Electrician Norlane
Safety switches, switchboards and safety checks for Norlane home owners, by CabledIN
CabledIN Electrical Solutions is the licensed electrician Norlane home owners call for safety switches, switchboard upgrades and power points, from our base a short drive away in North Geelong. Across more than 15 Norlane jobs in our records, safety switches and switchboard work are the most common, alongside fault finding, power points, lighting and smoke alarms. We are listed on Energy Safe Victoria's register as REC 30925.
Adding a safety switch to a circuit, or a new power point, is usually a single visit. Replacing the whole switchboard takes longer, because the new board has to be inspected before the power goes back on.
- Postcode and council
- 3214, City of Greater Geelong
- Most common jobs
- Safety switches and switchboards
- Licence
- REC 30925
- Emergencies
- 24/7 call-outs on 1300 025 555
Electrician Norlane: what our job records show
Our Norlane work is spread right through the house, but the switchboard end of it leads the list:
- Safety switches. More than a third of our Norlane jobs. We fit a combined circuit breaker and safety switch to one circuit at a time, where the board has room for it. See safety switch installation.
- Switchboards. The same share: old boards replaced, and repairs after a Powercor defect notice.
- Power points. Close to three in ten. Old single outlets swapped for doubles, extra points added, and weatherproof switched outlets fitted outside. See power point installation.
- Lighting. About one job in four: LED downlights fitted, and new switches and dimmers.
- Smoke alarms. Almost one job in five.
- Fault finding and the rest. Tracing faults is a regular call, alongside appliance connections, wall-mounted TVs and fuse mains box replacements.
Norlane's Housing Commission houses, 70 years on
Norlane was built quickly. The Housing Commission began building here in 1947, the busiest years were 1951 to 1957, and by 1976 there were 2,464 Commission houses, more than 1,200 of them prefabricated units imported from Holland and France.
The 2021 Census counted 8,682 people in Norlane and 4,305 private dwellings; 84.8 per cent of the occupied homes were separate houses. A house from the busiest building years is now around 70 years old, and its original wiring was planned for a 1950s household. In a house of that age, look out for:
- A switchboard with rewireable fuses and one safety switch, or none.
- Lighting circuits with no safety switch protection at all.
- A black or dark brown meter panel. Panels from before 1990 may contain asbestos: never drill, cut or sand one.
- Too few power points, so power boards end up doing the job of extra outlets.
For houses past 30 years, Energy Safe Victoria recommends a check by a licensed electrician, and an old board without a safety switch is one of the warning signs it names. An electrical safety inspection tells you which of these apply to your house and which do not.
Talk to a licensed Geelong electrician (REC 30925).
Safety checks for home owners in Norlane
This is the safety work Norlane home owners book with us:
| Job | What we do in a Norlane home |
|---|---|
| Electrical safety check | We check the switchboards, wiring and fittings and give you a written report, with the urgent items first. |
| Smoke alarm check | Every alarm tested and dated, in the same visit if that suits. |
| Safety switch upgrade | On a board with sound circuit breakers we add safety switch protection to the power and lighting circuits. An old fuse board may need replacing. |
| Repairs | Priced for you first, and started only once you approve. |
See electrical safety inspections for what the check covers.
Safety switches: one circuit at a time, or a new board
A safety switch, or RCD (residual current device), senses current leaking out of a circuit, for example through a person, and switches that circuit off within 0.03 of a second. Its protection covers only the circuits wired through it. Circuit breakers and fuses are not safety switches.
In Norlane we usually take one of two routes:
- Add protection to the existing board. Where the board has circuit breakers and spare room, fitting safety switch protection to the power and lighting circuits is normally all it takes. Installing safety switches and circuit breakers is not prescribed work, so no independent inspection is needed, and your certificate is due within 30 days.
- Replace the switchboard. An older fuse board may need replacing instead. A replacement main switchboard is prescribed work: an independent licensed electrical inspector must check it before power goes back on, and every final circuit must then have safety switch protection. See switchboard upgrades.
After they are fitted, Energy Safe Victoria asks you to test each one every three months: warn the household, press the test button, check the power on that circuit has gone off, then reset it. If anything stays powered after you press it, the switch may have failed, so ring a licensed electrician.
Powercor defect notices and fused mains boxes
Our Norlane records include fused mains box replacements, including work under a Powercor defect notice. A defect notice means part of your own installation is unsafe or does not comply, and fixing it is the owner's responsibility, not Powercor's. Common items on a notice include a defective or loose fused mains box, a damaged meter box, an insecure service hook and a faulty switchboard.
The process runs like this: a Registered Electrical Contractor repairs the defect, issues a Certificate of Electrical Safety and sends it to Powercor, and if your supply was cut, Powercor reconnects it free of charge. The due date for the repair is printed on the notice itself. A like-for-like swap of one fused mains box is not prescribed work, though it still comes with a certificate. Our guide explains what a Powercor defect notice means in more detail, and our mains upgrades and Powercor defect repairs page covers the repair itself.
Not sure what you need? Tell us what is happening and we will talk it through.
Booking an electrician in Norlane, step by step
- Call 1300 025 555 or send us a message. Tell us what has gone wrong or what you want added. If you rent, tell us who manages the property.
- We agree a time. An unsafe fault is treated as an emergency: our emergency call-outs run 24/7, Norlane included.
- The electrician looks first. On an older Norlane house that means the switchboard and the meter panel before anything else.
- You approve the price. Nothing starts until you, or the property manager, have agreed to it.
- We do the work and test it. Every circuit we touch is tested before a certificate is issued.
- You receive a Certificate of Electrical Safety. Victoria requires one for every electrical installation job, however small, so keep it with your house papers.
Is a battery smoke alarm enough in a Norlane Commission house?
Not by law, in most cases. A house built before 1 August 1997, which covers Norlane's Housing Commission homes from 1947 to 1976, needs battery-powered alarms as a minimum. Owners can still choose hard-wired 240 V alarms with a backup battery, and those have to be installed by a licensed electrician.
- Age matters as much as type. Ten years is the limit for any alarm, whatever its power source.
- Placement. At minimum, the law asks for an alarm between each sleeping area and the rest of the home, plus one on every level. Fire services go further and suggest bedrooms, hallways and living areas all have one.
- Who does what. Swapping a 9 V battery is a householder job; installing or replacing a 240 V alarm is licensed electrician's work.
Smoke alarm installation is a regular part of our Norlane work. See smoke alarm installation. Small jobs are welcome: one smoke alarm, one power point or a light that has stopped working is worth a call, and the electrician can look over the switchboard while there.
Nearby suburbs: Corio, Bell Park and Bell Post Hill
Corio adjoins Norlane and shares its Housing Commission history, with estates built from the late 1950s. Bell Park and Bell Post Hill also border Norlane, and we work in Moorabool and Lovely Banks too. CabledIN is based in North Geelong, and the electrician Geelong hub lists every other suburb we cover.
Recent electrical jobs in Norlane
Frequently asked questions
Electrician Norlane: what happens if I ring after midnight?
Someone answers. CabledIN takes emergency call-outs in Norlane around the clock on 1300 025 555. If your whole street has lost power, the fault is on Powercor's network: ring 13 24 12. For fire, or if anyone is hurt, call 000.
Is an electrical inspection worth it before buying a Housing Commission house in Norlane?
Yes. Energy Safe Victoria advises that homes built before the 1980s should have their wiring checked before you move in, and many Norlane houses were built by the Housing Commission between 1947 and 1976. An inspection covers the switchboard, the circuits and the safety switches.
What do I get from a safety check of my Norlane house?
A written report that lists what was checked, what was found and any repairs needed, with the urgent items first. Any repair is priced separately, and nothing is done until you approve it.
Can you replace a faulty smoke alarm in my Norlane house?
Yes. Once you approve the price, we replace the alarm, test it and leave a written record of the work. Because hard-wired 240 V alarms are electrical installation work, the replacement has to be done by a licensed electrician rather than by you.
What is a combined safety switch and circuit breaker?
It is one device, often called an RCBO, that does both jobs for a single circuit: it trips on an overload like a circuit breaker, and on leaking current like a safety switch. Where an existing board has room, fitting one to each circuit is a common way to add protection without replacing the board.
Powercor sent a defect notice for my Norlane house. Who fixes it?
The owner is responsible, so book a Registered Electrical Contractor to fix the defect. The electrician repairs it, issues a Certificate of Electrical Safety and sends it to Powercor, and if your supply was cut, Powercor reconnects it free of charge. The repair deadline is printed on the notice.
Can you connect a new oven or other hard-wired appliance in Norlane?
Yes. Appliance connections are part of our Norlane work. Hard-wired appliances such as ovens and cooktops have to be installed and connected by a licensed electrician, and the work comes with a Certificate of Electrical Safety. We check the circuit and the switchboard can take the appliance first.
Does CabledIN work in the suburbs bordering Norlane?
Yes. Corio adjoins Norlane and shares its Housing Commission history, and Bell Park and Bell Post Hill, Norlane's other neighbours, are covered too. CabledIN is based in North Geelong, so all of them are on our regular run, along with Moorabool and Lovely Banks.
Still have a question? Ask the CabledIN team.