Life is better when you call electricians rather than stressing and endangering yourself by trying to do electrical work on your own. Electricians are professionals who specialise in designing, installing, maintaining and repairing electrical systems and items. They are known as the people you need to call whenever your house has problems with lights or when your appliances are not working properly. But have you heard about commercial electricians? If not, read on to know some facts about them.
What is a commercial electrician?
Commercial electricians are one of the many types of electricians who specialise in handling the wiring and electrical systems of commercial buildings, such as shopping malls, offices, schools, restaurants, hotels and more. These buildings are for business purposes rather than residential ones. Commercial electricians are skilled when it comes to installations, repairs and maintenance of switches, breaker panels, generators and more.
Are commercial electricians different from normal electricians?
It is easy to classify all electricians as just ‘electricians’ because they all work on electrical components. However, there are actually many types of electricians who are experts in different areas. The usual types of electricians are automotive, commercial, construction, highway electrical systems, industrial, installation, residential and marine.
A commercial electrician differs from the others because of where they work, which is in business-related buildings. Given that these buildings are much larger than residential homes, they have electrical settings that are different from the ones installed at homes. They also follow national guidelines for wiring and electrical systems. This is why a residential electrician is usually not suited for commercial settings.
Education
Commercial electricians in Sydney must obtain a high school diploma, be part of an apprenticeship program, attend classes, have 8,000-10,000 hours of job experience and pass a competency exam to be licensed or become a professional.
The specific duties of a commercial electrician
Commercial electricians install and repair the wirings and other electrical systems inside business facilities. Their usual duties include:
Installation and Planning
Commercial electricians plan electrical systems for buildings that are still under construction. After the construction phase, they set up the main electrical components, such as lighting, sockets, transformers and power distribution. They also service new buildings that are in need of installation even though they are not the ones who planned their system.
Maintenance and Repair
Electrical problems happen often inside a business facility due to the number of people using them, the amount of workload and long hours of activity. Commercial electricians usually do routine checks or make a visit when someone reports an issue to them. They diagnose faulty wirings or components and replace them if necessary. They commonly wire breaker panels, transformers, generators, lightings, heating and more.
Inspection
Aside from planning and repair, they also check commercial buildings to make sure that they are following the local and national electrical guidelines.
Other facts
Residential homes and commercial buildings use different electrical systems. Commercial ones use three-phase wirings, while residential houses use single-phase. This means that homes use a single wire that provides 120/240 V, and a commercial building uses a wire with three ‘legs’ that can be 120/208 V or 277/480 V. A residential electrician may not be too familiar with the three-phase kind that commercial electricians specialise in.
In addition, for commercial buildings, the wires commonly run through metal or plastic tubing along the walls or just above the ceiling tiles. This is different from a home setup that insulates wires in plastic sheathing between walls, in the ceiling or in the attic.
Takeaway
Doing electrical work by yourself means putting yourself at risk. You can get electrocuted when handling live wires and start a fire with just one wrong move. That is why it is important to leave this kind of delicate work to the professionals.
However, you must hire the right electrician for the right job. You cannot hire anyone thinking that they know every kind of electrical system. If you have a commercial facility, hiring a residential electrician is not the best choice because they specialise in homes. Find a commercial electrician instead and the work will be much smoother and proper because they have the right knowledge and experience for it.
