Electrician in Broadwater, NSW
Electrical work in Broadwater
Broadwater is cane country. The village sits beside the Richmond River, with the sugar mill on the old Pacific Highway and Broadwater National Park running along the eastern side. Our work here splits between houses in the village and farms on the flat ground around it. On the farms the job is often a shed, a pump or a workshop a long way from the house, with a cable run that crosses open paddock.
Getting to a job is simple on the flat. Getting to the right switchboard can take longer, because a farm may have the main one at the house, a second in the shed and a pump board by a drain. Gates are common, and so are dogs and farm tracks that are soft after rain. Tell us who holds the gate key and where the meter box is. In cane season, trucks and harvesters share the road, so we plan the day around them.
Houses in Broadwater are mostly older timber, many of them raised on stumps for the flood years, with iron roofs and long verandas. The wiring is often an original run with later additions, and it has seen damp, heat and insects. Farm sheds add their own problems: long submain cables, buried or overhead, and boards built up a piece at a time over decades by whoever was handy.
What we do here most
What Broadwater keeps needing
Distance is the common thread: long cable runs to sheds, big roofs a long way from the house, and old wiring that has been added to for decades.
Electrical Repairs
Dead power at the farm workshop
The workshop lost power and the house is fine, so the fault is somewhere along the cable between them. We start at the house board and check the breaker and the cable size. Then we test the run to the shed, which may be buried, overhead or through conduit. Rodents, a slashed cable or a drowned joint are the usual causes. The shed board is checked last.
Solar System Installation
Panels on a machinery shed
A farm shed has a big iron roof facing north and a heavy daytime load from pumps and tools. Panels go on the roof with the inverter inside on a wall out of the sun. The question is how the power gets to the house board, because the cable run may be long. We check the existing submain and the main switch before deciding how the system ties in.
Lighting Installation
New shed lighting, working farm yard
A shed lit by one old tube and a bare globe is hard to work in. We plan lights over the bench and the machinery, with switches near each door, and run new circuits from the shed board. Outside, a light on a pole or the shed wall helps at the dark end of a long day. Fittings suited to dust and damp are chosen over plain indoor ones.
New Builds and Renovations
Rewiring an old timber house
An old timber house on stumps is being renovated, with the walls opened and the floor lifted in places. That is the moment to rewire it. We pull out the old cable, run new circuits through the roof space and under the floor, and fit a new switchboard. Power points and lights go where the new layout needs them, not where the old ones were.
If it is urgent
If power drops in Broadwater
- 1Look at the switchboard at the house first. If a safety switch has tripped, reset it once, and leave it off if it trips again.
- 2Leave alone any shed cable, overhead line or pump board that is wet, cut or hanging low, and keep stock and people clear.
- 3Tell us whether the fault is at the house, the shed or the pump, and give the gate or property name so we can find it.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I send before someone visits?
A short description of what is happening and which suburb you are in is the main thing. A photo of the switchboard with the cover closed, and one of the spot where the work is needed, lets us see the age of the installation and the layout. If an appliance or unit is involved, send its make and model.
How do I describe a fault over the phone?
Say which room or circuit is affected and what you noticed first, such as lights flickering, a switch tripping or a smell of burning. Mention whether it happens all the time or only when a particular appliance is running. If there is smoke, fire or someone has been hurt, call 000 first.
What days and hours are you open?
We are open Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 4pm, and closed on Saturday and Sunday. You can call 0468 051 006 or email enquires@switchedonelectrical.com.au. If you email, put your suburb and what is going on in the first lines.
Which areas do you cover?
We are based in Ballina and work across the Northern Rivers. That includes Lennox Head, Skennars Head, Alstonville, Wollongbar, Byron Bay, Bangalow, Lismore, Mullumbimby, Woodburn, Evans Head and Broadwater. If you are somewhere nearby, call and ask.
What does a switchboard upgrade involve?
The power is switched off, the old board is taken out and a new board goes in with the circuits moved across. Safety switches are fitted to the circuits and each circuit is labelled. Older boards sometimes hide extra wiring, which becomes visible once the cover is off.
Can a power point be added where I need one?
Usually, yes. It depends on where the nearest circuit is, whether that circuit can carry the extra load, and how the cable can reach the spot through the roof space, the wall cavity or under the floor. A photo of the wall and a note of what you want to plug in is enough to start.
What if my safety switch keeps tripping?
Unplug everything on the affected circuit and reset the switch once. If it holds, plug appliances back in one at a time, since a faulty appliance is a common cause. If it trips again with nothing plugged in, leave it off and call us, because the fault is in the wiring or a fitting.
What do I need to know about smoke alarm basics?
Alarms belong in hallways and near bedrooms, and interconnected alarms sound together when one detects smoke. Mains powered alarms with a battery backup are common in newer homes. Most alarms have a date printed on the back, so check it, and call us if yours is old or does not sound when tested.
How are data points run?
A network cable, usually Cat6, runs from a central point such as a patch panel or a rack to a wall outlet in each room. It goes through the roof space or wall cavity, is terminated at both ends and is tested. Tell us which rooms need a point and where the router or rack will sit.
Do you work with solar and batteries?
Yes. Solar system installation and battery installation are both on our list of work. Both connect through the switchboard and meter box, so a photo of those and the make of any inverter or battery you have in mind is a useful start.
What is involved in an EV charger install?
The charger needs its own circuit from the switchboard, and the cable has to run from the board to wherever the car parks. We look at the board for spare space and at the distance to the garage or carport. Send a photo of the board and the make and model of the charger.
What should I know before an air conditioner install?
Decide which room the unit serves and where the outdoor unit can sit, since the pipes and cable have to connect the two. The switchboard needs a circuit with enough capacity for the unit. Send the make and model if you have chosen one, and a photo of the board and the wall where the indoor unit will go.
Everything we do here
Services in Broadwater, NSW
Between cane farms, old timber houses and long cable runs, the services we offer in Broadwater are mostly about distance and age.
Local, and on the phone
Send us your Broadwater address
Tell us the street or property name and where the job sits: the house, a shed or a pump. A photo of the board at the house, and a line on how far the shed is, helps us plan the visit.
0468 051 006Monday to Friday 7:30am to 4pm
Not urgent? Send us the job instead