The Sparks Lady

This is intended to be a factual, hopefully simple, rounding up of information regarding the differences and requirements of a Licensed Electrician and a Licensed Electrical Contractor. I'll admit, even I was confused by some of the electrical companies ads I've heard on the radio. And I haven't seen a good example where this is clearly described. I did some research, and here is what I've found, along with all the links I used. This all started because many times I've been asked, "do I need a hire a licensed electrician, or a licensed electrical contractor?" The answer: both. A licensed electrician is someone who has written and passed their Certificate of Qualification exam. They are legally allowed to be employed as a fully licensed electrician. This does not make them an electrical contractor. An electrical contractor is a person or company who is registered with the  Electrical Safety Authority  (ESA) through their  Electrical Contract

There are many aspects of my job that involve skills other than that surrounding electrical knowledge. In many cases, when I go to a service call, I wear the hat of a detective. “What was going on when you started having problems? How long has this been going on for? Can you show me what you had plugged in and turned on when this happened?” Part of fixing the problem is finding one. But what do you do when there is no problem to find? I had two identical service calls back to back. Both to elderly individuals. Both with the same concern: the electric baseboard heater would not turn on until the thermostat dial was already halfway turned ‘on.’ Immediately I had my presumptions as to the actual issue at hand here. But I did my due diligence and investigated their concerns. I ran every test I could, isolated parts and checked again. Everything was working fine.  The solution here was not an electrical one, but an educational one.  I brought them over to the heater and thermostat