Electrician Hamlyn Heights
Power points, lighting, safety switches and EV chargers for Hamlyn Heights homes, by CabledIN
Hamlyn Heights households have booked CabledIN, a licensed electrician, more than 20 times, mostly for extra power points, new lighting and safety switches. Our licence is REC 30925, and we work from neighbouring North Geelong.
A power point or a light fitting is usually one short visit. An EV charger depends on how much room the switchboard has and whether the supply needs to change. A switchboard upgrade takes longer and is independently inspected before the power goes back on. Every job is quoted after we have seen it.
- Our records
- More than 20 jobs in Hamlyn Heights
- Most common job here
- Power points
- Population
- 6,518 at the 2021 Census
- Emergencies
- 24/7 call-outs on 1300 025 555
Electrician Hamlyn Heights: what our job records show
We have done more than 20 jobs in Hamlyn Heights, and the pattern is clear:
- Power points, in more than half of all jobs. Mostly extra double power points, plus outdoor work with the cable run in conduit.
- Lighting, in more than four in ten. LED downlights in place of older fittings, LED battens and new switches.
- Safety switches, in more than three in ten. Combined circuit breaker and safety switch units added circuit by circuit.
- Switchboards, in more than one in five. Upgrades, and boards rearranged to make room for a new circuit.
- Also regular: fault finding, electrical inspections, EV chargers, outdoor power, appliance connections, exhaust fans, smoke alarms and data points.
Homes from the 1950s and 1960s
Hamlyn Heights sits on hills overlooking Corio Bay, about 4 km west of central Geelong. It was named in the 1940s after a local resident, Sidney Hamlyn, and most of it was settled in the 1950s and 1960s, the same years its primary schools and Bell Park High School opened.
That makes many houses here around 60 to 70 years old. At the 2021 Census, 83.9 per cent of homes were separate houses and 15.5 per cent were semi-detached, row or townhouses, so about one home in six is not a detached house.
Houses of that age were wired for a household with far fewer appliances, which is the main reason power points top our list here. Age can also mean:
- A switchboard with few spare spaces, or older fuses.
- Only some circuits protected by a safety switch.
- Light fittings that are due for replacement.
Energy Safe Victoria advises a wiring check by a licensed electrician once a house passes 30 years old. An electrical safety inspection tells you where yours stands.
Talk to a licensed Geelong electrician (REC 30925).
Adding power points to an older house
The most common request in Hamlyn Heights is simple: more double power points, in the places where power boards and extension leads are doing the job now. Outdoor power comes up too.
Before adding a circuit, we check the switchboard. New circuits go on safety switch protection, and an old board may have no spare space for one. Sometimes space can be freed with combined circuit breaker and safety switch units, and sometimes the board needs upgrading. Where cable has to run along an outside wall, it goes in conduit.
See power point installation for the types of outlet we fit, from standard doubles to weatherproof outdoor outlets.
EV chargers and supply upgrades
We install home EV chargers in Hamlyn Heights, and in houses of this age the switchboard is the first question. A charger needs its own protected circuit, and an older board may be full. We have fitted combined circuit breaker and safety switch units to free up the space for one.
Sometimes the house supply itself has to change. Powercor lists EV chargers among the common reasons to upgrade a supply, and we have done three-phase mains work in Hamlyn Heights as well. Changes to supply capacity or phases are alteration requests that only a Registered Electrical Contractor can lodge with Powercor. Powercor says most of these works take 3 to 8 weeks, and longer if appointments are missed, and its charges are separate from the electrician's quote.
Read more about EV charger installation and mains and supply upgrades.
LED lighting in place of older fittings
Lighting is in more than four in ten of our Hamlyn Heights jobs. Most of it is straightforward:
- Old ceiling fittings replaced with LED downlights.
- LED battens fitted where a plain, bright light is needed.
- New switches and switch plates.
- Bathroom exhaust fans replaced or added.
A light fitting is part of the fixed wiring, so in Victoria even a like-for-like swap has to be done by a licensed electrician. You receive a Certificate of Electrical Safety for it, with your copy due within 30 days.
Not sure what you need? Tell us what is happening and we will talk it through.
Testing the safety switches you already have
More than three in ten of our Hamlyn Heights jobs include safety switch work. A safety switch (RCD) cuts the power within milliseconds when it detects a leak that could harm someone, but it only protects the circuits it is wired to. On an older board, one safety switch may cover the power points and nothing else.
Energy Safe Victoria says to test every safety switch every three months:
- Tell everyone in the house first.
- Press the test button on each safety switch.
- Check the power is off on that circuit.
- Reset the switch.
If lights or appliances stay on after you press the test button, the switch may have failed: call a licensed electrician immediately. Adding protection to the circuits that have none is covered on our safety switch installation page.
How a Hamlyn Heights job runs
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. You get in touch | Phone 1300 025 555 or fill in the contact form. Tell us the job and roughly how old the house is. |
| 2. We book a time | We set a day that works for you. If the fault is unsafe, it is treated as an emergency at any hour. |
| 3. We look first | The electrician checks the job and the switchboard, and explains anything that changes the plan. |
| 4. You get a quote | No work starts until you have agreed to it. |
| 5. Work and testing | Each circuit we touch is tested, safety switches included, before the power goes on. |
| 6. Certificate | You receive a Certificate of Electrical Safety, required for all electrical installation work in Victoria. |
Next to Hamlyn Heights
Hamlyn Heights is surrounded by suburbs we also cover: Geelong West, Herne Hill and Manifold Heights, plus North Geelong, our home base. Bell Park, Bell Post Hill and Fyansford are on our patch as well. For the whole region, see our Geelong electrician page.
Recent electrical jobs in Hamlyn Heights
Frequently asked questions
Do you install EV chargers in Hamlyn Heights?
Yes. We install home EV chargers in Hamlyn Heights. We check the switchboard and the supply first, because an older board may need space freed for the new circuit, and some homes need a supply upgrade lodged with Powercor.
Do I need three-phase power for an EV charger?
Not necessarily. It depends on the charger and on your existing supply. Powercor lists EV chargers among the common reasons to upgrade a supply, so we check the board and the supply before quoting and tell you whether a change is needed.
Can you add power points to a 1960s house without a new switchboard?
Often, yes. If the board has a spare space and is in good condition, the new circuit can go straight in. If it is full, combined circuit breaker and safety switch units can sometimes free up space. If not, the board needs upgrading.
My Hamlyn Heights house only has one safety switch. Is that enough?
It protects only the circuits connected to it, which on an older board is often just the power points. Protection can be added to the other circuits one at a time. If you own a rented home, we can do the same work, with access arranged with the household.
What is a combined circuit breaker and safety switch?
It is one device that does both jobs on a single circuit. It protects the wiring from overloads and short circuits like a circuit breaker, and cuts the power on a current leak like a safety switch. Because each circuit has its own, a fault on one circuit does not cut power to the others.
How often should I test my safety switches?
Every three months, according to Energy Safe Victoria. Press the test button on each one, check the power goes off, then reset it. If the power stays on, call a licensed electrician straight away.
Can you replace old light fittings with LED downlights?
Yes. Lighting is in more than four in ten of our Hamlyn Heights jobs, and most of it is replacing older fittings with LED. Changing a light fitting is electrical work that must be done by a licensed electrician in Victoria.
Do you work on townhouses and units in Hamlyn Heights?
Yes. About one home in six in Hamlyn Heights is a semi-detached house, row house or townhouse, and we do the same work in them as in a detached house: power points, lights, safety switches and fault finding.
Can I get a weatherproof power point outside?
Yes. We fit weatherproof outdoor outlets, with the cable in conduit where it runs along an outside wall. The board is checked for space before we quote, and the work comes with a certificate.
Still have a question? Ask the CabledIN team.