If your home was built before 1990, there is a good chance your electrical panel was not designed for what you are running today. Fuse boxes and 100-amp panels are common in homes near South Congress and Travis Heights. They were not built to handle central AC, EV chargers, and modern appliances at the same time.

We inspect your existing panel before any work begins. If an upgrade is needed, we pull the permits, install a new breaker box, and make sure everything meets current code. Most panel replacements in this part of Austin are upgrades to 200-amp service.

A new panel does more than fix tripping breakers. It gives your home the capacity to support an EV charger, a standby generator, or any other high-draw equipment you plan to add.

Texas weather has shown that power outages are not a matter of if — they are a matter of when. For homeowners in Downtown Austin, a standby generator means your heat, AC, refrigerator, and medical equipment keep running when the grid goes down. You do not have to wait for power to come back.

A standby generator connects directly to your home's electrical system. It turns on automatically when it detects an outage. Most units run on natural gas or propane, so there is no fuel to store or haul.

We handle the full install — sizing, permits, placement, and connection to your panel. After the job is done, we test the system so you know it will work when you need it.

Austin drivers are switching to electric vehicles faster than most cities in Texas. If you park at home in Zilker, Bouldin Creek, or anywhere in the 78704 area, a Level 2 home charger is the most practical way to keep your vehicle charged overnight.

A Level 2 charger runs on a 240-volt circuit — the same type that powers a dryer or range. We assess your panel, confirm available capacity, and install either a hardwired EVSE unit or a dedicated outlet near your parking spot. Most installs are completed in a single visit.

We pull the permits and schedule the inspection. You get a charger that works with your vehicle, your panel, and your parking setup.

Older homes in the 78704 area were not wired for the lighting setups most homeowners want today. Recessed cans, pendant lights, and under-cabinet fixtures all require circuits and boxes that many craftsman and bungalow-style homes simply do not have. Adding them means running new wiring — not just swapping a fixture.

We handle the full job. That includes opening walls or ceilings where needed, running new circuits, installing junction boxes, and mounting fixtures. We work around your schedule and clean up when we are done.

If you are remodeling a kitchen or living room near Travis Heights or Bouldin Creek, talk to us before your contractor closes up the walls. Getting the wiring done in the right order saves time and money.

Walkable Downtown neighborhoods like Barton Hills and South Lamar see strong demand for outdoor lighting upgrades. Security lighting, landscape fixtures, and front-entry lights all add function and visibility to your property. They also run on circuits that need to be installed correctly and to code.

We mount weatherproof fixtures and wire them to existing circuits or a new dedicated outdoor circuit, depending on your load. Motion sensors, timers, and smart controls can be added at the time of install. We do not cut corners on weatherproofing — outdoor connections in Austin need to hold up through heat, rain, and humidity.

If you are adding pathway lighting, soffit lights, or a lit driveway entry, we can plan the layout and run the circuits in a single visit for most jobs.

Austin's storm season puts real stress on home electrical systems. Voltage spikes from lightning strikes, utility switching, and grid fluctuations can damage appliances, electronics, and smart home equipment in seconds. A whole-home surge protector stops that before it reaches your devices.

The unit installs directly at your main panel. It covers every circuit in your home at once — your HVAC, refrigerator, washer, TVs, and any smart home equipment running on your system. That is a level of protection individual power strips cannot match.

We install surge protection as a standalone job or as part of a panel replacement. If you are already upgrading your panel, adding surge protection at the same time is a straightforward add-on.

Austin summers are long and the heat is real. A ceiling fan in the right room makes a measurable difference in comfort and takes load off your AC system. Across the 78701 and 78704 zip codes, ceiling fan installs are one of our most consistent year-round requests.

If your room already has a ceiling box and wiring, the swap is straightforward. If it does not, we run a new circuit and install a rated box before mounting the fan. We also install the wall switch or remote control — whichever setup works best for your room layout.

We work in all types of homes, from older bungalows in Travis Heights to newer builds closer to the downtown core. If you are not sure what your ceiling can support, we check before we start.

Austin code requires smoke detectors in every bedroom and in the hallway outside every sleeping area. Many older homes in Downtown Austin were never brought up to that standard. If your home has battery-only detectors or none at all, you may not meet current requirements.

Hardwired smoke detectors are a step up from battery units. They connect to your home's electrical system and link together — if one goes off, they all go off. We install each unit, wire it into the system, and test every detector before we leave.

We can add carbon monoxide combo units at the same time. If you are completing a remodel or permit work in the 78704 area, getting your detectors up to code is often a required part of final inspection sign-off.

GFCI outlets are required by code within six feet of any water source — kitchens, bathrooms, garages, and outdoor outlet locations all fall under this rule. Pre-1980 homes in Travis Heights and Bouldin Creek frequently do not have them. If your outlets have not been updated, there is a good chance some do not meet current requirements.

A GFCI outlet cuts power instantly when it detects a ground fault. That response time is what makes them a code requirement near water. Standard outlets do not react fast enough to prevent injury in the same situations.

Before we install, we test your existing wiring to confirm proper grounding. If the wiring behind the outlet is not up to standard, we let you know before we proceed. No guesswork, no surprises.

Buying an older home near South Lamar or Travis Heights means inheriting whatever electrical work was done before you got there. Some of it may be fine. Some of it may not be. A safety inspection tells you exactly what you have before it becomes a problem.

We inspect your panel, outlets, wiring, and grounding. We check for code violations, overloaded circuits, missing GFCI protection, and signs of outdated or unsafe wiring. When we are done, you get a written report of everything we found.

This is a common request from home buyers, remodelers pulling permits, and homeowners who have not had their system looked at in years. If you are not sure when your wiring was last inspected, that is a good reason to schedule one.

Many homes built before 1970 near South Lamar still have their original wiring. Aluminum wiring, knob-and-tube wiring, and undersized circuits are common findings in this part of Austin. They were acceptable when installed. They are not acceptable for the way homes are used today.

A full rewire replaces the wiring throughout your home from the panel out. Every circuit is run with modern copper wire, installed to current code, and inspected before the walls close back up. We pull all required permits and coordinate the inspection sign-off.

Most full rewires in Downtown Austin are combined with a panel replacement. If your wiring needs to be replaced, your panel usually does too. We assess both at the same time so you get one job, one permit process, and one inspection.

Electrical work is one part of what we do in Downtown Austin. Our licensed plumbers serve the same neighborhoods — from drain cleaning and water line repair to full fixture installs. Visit our Plumber in Downtown Austin page to see what we cover.