Lights flicker
One fixture flickering is usually the fixture or its switch. Lights dimming across the house when a large appliance starts is a different conversation, about the service and the connections feeding it.
Local electricians · independent publisher
Find a local electrician, and know the job before the quote
Panels, EV chargers, rewiring, repairs and generators: what each job involves under the code, what moves the price, and how to check a license. Then tell us the work and we will follow up about electricians serving your area.
- 12
- service guides, each with the code question and the permit
- 16
- free calculators that use your numbers No national price
- 51
- official license boards in our lookup 50 states + DC
Find a local electrician for the job you have
Free, with no obligation. A person at HyreElectrical reads it and replies. Matching with electricians is not live yet.
Not a contractor. We do not perform, inspect or warrant electrical work, and no electrician pays to appear here.
Sources on the page. Code, safety and fee statements cite the model code, the agency or the fee sheet, with a date.
Your numbers. Sixteen calculators ask for your figures instead of publishing a national price.
Your details stay yours. Nothing goes to an electrician unless you agree. Submitting is not a service call.
The short answer
What does an electrician cost?
There is no honest national price for electrical work, because the job is decided by your panel, your walls and your jurisdiction.
Eight things set the number: the type of project, labor, materials, access, panel capacity, the permit, the age of the house and your location. Ask every electrician to itemize against those, on the same scope.
Electrical services
The electrical work homeowners hire for
Twelve guides, each built the same way: when you need the job, what the code asks, who pulls the permit and what moves the price.
Panel upgrade When the load calculation, a hazard-era panel, damage or a utility change calls for it, and why age alone does not. Read the guide EV charger installation A Level 2 charger is a 240-volt circuit. Whether the panel can carry it decides the job and most of the price. Read the guide Electrical repair Which faults mean stop now, which can wait for a booked visit, and what a repair call usually costs you in diagnosis. Read the guide Whole-house rewiring Knob-and-tube, cloth-insulated cable and aluminum branch circuits: three eras, three fixes, three insurance conversations. Read the guide Generator installation Where a standby unit sits and how the transfer switch connects it matter more than its wattage. Both are permitted work. Read the guide Lighting installation Swapping a fixture is simple. Adding lighting is circuit work: capacity, new switching and arc-fault protection. Read the guide Surge protection The model code has asked for a whole-home surge device on dwelling services since 2020. Whether it binds you depends on your edition. Read the guide Electrical installation Adding a circuit or outlet is predictable. Doing things in the wrong order, like closing a wall before inspection, is what costs money. Read the guide Electrical inspection Four different checks share the name. Know which one you are paying for and what its report can and cannot prove. Read the guide Electrical safety What the federal fire and injury data actually supports, the warning signs that mean stop, and the checks worth doing. Read the guide Commercial electricians Three-phase supply, different license classes and different contracts. The license class is the one that catches people out. Read the guide Emergency electrician Fire, a downed line or a live fault each has a different first call. Know which one before you spend time on the wrong number. Read the guide
Where to start
Not sure what kind of help you need?
Most people arrive with a symptom rather than a job title. These come up most, and each points to the conversation to have with an electrician.
A breaker trips repeatedly
A breaker doing its job is not a fault. A breaker doing it every day is telling you the circuit is overloaded, something on it is failing, or the breaker itself has weakened. Resetting it repeatedly answers none of the three.
Outlets have gone dead
Several outlets in a row losing power often traces to one upstream device — commonly a tripped GFCI in a bathroom, garage or exterior box that nobody thought to check.
The panel worries you
Age, brand, rust, heat marks, double-tapped breakers or no space left. Some of those are cosmetic and some are not, and the difference is not something to judge from a photograph.
A new appliance needs a circuit
Ranges, dryers, hot tubs, well pumps, air conditioners and workshop tools mostly want a dedicated circuit at a specific voltage and rating. The appliance data plate tells the electrician what to build.
You are getting an EV
The car is the easy part. What decides the job is the distance to the panel, the panel capacity, and whether your utility or jurisdiction has anything to say about it.
The wiring is old
Knob-and-tube, aluminum branch wiring and ungrounded two-prong circuits each behave differently and are treated differently by insurers. Age alone does not condemn wiring; the type and its condition do.
You want backup power
The question underneath is which circuits you actually need to keep alive, and for how long. That answer sizes everything else.
Lighting needs work
Recessed, under-cabinet, exterior and smart lighting are mostly straightforward — until they involve moving switches, adding circuits or cutting into finished ceilings.
What moves the price
Eight things set the number
We do not publish an average price for electrical work. We publish what moves it, and sourced fees where a city or utility files them.
- Type of projectReplacing a device, adding a circuit, upgrading a panel and upgrading the service are four different orders of work, not four sizes of one.
- LaborHours on site, at a local rate, plus a diagnostic or call-out charge on repair work. Ask whether that charge is credited against the job.
- MaterialsConductor size and length, the panel or load center, breakers, boxes, conduit where required, and any fixture or equipment you specified.
- AccessibilityAn open basement or unfinished garage is straightforward. A finished ceiling, a crawl space or a two-story run through insulated walls is not.
- Panel capacityThe most common hidden multiplier. A job that needs a spare space in a full panel becomes a subpanel job, or a service upgrade, and the price moves accordingly.
- Permits and inspectionSet locally, and required for far more residential work than homeowners expect. The electrician normally pulls the permit and meets the inspector.
- Home ageOlder houses hold surprises — no grounding conductor, undersized boxes, aluminum branch wiring, or a circuit that turns out to feed three rooms it should not.
- LocationLocal labor rates, the code edition your jurisdiction has adopted, its amendments, and how the local utility handles service work.
How it works
Four steps, and you stay in control
Describe the work
The symptom or the project, where it is, and your zip code. Specific beats urgent.
Start the formLearn what the job involves
The service guide sets out the code questions, the permit and what moves the price.
See the servicesCompare written scopes
Two or three itemized quotes on the same defined job, with the permit named.
How to hireCheck the license yourself
Every state board runs its own lookup. We route you to the official one.
Look up a license
Free tools
Run your own numbers
Electrical load calculatorAn NEC 220.82-shaped demand check on your nameplates. Not a stamped calculation. Can the panel take an EV charger?Spare capacity against a 40 A or 48 A Level 2 circuit at 125%. Electrical safety checkA hard stop on burning, heat, sparks or a breaker that will not hold. License lookupRoutes you to the official board in all 50 states and DC.
Research and guides
We read the code and the records
Original research from the model code, federal safety data, fee sheets and state license boards, with the source and retrieval date on the page.
Get connected
Tell us about the electrical work
Three short steps: the job, your home, and how to reach you. Nothing goes to an electrician unless you agree.
A person reads it and replies, free and with no obligation. Matching with electricians is not live yet, so this is not a quote, a dispatch line or an emergency service.
If you smell burning, see sparks or feel heat at an outlet or panel, stop using the circuit and call a licensed electrician now.
Find a Local Electrician
Tell us about the electrical work and where you are. We will follow up about connecting you with electricians serving your area.
Questions
What homeowners ask first
What happens after I submit an electrical inquiry?
We read the project, the zip code and your notes, then follow up about next steps. Electrician matching is still being built, so this is not a dispatch line or an emergency service. Your details are not sold, and no contractor receives them unless you agree.
Is there a charge to request an electrician?
No. Submitting the form is free and does not commit you to an electrical company, a method or a start date. You decide whether to talk to anyone and whether to hire.
When should I call an electrician?
Immediately, and before using the circuit again, if you smell burning, feel heat at a switch or outlet, see sparks or scorch marks, hear buzzing, or find damaged wiring. Soon for breakers that keep tripping or lights that dim when appliances start. New circuits, EV charging and lighting can wait for a convenient time.
How much does an electrician cost?
There is no useful national figure, and we do not publish one. The price is set by the type of project, labor at local rates, materials, access, panel capacity, the permit fee and the age of the wiring. On repair work, ask whether the diagnostic charge is credited against the job.
When does an electrical panel need to be replaced?
When the calculated load of the house exceeds the panel or service rating, when there is no space for the circuits you need, when the bus or breakers are damaged, or when it is a hazard-era product such as Federal Pacific Stab-Lok. Age alone is not the trigger.
How much does EV charger installation cost?
The charger is usually the smallest part. Level 2 needs a dedicated 240-volt circuit, and its cost depends on the distance to the parking space, finished walls on the route, spare panel capacity and a load calculation. Ask for an itemized quote so you can see which one drives the price.
Do I need a permit for electrical work?
Usually, for more than homeowners expect. New circuits, panel and service changes, generators, EV chargers and rewiring are typically permitted and inspected. Like-for-like device swaps are often exempt. Your building department sets the rules, and the electrician normally pulls the permit and meets the inspector.
How do I know if my home needs rewiring?
The type and condition of the wiring decide it, not the age of the house. Knob-and-tube, aluminum branch circuits from the late 1960s and early 1970s, and widespread ungrounded two-prong circuits start most conversations. Damaged insulation and connections that keep failing count too. An electrician confirms it on site.
What causes breakers to keep tripping?
Three causes: an overloaded circuit, a fault such as a short or ground fault in the wiring or an appliance, or a weakened breaker. Unplugging things one at a time can find a faulty appliance, but repeatedly resetting a breaker that keeps tripping is not safe troubleshooting.
How long does electrical work take?
It depends on scope. A device swap is a short visit, a new circuit usually a day or less, a panel replacement about a day plus the inspection, and a whole-house rewire weeks. Inspection scheduling and, for service upgrades, the utility are what usually stretch the timeline.
Should I install a generator?
It depends on how often and how long your power fails, and what you must keep running. Decide that first, then choose portable, inverter or standby. The transfer switch or interlock is the safety-critical part, and a portable generator must never run indoors or in a garage.
What should I ask an electrician before hiring them?
Six questions: your license number, your insurance certificate, whether you have done this job before, whether the estimate is itemized and what it excludes, who pulls the permit, and what happens to the price if the panel is full or the run is longer than expected.
More in the full FAQ, or read who we are and how we are paid. Electrical contractors: how listing will work.
Contact
Have questions?
Write to us about a correction, a question on a guide, or how the site is paid for. We read every message.
Questions about how this site works, or about what we can help you understand, are welcome. We are not an electrical contractor, and we cannot diagnose a fault over the phone — anything urgent belongs with a licensed electrician in your area.
Address 6975 Union Park Avenue
Midvale, UT 84047
United States
Midvale, UT 84047
United States
Phone (866) 582-8523