Service area
Hire a Licensed Electrician in Palo Alto, California
Does your Palo Alto home or business need a repair, a rewire or a panel upgrade? Call Hire Local Electrician and we'll get a licensed pro out.
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Electrical work in Palo Alto
Old and new houses sit side by side in Palo Alto, so the same symptom can mean two different jobs: worn original wiring in one house, a panel short on room in the next. Call Hire Local Electrician with what's going on, and we'll get a licensed electrician out to find which one you have.
About 22% of homes here predate 1950 and 30% went up after 1980, so the electrician checks which kind of house it is first. In the older ones the work is usually wiring and grounding; in the newer ones it's panel space for whatever you're adding.
Late summer and fall are the peak, when heat waves, shutoffs and the first winter storms run together. Upgrades for chargers and heat pumps keep service-capacity calls coming the rest of the year. A rewire or a service upgrade normally needs a permit and an inspection in Palo Alto, while swapping a light fixture on an existing circuit often does not.
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 goes wrong with wiring in Palo Alto homes?
Which of these applies to your house depends mostly on when it was built and what has been added since. If you know the year, tell us when you call.
Ungrounded circuits and brittle early wiring
Knob-and-tube and early cloth-insulated cable have no ground, and the insulation goes brittle at splices and devices. Two-prong outlets can't safely serve modern electronics until a ground is run or the circuit gets GFCI protection with the proper label.
Fuse panels and undersized services
Houses wired before 1950 often started on 30 to 60 amps behind a fuse panel. That service usually has to be replaced before central air, an induction range, a heat pump or a car charger can go in.
Aluminum branch wiring from the 1960s and 1970s
Aluminum branch circuits were common in houses wired from about 1965 to 1973. Aluminum works loose at outlets and switches, so warm cover plates and flickering lights are the warning signs, and the fix is a connector rated for aluminum at every device.
Panels at the end of their working life
Plenty of panels put in during the 1960s and 1970s are still in service, and some brands from that period are known for breakers that fail to trip on a fault. Replacing one is a planned safety job, not an emergency, and it's the most common big upgrade in houses this age.
What else comes up in California
Panels from the 1950s through the 1980s with a record of not tripping on a fault, so a short heats up wiring instead of shutting off.
ZIP codes
Which ZIP codes do you cover here?
Every Palo Alto ZIP code we cover is listed here. Type your ZIP into the checker to be sure. Don't see your ZIP? Call anyway and we'll check your address.
- 94301
- 94302
- 94303
- 94304
- 94306
- 94309
Available in Palo Alto
Which electrical service do you need?
Do Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto?
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 price first, and you only pay for work you agreed to.
Can I get an electrician in Palo Alto at night or on a weekend?
Yes, for anything urgent. Our line is answered 24 hours a day. Tell us what's happening and we'll get a licensed electrician out who takes after-hours calls. Nights and weekends usually cost more than a weekday visit.
Talk to us
Need an electrician in Palo Alto?
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.