Electrician in Irvine

What we do in Irvine

Everything we do in Irvine, with what each job usually involves here. The photos are from our own jobs.

Panel upgrades in Irvine

Panel upgrades for older village homes that have run out of room, with the city permit, SCE's portal request and the meter set coordinated in order.

More on panel upgradesCall (844) 430-7681

EV charger installation in Irvine

Chargers for village homes, townhomes and condo garages, with the EVCS worksheet, the city's clear-parking rule and any HOA approval worked out before the IrvineReady! application.

More on EV charger installationCall (844) 430-7681

Electrical repair & troubleshooting in Irvine

Tripping breakers, dead outlets, flickering lights and failed GFCIs in houses, condos and rental units across the villages.

More on electrical repair & troubleshootingCall (844) 430-7681

Rewiring in Irvine

Partial rewiring and circuit additions in the older villages during kitchen and bath remodels, with walls opened as little as possible.

More on rewiringCall (844) 430-7681

Lighting & ceiling fans in Irvine

Recessed lighting, pendants and fixture changes in remodels, plus exterior and landscape lighting planned with your HOA's exterior rules in mind.

More on lighting & ceiling fansCall (844) 430-7681

Outlets, GFCI & new circuits in Irvine

GFCI-protected outlets for kitchens, baths, garages and patios, and 240-volt circuits for dryers, ranges, heat pumps and induction cooktops when an older village home goes electric.

More on outlets, GFCI & new circuitsCall (844) 430-7681

Generator hookups & battery backup in Irvine

Generator transfer switches and UL 9540-listed battery backup systems for homes that want essential circuits running through an SCE power shutoff, placed to meet the city's garage, setback and screening rules.

More on generator hookups & battery backupCall (844) 430-7681

Commercial electrical in Irvine

Tenant improvements, office and retail lighting, EV charging for workplaces and three-phase equipment feeders where a suite has three-phase service, in the Irvine Business Complex and the Irvine Spectrum area.

More on commercial electricalCall (844) 430-7681

Also: subpanels, dedicated circuits, 240-volt outlets for dryers and ranges, exterior and security lighting, hard-wired smoke alarms, and small repairs of every kind.

Working in Irvine

Irvine is a planned city. The Irvine Company hired architect William Pereira to draw a master plan on its ranch land, the city incorporated in 1971, and it grew village by village, each with its own architectural theme. The first village phases were finished by 1970, older parts of Northwood went up from the early 1970s, and later villages followed from the 1980s on. So an Irvine electrical job rarely starts with century-old wiring; the usual question is whether there is room on the panel for what you want to add.

That question comes up a lot. Census figures show that most occupied homes in Irvine are rented (the owner-occupied rate is 44.5%), and homeowners' associations govern some village neighborhoods, with rules on exteriors that range from light to strict. Infinity Electrical Inc. (CSLB #1100231) looks at the panel, the garage and any HOA rules first, then puts the price in writing. Census data also show that just over half of residents age 5 and over speak a language other than English at home; customer assistance is available in English and Spanish.

What's common in Irvine homes

Village houses, townhomes, condos, apartment communities and office and light-industrial buildings each bring their own electrical needs in Irvine.

• The earlier villages. The first phases of the master plan were complete by 1970, and older parts of Northwood were built from the early 1970s, independently of the Irvine Company. Panels and circuits from that era often run short once an EV charger, heat pump or kitchen remodel is added, which is where a load calculation comes in.
• Newer villages. Villages developed from the 1980s on, including those around the Great Park (built on the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro), generally have newer panels. The work there is usually a charger, a battery system or added circuits planned around the city's clear-parking rule and the HOA's exterior rules.
• Condos, townhomes and rentals. With most households renting, many chargers and circuit changes involve a unit in a shared building, a meter room or a garage fed from a common panel. The city treats a condo that shares a main panel differently from a home with its own, so we check how your unit is fed before planning anything.
• HOA neighborhoods. Some villages have associations that regulate exterior changes, and the city notes that an HOA may have its own approval process for chargers and batteries. We plan meter, panel, charger and battery locations so that you can take a clear drawing to the association.
• Offices and light industry. The Irvine Business Complex, about 2,800 acres near John Wayne Airport and the 405 and 55 freeways, was described in a 2007 state environmental filing as a mix of office, light-industrial, retail and residential uses, and the Irvine Spectrum on the east side is another business district. Tenant improvements there can mean new circuits, lighting and, where a suite has three-phase service, equipment feeders.

Permits and power in Irvine

Irvine (ZIP codes 92602 to 92604, 92606, 92612, 92614, 92618 and 92620) issues its own building permits through the City of Irvine's Building & Safety staff, and Southern California Edison owns the lines, transformers and meters. The University of California, Irvine campus sits inside the city, so for any address on or next to campus we confirm the parcel and who has jurisdiction before quoting.

Who supplies the power. Irvine helped create the Orange County Power Authority, the county's community choice agency, and OCPA still lists Irvine among its member communities, along with Buena Park, Fullerton and Fountain Valley. In December 2024 the council voted to leave the agency and moved Irvine customers to OCPA's Basic Choice plan, a change that took effect from February 2025; in September 2025 the council voted 5-2 to rescind the withdrawal. OCPA's FAQ lists Basic Choice as Irvine's default plan, and customers can choose another plan or opt out and return to SCE for generation. For electrical work this changes little: SCE still owns the meter and the lines, so any service change is requested from SCE, whoever supplies the energy.

Permits. The city's automated self-service permit portal issues a Residential Small Miscellaneous Combo Permit that covers electrical fixtures and outlets, indoors or outdoors, and lists a panel upgrade among its items. EV chargers have their own route: the city's EV charging page says applications go through the IrvineReady! portal with a Residential EVCS Application Package, an EVCS Permit Worksheet filled out by the electrical professional when the home has its own main panel, the manufacturer's specifications and a single-line diagram. Condos that share a main panel follow separate EVCS electrical plan requirements. The city gives about two business days for its completeness check and about two to four days for an initial plan check on single-family and townhouse chargers.

The garage matters. Irvine's EV and battery pages both keep equipment out of required parking; the EV page sets the clear area: in a one-car garage the clear area is 10 feet wide, 20 feet deep and 7 feet high, and in a two-car garage it is 20 by 20 by 7 feet. Equipment mounted outside must be at least two feet from the nearest property line and screened if it is visible from the street or from neighbouring properties at the same grade, and the city reminds owners that their HOA may have its own CC&Rs and approval process. We plan the charger, any new panel and the conduit route around those rules before the permit goes in.

SCE's side. SCE lists a panel upgrade or meter spot for an existing service among the requests made through its Building, Renovation and Project Planning Portal; removing or relocating SCE equipment is requested by phone. If the job stays on your side of the meter, such as a new circuit, a light fixture or a charger the current panel can carry, there is usually nothing to request from SCE.

Wildfire season. In 2025 Irvine adopted the State Fire Marshal's new Fire Hazard Severity Zone map, which the city says expanded fire hazard zones into Orchard Hills, Woodbury, Portola Springs, Quail Hill, Turtle Rock, Laguna Altura, Los Olivos and Irvine Spectrum. Separately, the city has warned residents that SCE may shut off power ahead of dangerous fire weather, mostly in areas the California Public Utilities Commission classifies as high fire risk, and that homes outside those areas can lose power too because the grid is interconnected. A standby or portable generator connected through a transfer switch, or a battery backup system, can keep essential circuits running. A portable generator belongs outdoors only, at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vents, and connected through a transfer switch or listed interlock, never plugged into a wall outlet.

The permits and utilities guide explains the whole picture for the three counties we serve.

Around Irvine

Tustin and Santa Ana to the north, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach to the west, and Lake Forest and Laguna Hills to the east and south are separate cities, each issuing its own permits, and all are SCE territory like Irvine. None of them is listed as an Orange County Power Authority member community, so SCE normally supplies the power there as well as delivering it, while in Irvine OCPA is the default supplier. For a panel upgrade the difference is small: SCE owns the meter in every one of these cities.

• Tustin
• Santa Ana
• Costa Mesa
• Newport Beach
• Lake Forest
• Laguna Hills

See the full list of areas we cover across Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties.