electric Vehicle Charging

If you are thinking of buying an Electric Vehicle (EV), you will need an EV charging station installed on your property. As this process can be complex and safety is vital, it is important to trust the work to an electrician trained in charging solutions and installations. Be sure to ask if your electrician offers a guarantee on the installation, as you want to be confident in your new vehicle charging system.

You may be surprised just how many services a certified electrician is trained to handle. While many tasks fall under the general category of home maintenance, there are critical fire and safety hazards that can be managed or avoided with the assistance of an electrician.

With thousands of hours of classroom and on-the-job training, licensed and certified electricians are highly-skilled and versatile in the services they offer. We hope this list of electrician services has given you a few ideas how they can help make your home safer and more efficient.