Most electrical calls start the same way. Something has been off for a while, a breaker that resets but trips again by evening, a light that flickers only when the dishwasher runs, an outlet in the garage that stopped working months ago and never got looked at. At some point the workaround stops being acceptable and the call gets made. That is where we come in. We handle electrical work for homes, rental properties, and businesses across Los Altos, available at any hour, any day of the week.
Los Altos is a city of well-established residential properties, and the electrical work that comes out of it reflects that. Older homes on original service panels, additions and remodels that added load without always adding capacity, detached garages and workshops that need their own supply, and a growing number of households running EV chargers and battery backup systems alongside everything else. We take those calls and handle them from the first conversation through the finished job. You get a straight answer about the work before it is scheduled.
Electrical work like this comes up more than people expect, and the frustrating ones are the faults that do not stay put. A breaker that trips under load but holds fine when the circuit is lightly used. A light that flickers only at certain times. An outlet that works most of the time but occasionally goes dead. Chasing an intermittent fault means looking at the full circuit, not just the symptom, and that takes a proper diagnostic visit rather than a reset and a wait.
When we come out for a fault-finding call, we trace the circuit from the panel to the point of failure. A loose neutral, a connection that has backed out inside a wall box, a breaker that is failing internally without tripping cleanly, an arc-fault condition in older wiring are all possibilities. We tell you what we found and what it takes to address it. Honest recommendations on repairs, never an upsell, is how every diagnostic call goes.
A refrigerator, a dryer, a dishwasher, and a range each draw a consistent load that a shared circuit was never designed to carry cleanly. When a new appliance goes in or an existing one starts tripping the breaker it shares, the answer is usually a dedicated circuit sized to that appliance's draw. We run the circuit from the panel, size the breaker correctly, and confirm the panel has the capacity to add it without pushing the service past what it can safely handle.
Workshop and garage equipment follows the same logic at a larger scale. A welder, a compressor, or a table saw can pull enough current to trip a standard circuit the moment it starts up. Those loads need a circuit sized to the equipment's startup draw, not just its running draw, and sometimes a subpanel in the garage to keep the load off the main panel entirely.
A detached garage, a shed, or an outbuilding that needs power requires a dedicated feed run from the main panel, either overhead or underground, depending on what the property allows. We assess the route, size the supply to what the structure will actually be used for, and install a subpanel where the building needs more than a single circuit. Electric gate operators and exterior lighting along a driveway or perimeter fall into this category as well.
EV adoption across the region runs well ahead of the national average, and in a city like Los Altos the demand for home Level 2 charger installations is consistent. The electrical side of that job means a dedicated 240-volt circuit from the panel to the garage or parking area, a panel capacity check to confirm the service can carry the added load, and a circuit sized to the charger's amperage requirements. Where the panel does not have the capacity, we scope the upgrade as part of the same job. One call is enough to get the visit booked.
We are available at any hour, any day, including nights, weekends, and holidays. There are no after-hours restrictions here. A circuit failure on a Sunday evening, a panel fault during a holiday weekend, a complete loss of power at a rental unit with a tenant inside are all calls we take and respond to. Emergency calls are answered, and short-notice work is something we can often accommodate. Ask what the schedule allows when you call.
A business that has to stay open and a tenant who cannot vacate for the day both require the same thing from an electrician: work that is scoped clearly in advance, done in a sequence that keeps disruption contained, and completed without loose ends. We confirm the scope and the access requirements on the call before anything is scheduled. If a job needs to be staged across more than one visit to keep the property running, that is part of the conversation upfront.
Good electrical work isn't complicated, it's just done right, and the pricing conversation is part of getting it right. When you call, you describe what is happening, we ask the questions needed to scope the job, and you get a rate before anything is put on the calendar. The scope of the electrical work is priced before it starts, so there are no open questions about cost when the visit happens.
What moves a quote is what the job actually turns out to involve. A fault that traces to a single loose connection is a different scope than one that points to a section of wiring that needs to be replaced. A panel that has room for a new circuit is a different job than one that needs to be upgraded before the circuit can be added. What has to be opened up to reach the fault, and whether the existing panel can carry the change, are the two things most likely to affect the number. We explain both before any work begins.
The work area is left as it was found. That is a standard we hold to on every job, and it applies to walls, ceilings, and floors that have to be accessed to reach the wiring.
Not every electrician works the same way when it comes to assessing load capacity, and this is where the difference matters. A home in Los Altos that has added an EV charger, a home office, and a heat pump over the past several years may be running on a panel that was sized for a fraction of that load. The panel does not always announce the problem loudly. Breakers that run warm, circuits that trip under normal use, and a service entrance that has not been looked at in decades are all signs worth taking seriously.
When a property is asked to run something it was never wired for, we start with the panel. We check the available capacity, look at what the existing circuits are already carrying, and work out whether the new load can be added cleanly or whether the service needs to be upgraded first. A 200-amp service upgrade is the right answer for many older homes in this area, particularly those that are adding EV charging or battery backup systems alongside existing demand. We explain what the panel can and cannot support before any work is scheduled. Leave the breakers to us.
Older homes also carry wiring that was never intended to last this long. Knob-and-tube wiring, aluminum branch-circuit wiring, and ungrounded systems each present their own set of concerns, and each has a remediation path. We assess what is there, explain what it means for the circuits currently in use, and give a plain answer on repair versus upgrade.
We test every circuit. We label every breaker. We leave it safe.
That is not a closing formality. When a panel is upgraded or a new circuit is added, every breaker in the panel gets labeled accurately to reflect what it controls. A panel with missing or incorrect labels is a safety problem and a nuisance every time work needs to be done on the property. We correct it as part of the job.
For a full inspection or a code-correction visit, we document what we found, what was addressed, and what the system looks like when we leave. That record matters when the property is sold, when a buyer's inspector comes through, or when a tenant needs confirmation that the electrical system has been looked at. Recessed and LED lighting retrofits, GFCI and AFCI protection updates, grounding and bonding corrections, and service-entrance work all get the same treatment: the work is done to current code and the result is documented.
An electrical inspection in an older Los Altos home often turns up a combination of issues that accumulated over decades of incremental work. A circuit added for a room addition that was never permitted. A panel that was upgraded once but not fully. Exterior lighting wired without weatherproof protection. We work through what we find in order of what matters most, and we explain every step before it is taken. Simple booking. Clear pricing. Safe, solid wiring.
We handle electrical work throughout Los Altos and the surrounding communities in Santa Clara County. That includes Loyola, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale. Residential calls, commercial properties, and rental units across the area are all within scope. Start with the electrical services page if you want the detail before the call.
If your address is in or near Los Altos and you are not certain whether it falls within our coverage area, a call to (650) 614-5391 will confirm it. We cover the surrounding area and take calls at any hour.
Homes built several decades ago were sized for a much lighter electrical load than a modern household runs. Adding an EV charger or a battery backup system on top of existing demand often pushes the panel past what it was designed to carry. We check the available capacity first and scope any necessary panel upgrade as part of the same job, so the new circuit has a proper supply behind it.
Access to the panel and to the work area is required at the start, and someone needs to be reachable if questions come up mid-job. Whether that person needs to remain on-site throughout depends on the scope, and we can talk through the specifics when the job is booked.
It helps to know roughly what the structure will be used for, because that determines how the supply needs to be sized. A single light and a few outlets is a different scope than a workshop running a welder or compressor. We ask those questions on the call and size the feed and any subpanel to what the building will actually need, not just what it needs today.
We prioritize the work based on what poses the greatest risk and address those items first. Not every deviation from current code is an immediate safety hazard, and we explain the difference so you can make an informed decision about what to do now and what can wait.
We work out access details when the job is booked. If the tenant needs to be present or if access needs to be arranged through a property manager or key holder, we confirm those details on the call so the visit is not wasted.
Whether a permit is required depends on the scope of the work and the specifics of the property. Panel upgrades, new circuits, and service-entrance work commonly require one, but the requirement can vary based on where the work is being done and what it involves. We confirm what applies to your address before anything is scheduled, so there are no open questions about compliance when the job begins.
We run a dedicated circuit from the main panel to the structure, which typically involves trenching underground conduit between the buildings. The circuit is sized based on what the space will be used for, whether that is basic lighting and outlets, power tools, or an EV charger.
When something goes wrong with the electrical system in a Los Altos home or business, the call is the right first step. We answer at any hour, scope the job on the call, and give you a rate before anything is scheduled. A fast response is what we aim for, and because we take calls around the clock, there is no wait for a business day to open.
Call (650) 614-5391 to get a quote or schedule a service call.
Wiring and panel work nearby: Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Cupertino.
Below is a plain-language look at the electrical work we handle for homes, rental properties, and businesses in Los Altos and the surrounding Peninsula communities. Each row covers what the service includes, who it fits best, and one practical detail worth knowing before you call. If a job you need is not listed, call and we will tell you whether it falls within our scope and what it involves.
| Electrical Service | What It Covers | When You Need It | Things to Know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole-Home Surge Protection | Panel-level surge device installation, Grounding system coordination, Protection for electronics and EV chargers, Single-visit installation | Homes with significant connected equipment, home offices, or EV chargers | A panel-level device protects every circuit in the home from a single installation point. It does not replace outlet-level surge strips but works alongside them. |
| Electrical Panel & Service UpgradesMost Popular | Panel replacement and load calculations, Service entrance and meter coordination, Subpanel installation for garages and additions, Capacity assessment for EV chargers and appliances | Homes adding EV chargers, major appliances, or an addition to an older panel | Many Los Altos homes still carry 100-amp panels that were sized for a fraction of the load a modern household puts on them. A capacity check on the call tells you where you stand. |
| Solar & Battery Backup | Transfer switch and critical-load subpanel, Dedicated circuits for battery systems, Panel integration for backup hardware, Coordination with existing solar infrastructure | Homes with rooftop solar adding battery backup for wildfire-season outages | We handle the electrical hookup and transfer switch work. The solar panels and battery hardware itself fall outside our scope, but we coordinate with the equipment installer. |
Call (650) 614-5391 and we will walk through what the job involves, what it costs, and when we can get it scheduled.
(650) 614-5391