Service area
Hire a Licensed Electrician in Los Angeles, California
Planning a repair, a rewire or a panel upgrade for your Los Angeles home? Call Hire Local Electrician, and we'll set a time that suits you.
- Line answered
- 24/7
- Electrician
- Licensed
- Price
- Quoted first
- ZIP prefixes
- 900 / 901
Electrical work in Los Angeles
Most electrical work in Los Angeles comes down to old services carrying new loads. Much of the city is stucco-over-frame houses on services sized for a household with a fraction of today's appliances, and heat waves, fire-weather shutoffs in the hills and ground movement all add to the work.
The conversation that comes up most is capacity. A 60 or 100 amp service can run lights, a refrigerator and a window unit all day, but it can't add a heat pump, an induction range and a charger. Since so many LA houses are stucco with no basement, an upgrade usually means a new mast and meter socket and a scheduled disconnect and reconnect with the utility, not just a panel swap.
Weather and geology both leave marks. Heat waves find weak cooling circuits, winter atmospheric-river storms push water into hillside crawlspaces and old exterior boxes, and an earthquake can loosen a mast or crack conduit so a connection starts arcing months later. Panel, service and rewiring jobs need a permit and inspection from the Department of Building and Safety, and that filing is part of the job.
With old and new houses side by side, an electrical inspection tells you which kind you have. Older ones usually lead to home rewiring; newer ones to an electrical panel upgrade when you add load.
When to call urgently
- A burning smell near outlets, switches or the panel
- Visible sparking, arcing or scorch marks
- A shock from an appliance, switch, faucet or fixture
- Water reaching outlets, the panel or wiring
- A breaker that will not stay reset, or a panel that is hot to the touch
Local conditions
What do electricians get called for in Los Angeles?
We cover Highland Park, Silver Lake, Venice, Boyle Heights, the San Fernando Valley and South LA, along with the rest of the ZIP codes listed below.
60 and 100 amp services in the older neighborhoods
A service sized in 1940 is now expected to carry air conditioning, a modern kitchen and a car charger. Upgrading it is the job everything else waits on.
Panels that may not trip on a fault
Certain panel brands put in across the basin from the 1950s into the 1980s have a record of not clearing a short. When the breaker stays on, the wire heats up instead.
Earthquake damage at the service mast
Shaking loosens masts, cracks conduit and shifts panels, and the bad connection can start arcing weeks later, long after anyone links it to the quake.
Shutoffs and downed drops in the canyons
Wind events bring service drops down in the canyons and foothills, and some equipment fails when power comes back after a planned shutoff rather than during it.
Garage conversions and backyard units
A converted garage or ADU needs its own properly sized feed, its own protection and an inspection, and the house's existing service is almost always the limit.
ZIP codes
Which ZIP codes do you cover here?
The Los Angeles ZIP codes we cover run across the 900 and 901 prefixes, so they reach past the city's own postal district. Type your ZIP into the checker to be sure. Don't see your ZIP? Call anyway and we'll check your address.
- 90001
- 90002
- 90003
- 90004
- 90005
- 90006
- 90007
- 90008
- 90009
- 90010
- 90011
- 90012
- 90013
- 90014
- 90015
- 90016
- 90017
- 90018
- 90019
- 90020
- 90021
- 90022
- 90023
- 90024
- 90025
- 90026
- 90027
- 90028
- 90029
- 90030
- 90031
- 90032
- 90033
- 90034
- 90035
- 90036
- 90037
- 90038
- 90039
- 90040
- 90041
- 90042
- 90043
- 90044
- 90045
- 90046
- 90047
- 90048
- 90049
- 90050
- 90051
- 90052
- 90053
- 90054
- 90055
- 90056
- 90057
- 90058
- 90059
- 90060
- 90061
- 90062
- 90063
- 90064
- 90065
- 90066
- 90067
- 90068
- 90070
- 90071
- 90072
- 90073
- 90074
- 90075
- 90076
- 90077
- 90078
- 90079
- 90080
- 90081
- 90082
- 90083
- 90084
- 90086
- 90087
- 90088
- 90089
- 90091
- 90093
- 90095
- 90096
- 90099
- 90134
- 90140
- 90189
Available in Los Angeles
Which electrical service do you need?
Do Los Angeles homes have aluminum wiring?
Some do, mostly houses wired from about 1965 to 1973. It doesn't usually mean a rewire: a licensed electrician can join a short copper lead to the aluminum at each outlet, switch and splice, using connectors rated for it.
What does electrical work cost in Los Angeles?
It depends on what the house needs. In a pre-1950 home the big jobs are a rewire and a service upgrade, priced on how many circuits there are and how much wall and ceiling has to be opened. A single repair costs far less. You'll know the cost before the job starts.
Is there an emergency electrician for Los Angeles after hours?
Yes. Call any hour, day or night, and tell us what's going on. We'll get a licensed electrician out who takes emergency calls. If anything is sparking, smoking or wet, switch off that breaker first if you can reach it safely.
Talk to us
Need an electrician in Los Angeles?
Tell us roughly when the house was built and what it's doing. We'll get a licensed electrician out to look at the wiring and the panel.
We'll get a licensed electrician out to you, and you only pay for work you agreed to.