Most residential electrical work fits inside a single business day. Here are the realistic time ranges.
Quick installs (under 2 hours)
- Single smoke or CO detector swap — 30–60 min
- Lutron Caséta dimmer swap (single switch) — 30–60 min
- Surge protector install at the panel — 60–90 min
- Plug-in Ring camera or doorbell — under 1 hour
Half-day installs (2–4 hours)
- Level 2 EV charger on existing panel — 2–4 hours (depends on wire run)
- Pot light pack (8–12 lights) — 3–5 hours
- Whole-home smart lighting (5–10 switches + bridge) — 3–4 hours
- Hardwired smoke + CO detector system (4–6 units, interconnected) — 4–5 hours
- Load management device install — 2–3 hours
Full-day installs (4–8 hours)
- Panel upgrade 100A → 200A — 5–8 hours (power off for 4–6 hours)
- Sub-panel install — 4–6 hours
- Outdoor camera package (3–5 cameras with outdoor wiring) — 4–6 hours
- EV charger with panel reorganization — 4–6 hours
Multi-day installs
- Generator install — 1–2 days. Day 1: concrete pad, gas line, electrical pre-wire. Day 2: generator placement, transfer switch, commissioning.
- Panel upgrade + EV charger + load management bundled — usually one long day, occasionally split across two.
- Commercial scope — per project.
What can extend the timeline
Federal Pacific / Stab-Lok panel discovered on-site (needs to be replaced first), unexpected aluminum wiring branch circuits, asbestos around the meter base, deep snow blocking outdoor work. We’ll always communicate before extending vs cancelling.