Hiring the Right Electrician

If you need to replace a few electrical sockets in your home, your first inclination would be to call an electrician who specializes in residential electrical repair, but what if you need to replace your entire electrical panel. And whom do you call if the electrical line running from the power lines to your house is damaged or needs to be replaced? What if you need to replace the wiring in your office? And do you hire the same type of electrician to replace your home wiring as you would if you needed someone to take charge of the electrical needs for a play or production? There are lots of different types of electricians, and it’s important to know which ones are which.

Residential Electricians

First of all, residential electricians can handle just about any electrical job inside your home, big or small. They are the types of electricians you can hire to replace electrical sockets safely or if you’re doing a renovation and want to replace lighting or fans. They are also the types of electricians you’ll need if you need to replace your electrical panel (housing all your circuit breakers)—a big need in older houses that are being remodeled and redone.

Commercial Electricians

However, if you need larger-scale electrical work done for a business or industrial building, a commercial electrician is the best person to call. A commercial electrical contractor will normally have a team of electricians that can work on and install the overall wiring of entire systems or an entire building. Commercial electricians can also be construction electricians, installing electrical systems for entire buildings or housing developments.

Light Industrial and Industrial Wiring

Light industrial and industrial wiring electricians will work on more specialized projects than commercial electricians. They may work on the electrical repair or industrial buildings or machinery. Usually, these are specially trained electricians that focus on specific industries or areas of electrical wiring.

Other Electrical Specialties

Beyond these major fields, there are also linemen, who work on overhead electrical wires, and stagecraft electricians who are in charge of the lighting and electrical wiring of plays and have almost entirely different skill set than residential and commercial electricians. There are also other sub-specialties of electricians, but now that you know the major types, you’ll know whom to call the next time you need electrical repair service.