Electrical in Brooklyn Prewar wiring, ready for what a Brooklyn home runs now
Nearly half of Brooklyn’s homes were built before 1940. We upgrade the panels, meters and circuits in its rowhouses, brownstones and walk-ups.
- Based in Staten Island, serving all five boroughs
- English and Russian spoken
- Licensed & insured
- 24/7 emergency service
- Free estimates
- Financing options available
24/7 emergency service
Electrical hazard
Sparking outlets, a hot or buzzing panel, breakers that keep tripping, flickering across the whole house or a burning smell with no obvious source. Kill the breaker if you can do it safely and call. Older wiring and fuse panels are the usual culprits.
Local know-how
Electrical in Brooklyn homes
Brooklyn has the city’s oldest housing: 48.4 percent of its homes were built in 1939 or earlier. Wiring of that age was laid out for lights and a few outlets, not for the air conditioners, induction ranges, heat pumps and chargers now on its circuits.
Con Edison delivers the borough’s electricity and inspects the service and meter equipment, but its specifications leave the house wiring to the owner: keeping it safe and adequate for future use is the customer’s responsibility.
Common problems in Brooklyn
Fuse boxes and old meters in prewar rowhouses
In ZIP 11231 (Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Red Hook), 63.3 percent of homes predate 1940; in Greenpoint’s 11222, 55.8 percent. Such houses can still have fuses and an old meter base, and as of June 1, 2013, Con Edison requires socket meter equipment on every new or upgraded meter.
Electric heat in Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg
Electricity heats 16.6 percent of Brooklyn’s occupied homes, but 33.8 percent in ZIP 11201 (Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO) and 26.7 percent in Williamsburg’s 11211. There, heat, hot water and cooking can share one apartment panel.
Oil to heat pump in Bay Ridge and Kensington
Oil still heats 13.2 percent of occupied homes in Bay Ridge’s ZIP 11209 and 11.4 percent in 11218 (Kensington and Windsor Terrace). A heat pump in place of an oil burner moves the heating load onto the electrical service, so the service is sized first.
Two-families in Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst
In Dyker Heights’ ZIP 11228, 35.9 percent of homes are in two-family buildings; in Bensonhurst’s 11214, 40.6 percent are in buildings of two to four units. A service upgrade there touches every apartment.
Where we see it
- Park Slope A historic district, where facade work follows LPC rules.
- Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn and DUMBO About a third of occupied homes in ZIP 11201 heat with electricity.
- Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights Oil-heated houses weighing a heat pump, and two-families on one service.
- Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay Mid-century apartment blocks; most homes in ZIP 11235 are in buildings of 20 or more units.
Rules and paperwork
DOB permit and inspection
NYC DOB requires a permit for most electrical work. A licensed Master or Special Electrician obtains it, it stays posted during the work, and a DOB inspection signs the job off.
Landmarks rules for lights, meters and conduit
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Park Slope a historic district in 1973. Its rules allow utility equipment on a primary facade only when there is no other option, and then discreetly, such as under a stoop; surface conduit is painted to match and kept off decorative surfaces.
How a call works in Brooklyn
Plaster walls
New circuits in a plaster-walled brownstone are fished through existing cavities where possible; walls we open, we close and paint.
Power off for the whole house
A meter or service change cuts power to every apartment on that service, so it is scheduled with you and the tenants beforehand.
Estimates are free, and emergencies are answered 24/7.
What is included
The work itself is the same in every borough. See everything our electrical service covers.
Electrical questions from Brooklyn
Does Con Edison or the owner fix the wiring in a Brooklyn house?
The owner. Con Edison inspects its service connection and the meter equipment; keeping the wiring past the meter safe is the customer’s job, and work for a licensed electrician.
Can a heat pump run on the panel my house already has?
Sometimes. It depends on the service size and what else the panel carries. A load calculation shows whether the service is enough or needs an upgrade with Con Edison first.
Can new lights go on the front of a landmarked brownstone?
Often, with an LPC permit: staff can approve fixtures placed discreetly, with conduit painted to match. Ordinary repair of existing equipment needs no LPC permit.
Our Bay Ridge two-family still has fuses. Where do we start?
With a look at the panel, the service cable and the meter base. Swapping fuses for breakers is filed with DOB, and a bigger service also goes through Con Edison.
Free estimate
Get a free estimate in Brooklyn
Flickering lights, a full panel or a whole rewire. One call to a licensed electrician.