Answers before you call

For new circuits, panel changes, or significant rewiring — yes, ESA permits are required by law in Ontario. For straight fixture swaps on existing circuits, generally no. We pull every required permit and handle the inspection coordination as part of the job, so you don't deal with paperwork.

Yes. We're an ESA-licensed Electrical Contractor in Ontario, carry $5M in liability insurance, and are WSIB cleared. Certificates are available within 24 hours for any property manager, condo board, or commercial GC that needs them on file.

A Certificate of Acceptance (COA) is the document the ESA inspector issues confirming your electrical work passed inspection. You need one any time work was done under permit. Insurance companies and home buyers will sometimes ask to see one — keep them filed. We deliver every COA directly to the homeowner after inspection.

Yes. Our standard labour warranty is 12 months on all work performed, plus the manufacturer warranty on equipment we install (typically 1–10 years depending on product). If something we did fails within the warranty period, we make it right at no charge.

Common signs include breakers tripping often, lights dimming when appliances kick on, fuse boxes (still common in pre-1965 Toronto homes), or planning to add an EV charger or major addition. We do free site assessments and run a load calculation to confirm whether an upgrade is actually needed — most homes with 100A service can do more than people think with proper load management.

Most Ontario insurers either refuse new policies on K&T homes or require replacement within 30–90 days. K&T isn't automatically dangerous, but aged insulation, modern loads, and amateur modifications make it a real fire risk. We offer both full home rewires and active-circuit-only replacements depending on your situation.

Most residential panel upgrades take a single day — typically 6 to 8 hours of work with a power shutoff window of 3 to 5 hours. ESA inspection is scheduled separately, usually within 1–2 weeks. We coordinate the timing in advance to minimize disruption.

Aluminum wiring (common in homes built 1965–1975) can be safe if maintained properly, but it's flagged by most insurers and can fail at terminations. Options range from inspection and pigtailing connections to full rewires. We'll assess your home and recommend the most cost-effective path that satisfies your insurance.

Not safely without modifying the wiring. Two-prong outlets indicate ungrounded wiring; simply swapping the outlet doesn't add a ground path and creates a shock hazard. Code-compliant options are running a new ground wire, installing GFCI protection on those circuits (allowed by code with proper labelling), or rewiring. We'll explain options during the quote.

Often yes — many 100A panels can support a Level 2 charger using load management. 60A panels almost always need an upgrade. We run a load calculation during the free site visit and tell you exactly what your home can handle. Most installs include the charger, hardwired or NEMA 14-50 install, ESA permit, and inspection.

As of 2026, there is no active Ontario or federal rebate specifically for residential home charger installs — both ZEVIP and Ontario's ChargeON program are commercial-focused or fully subscribed. The federal EV purchase rebate (up to $5,000 for a new battery EV) is back as of February 2026. We monitor incentive programs and flag any savings you qualify for at quote time.

Both are safe and code-compliant. Hardwired delivers slightly faster charging and is cleaner-looking. Plug-in lets you unplug and take the charger if you move. We'll recommend the right setup for your situation during the free site visit.

For Canadian winters, the Grizzl-E Classic (NEMA 4 rated, 40A, 5-year warranty, Canadian company) is a strong pick. ChargePoint, JuiceBox, and Tesla Wall Connector are also excellent. We'll recommend based on your EV, panel, and budget — and supply if you'd prefer not to source one yourself.

Often yes — but it depends on the building. Some condos have a Section 98 process for parking-stall electrical, others have pre-built infrastructure, and some don't allow it at all. We'll do the load assessment and tell you what's possible. If your building requires shared infrastructure or load management, we coordinate with the property manager.

Rule of thumb: divide the room's square footage by 25 for general ambient lighting. A 200 sq-ft living room takes about 8 pot lights. But spacing, fixture wattage, ceiling height, and other light sources all matter — we lay it out properly during the quote rather than guess.

Switches, almost always. Smart bulbs lose state when someone flips the wall switch off, and they don't scale well past a few rooms. Smart switches (Lutron, Leviton, Inovelli) keep the wall switch working normally, last 10+ years, and integrate cleanly with whole-home automation.

Pot light installs require small holes (usually 4" round) cut in the drywall, plus access points to fish wire to the switch. We use the smallest necessary openings, plan runs through closets and unfinished areas, and patch all access cuts as part of the job. Final paint matching is left to your trim painter.

Yes, but it's different from drywall. Concrete ceilings can either get surface-mount fixtures (like decorative track or canopy lights) or shallow-recessed pot lights with conduit runs along the ceiling, which then get drywalled or boxed in. We'll explain options and trade-offs during the quote.

Limited. Trenching for low-voltage runs requires unfrozen ground, so most outdoor projects are scoped from late spring through fall. We can plan and quote outdoor work year-round, and install fixtures on existing circuits anytime.

Ajax is engineered to European EN-Grade 2/3 professional standards — meaningfully tougher than typical consumer security gear like Ring or SimpliSafe. The system is fully wireless (5–7 year battery life), uses photo verification to filter false alarms, and integrates intrusion, video, fire, and home automation in one app. As authorized installers, we offer Ajax with no long-term contracts — you own the hardware and choose your own monitoring (or self-monitor).

No. You own the system outright and can self-monitor through the Ajax app for free. If you want 24/7 professional monitoring, you choose the company and the contract length — Ajax works with most major Canadian and US monitoring providers. We walk through the options at quote time and let you decide.

Ontario code requires a smoke detector on every storey (including basement) plus one outside each sleeping area. CO detectors are required adjacent to every sleeping area when there's a fuel-burning appliance, fireplace, or attached garage. A typical Toronto detached home needs 4–6 smoke and 2–3 CO units. We offer free home audits with a written compliance report — useful before a closing inspection or insurance review.

Smoke detectors expire every 10 years; CO detectors every 7–10 years depending on the model. The expiry date is printed on the back of every unit. Sensor accuracy drops well before expiry, so a 7-year-old detector that "still works" is often already unreliable.

Yes — closing-driven detector work is one of our most common jobs. Most full-home installs wrap in half a day, and we can usually accommodate fast turnaround. Book early in the closing process and we'll provide written compliance documentation for the buyer's lawyer or inspector.

Whole-home backup for an average Toronto detached home is typically 18–22kW. Essential circuits only (furnace, fridge, sump, lights, internet) can run on 10–14kW. We do a full load calculation as part of the quote so the unit is sized right — too small means it won't run everything, too big wastes money. We're brand-flexible on installs (Generac, Kohler, Cummins, Tesla Powerwall, etc.).

Generators run as long as you have fuel — best for multi-day winter outages. Batteries are silent and fuel-free but typically run essential loads for 8–24 hours before needing a recharge. Many homeowners pair them (battery for short outages, generator for long ones) or pick based on what their outage history looks like.

Air-cooled standby generators run between 65 and 75 decibels at one metre — comparable to a window AC unit. Modern Generac and Kohler units have sound-attenuated enclosures. Toronto and most GTA municipalities have noise bylaws — we'll site the unit accordingly during the quote.

Yes. We service all major brands — Generac, Kohler, Cummins, Briggs & Stratton, Champion — regardless of who installed them. Annual maintenance contracts are available for both new installs and existing units, including oil changes, filter swaps, battery checks, and load tests.

Yes — every commercial service contract includes a written SLA defining response times for emergency, urgent, routine, and scheduled work. Standard tiers are 2-hour emergency response, 24-hour urgent, 3-day routine, and 7-day scheduled. Contracts are custom-built per portfolio (no cookie-cutter bronze/silver/gold tiers) and include locked rates, dedicated account management, and priority dispatch.

Yes — we work in Toronto condos regularly and understand building rules (noise hours, freight elevator booking, common-element awareness, concrete ceiling installs). We provide a board-ready PDF with all the contractor documentation your renovation request needs (scope, ESA, COI, WSIB, contractor licence) so you can submit confidently. The owner handles the actual board submission.

For most commercial projects, yes. We schedule heavy work outside service hours when it makes business sense — closed days, early mornings, or overnight. After-hours rates apply for overnight and weekend work, but the scheduling itself is part of how we quote restaurant, retail, and office jobs.

We do it ourselves. Our team is trained on Cat6/6A structured cabling, conference room AV, and access control — same crew, one COI, one accountable contractor. For specialized AV control programming (Crestron, Logitech) we'll partner with the AV programmer of your choice, but the cabling and physical install is ours.

Pricing varies based on scope, materials, panel work, and any code-upgrade requirements. Every quote is fixed-price after a free site visit — no hourly surprises mid-project. Single-fixture work starts in the high hundreds; full panel upgrades typically run $2,500–$5,000; complete home rewires can be $20K+. We're transparent about pricing during the visit so there are no surprises.

For most jobs, we book free site visits within 1–2 weeks and provide written quotes within 48 hours of the visit. Emergency calls get same-day or next-day response depending on availability. Larger commercial projects with drawings can usually be quoted within a week of receiving full documentation.

For residential work, a deposit is typically required at booking with the balance due on completion. For larger projects, we use milestone billing tied to project phases. We accept e-transfer, credit card, and cheque. Commercial clients with service contracts are billed monthly or per-job with NET-30 terms.

Yes. Same-day response for active emergencies during business hours, and after-hours dispatch available for restaurant, property management, and commercial service contract clients. For homeowners with active emergencies (sparking outlets, burning smell, full power loss), call our line — we route urgent calls fast.

We serve Etobicoke, Toronto, and the greater GTA — including Mississauga, Oakville, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Scarborough, and surrounding areas. For projects further out, we'll let you know during the quote if a travel surcharge applies.