Business tips for electricians during summer

For many of us, summer means more time to relax in the evenings after you clock off from work, fun weekends away and maybe even a few rare days off. But not if you’re a sparky; you’re often at your busiest when the heat is on. With people heading into their outdoor rooms, aircons running full time and electrical wiring under heat stress, any number of issues can pop up as the temperature rises. But it also creates opportunity, according to Tim Rolfe, owner of Summit Electrical Contracting and The Block’s head electrical contractor.

Here, he shares his business tips for getting on the front foot workwise and powering through summer, including:

• Reaching out to new and existing clients for booking seasonal maintenance jobs.
• Reviewing your client’s solar panels.
• Making use of the cooler mornings when working in the height of summer.
• Staying sun-smart when working outdoors and on roofs.

Tip: Always wear the appropriate safety equipment (safety glasses, gloves and a mask, for example) when required on the job. Always follow the instructions for the product or equipment.

Typical electrician jobs for summer

Now’s a great time to contact regular clients or reach out to new ones. “It’s funny, a lot of these jobs can be done any time of the year, but summer is definitely a time when people are enjoying their homes more and getting out into alfresco areas, which is when they’ll notice things they want to change,” Tim says.

“They might decide to replace that flood lamp in the eaves with better wall-mounted lighting or finally see to the ceiling fan that hasn’t been switched on for a while. Ironically, it’s also a time when a lot of outdoor heaters get installed because people are in their alfresco and it still gets cold at night.”

Tim shares the sparky jobs summer can bring:

• Check cooling and heating. “A lot of the time people might just need to re-gas their system, but it’s worth checking to make sure everything is fine before they really need it.”
• Test safety switches and RCDs. “Check RCDs and the switchboard. Older style fuses will start to burn out before they trip and anything hot in a switchboard is dangerous.”
• Service electrical equipment. “Summer is the perfect time to do a general electric health check; everything from pumps to smoke alarms, switches, cracked outlets and anything like that.”
• Review outdoor lighting. “Often someone will want extra lighting, but that’s not just plugging in a light, you've got to do it properly and there’s a bit of work to make that happen.”
• Review solar panels. “Get up on the roof, clean the panels, check for damage and make sure they’re all plugged in. You’d be surprised how many big installers might have missed a plug!”

Tips to stay cool when you work in the heat

Any work in an alfresco area usually has its unique challenges, Tim says. “Nine times out of 10 those areas are at the back of the house, the furthest point from the switchboard, and heating will likely need its own circuit.”

It can mean a lot of work, Tim says, and there are challenges – the most obvious being the summer heat. “Electricians work in roof cavities a lot and in older houses, where the insulation is above the ceiling, but well below the roof, that means you can be climbing into a space that’s up to 70 degrees!”

Here are his business tips for beating the heat this summer:

• Max the mornings. “You need to schedule your day so you’re in the cavity first thing in the morning and out by the time things heat up.”
• Create airflow. “Once you’re in a roof space, lift a few tiles back to get the air flowing, or if it's possible – and safe – temporarily redirect aircon ducting to blow into the space where you’re working. It only takes a moment and it makes a world of difference,” he says. “And it’s easy to put things back when you’re done.”
• Slip, slop, slap, seek and slide. “If you’re working on the roof itself, you get a lot of reflected heat from tiles or Colourbond, so you need to be sun smart.”

How to save time and money for your clients

Tim’s best business advice to keep your clients happy? If you’re at a call-out, ask if the client wants a check-up while you’re there. It’s not up-selling; it’s a service that will save time and money. “People usually wait until the hot days hit before they remember they need to replace an aircon unit, for example, but it’s way better to be doing that now than when you’re being hit by a heap of people all needing the same thing,” Tim says. Plus, potential problems can be identified and dealt with early and they’ll appreciate that. And while a lot of the issues uncovered by an inspection might turn out to be common sense, like suggesting they clean the filter in the air conditioner or advising someone the tree they planted has grown and is casting a shadow over their solar panels, point that out and it can mean a really significant increase in efficiency.

“You can tell a client what they need to do and fix anything else that needs to be done now before they need it right in the middle of summer,” Tim says.

After more sun protection tips?

Check out our story on how to survive and thrive in the heat on the job.