20% Off · First-Time & Seniors20% Off for First-Time Customers & Seniors, Mention This Website When Booking
Claim →Claim Offer →
Switchboard
Upgrades
Northcote & Preston
Fixed Price.
Second-storey extensions, EV chargers and ducted air on top of a decades-old bungalow board — we upgrade Northcote and Preston switchboards to match what the house has become.
Northcote & Preston Fixed Price.
Second-storey extensions, EV chargers and ducted air on top of a decades-old bungalow board — we upgrade Northcote and Preston switchboards to match what the house has become.
Experience
Completed
Reviews
Switchboard Upgrades in Northcote & Preston
Northcote and Preston are full of Californian bungalows and post-war brick homes that were built for a much simpler household — a few lights, a stove, maybe a heater — and plenty of them still have close to the original switchboard doing far more than that today.
The suburb's popularity for renovations means a lot of these bungalows near High Street and Thornbury have grown upward or backward with second-storey additions and rear extensions, adding whole new circuits to a board that was sized decades before the extension was ever drawn up.
Further out in Preston, near the market and towards Fairfield and Merri Creek, family homes are increasingly adding EV chargers and ducted reverse-cycle systems, which is exactly the kind of load that exposes an ageing single-phase board fitted for a much smaller house.
In short
Who should I call for a switchboard upgrade in Northcote or Preston?
Near Me Electrical upgrades switchboards for Northcote and Preston homes, including bungalows outgrowing their original board after a second-storey extension. We're A-Grade licensed, size boards for EV chargers and ducted systems, and issue a Certificate of Electrical Safety on completion.
- A-Grade licensed and $20M insured
- Fixed price agreed in writing before we start
- $0 callout fee on booked jobs
- Same-day and after-hours availability
- Certificate of Electrical Safety on completion
- Lifetime workmanship guarantee
What's typically in a Northcote or Preston board
A lot of Californian bungalows still have their original or first-generation switchboard, often with rewireable fuses or early circuit breakers and no RCBOs across every circuit. Post-war brick homes in Preston are similar, frequently on a modest main switch that was never revisited despite decades of additions.
Where a second-storey extension or rear addition has gone ahead, it's common to find extra circuits simply added onto the existing board rather than the board itself being reassessed against the home's new total load.
What upgrading involves after an extension or before an EV
When a home has grown with an extension, we start by working out the actual total load — new bedrooms, a second bathroom's exhaust and heating, ducted air conditioning — and size the new board and consumer mains around that, not just the circuits that already exist.
For EV charging, a 7kW single-phase charger generally needs its own dedicated circuit and enough spare capacity on the main switch and mains; if the existing single-phase supply is limited, we'll talk through options like load management or, where it makes sense, a three-phase upgrade with the distributor.
- Total load reassessment after second-storey or rear extensions
- Dedicated circuit sizing for EV chargers
- Load management options where supply capacity is limited
- Consumer mains upgraded where extensions have outgrown the original size
- RCBOs fitted across all circuits, old and new
Signs a Northcote or Preston home needs an upgrade
If your board's been added to piecemeal over multiple renovations, if breakers trip when ducted heating and the oven run together, or if you're planning an EV charger and aren't sure the board can take it, that's the point to book an assessment rather than guess.
We'll give you a straightforward answer on whether a standard upgrade covers it or whether the supply itself — through Citipower, Jemena or United Energy depending on your street — needs attention too.
What every Northcote & Preston job includes
- A-Grade licensed electrician (REC 30217), $20M insured
- Fixed price agreed in writing before we start
- $0 callout fee on booked jobs
- Work completed to AS/NZS 3000
- Certificate of Electrical Safety on completion
- Lifetime workmanship guarantee
What Northcote & Preston customers say
"Renovation added a second storey and we needed a bigger board. Priced up front, no last-minute variations."
"EV charger install in Preston, neat cable run and had it running the same afternoon."
Switchboard Upgrades in Northcote & Preston: common questions
Does my board need upgrading before I install an EV charger?+
Often yes, particularly in older Northcote and Preston homes with a modest original main switch. We check whether your existing board and supply can take a dedicated EV circuit, and if capacity is tight we'll discuss load management or a supply upgrade with your distributor before recommending anything.
We added a second storey years ago — could that be why the board keeps tripping?+
Very possibly. Extensions often add circuits onto an existing board without reassessing its total capacity, so as more appliances and cooling get added afterward, the original board and mains can end up carrying more than they were ever sized for. An upgrade resolves that properly.
Do I need three-phase power for a Preston family home renovation?+
Not always — many extensions and EV chargers are comfortably handled on a well-sized single-phase supply with load management. But if you're adding significant ducted systems, a workshop or multiple heavy appliances, we'll assess whether requesting three-phase from the distributor makes more sense long-term.
How is the distributor involved in a switchboard upgrade?+
For most upgrades, the distributor (Citipower, Jemena or United Energy depending on your Northcote or Preston street) needs to isolate supply briefly during the swap and update their records for the new board and meter. We manage that liaison and paperwork as part of the job, so you don't need to deal with it directly.
Ready when you are
Book your Melbourne electrician today.
Fixed price before we start. Licensed local electrician on site, often within days. From a single power point to a full home rewire, we quote it upfront and leave the place spotless.
5-minute reply · $0 callout · Licensed A-Grade