Straight answers for Greater Boston homes.

If you can do it safely, turn off the breaker for that circuit, or the main breaker, and then call an electrician. If you see smoke or flames, get everyone out and call 911.

Don’t keep using the outlet or resetting the breaker to see if it happens again. A burning smell usually means a connection is overheating, and that can start a fire inside the wall.

Treat it as one. If you can reach the main breaker safely, turn it off, keep people away from the panel, and call a licensed electrician right away. If there is smoke or fire, leave and call 911.

A warm panel cover can come from an overloaded or failing breaker, a loose connection or a bad bus. None of those fix themselves.

Partial power loss often points to a problem with one leg of your service: a failed main breaker, a loose connection at the meter or the service cable, or a problem on the utility’s side. Turn off sensitive electronics, call your utility to check their side, and call an electrician.

Lights that go very bright and very dim, or appliances acting strangely, can mean a lost neutral, which can damage equipment. Turn off what you can at the breakers and get it looked at the same day.

Stay at least 30 feet away, keep kids and pets back, and call your electric utility and 911. Assume every downed line is live, even if it isn’t sparking.

Never try to move a line or a branch touching one, and don’t drive over it. If a line falls on your car, stay inside unless the car is on fire, and wait for help.

A breaker trips to protect the wiring: usually because the circuit is overloaded, there is a short, or a ground fault or arc fault was detected. Repeated tripping means something needs attention; it isn’t a nuisance to work around.

Unplug things on that circuit and try once. If it trips again with nothing plugged in, or trips the moment you reset it, leave it off and call an electrician. Never replace a breaker with a bigger one to stop the tripping.

One flickering bulb is usually the bulb or the fixture. Flicker across several rooms, or lights that dim when an appliance starts, can point to a loose connection or an overloaded or failing service, and that should be checked.

If the flicker comes with buzzing, warm switches or a burning smell, turn off the circuit if it’s safe and call.

Knob-and-tube that is intact, unmodified and not buried in insulation can keep working, but after 80 to 100 years most of it is none of those things. It has no ground, its insulation gets brittle, and it was never designed for today’s loads.

In Greater Boston it is still common in early-1900s houses, often spliced into newer cable. We find out what is actually live, and replace it in a sensible order. Many insurers ask about it, too.

There’s no rule that forces you to replace a working fuse box, but most fuse panels are small, full and easy to defeat by putting in a bigger fuse. Replacing it with a breaker panel is one of the most worthwhile upgrades for an older home.

If you are buying, selling, renovating or adding load such as air conditioning or a heat pump, it is usually time.

Two-prong outlets mean the circuit has no equipment ground, which is normal for wiring installed before the 1960s. Swapping in a three-prong outlet without a ground is unsafe and not allowed.

The fixes are running new grounded circuits or, where the code allows, installing GFCI protection and labeling the outlets. We’ll tell you which makes sense room by room.

Each unit usually has its own meter and panel, with a separate house panel for common lighting and equipment, and all of it fed from one service. Upgrades have to account for the whole building, not just one unit.

That is especially true when one owner adds a heat pump or EV charger. We check the building’s service before planning the unit work.

Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels have a long record of breakers that may not trip when they should. Many electricians and insurers recommend replacing them.

If you have one, have it evaluated. Don’t open the panel yourself; we’ll look at it and give you an honest recommendation.

Aluminum branch-circuit wiring, used in some homes in the 1960s and 70s, can overheat at connections if it was terminated on devices not rated for it. It needs to be inspected and repaired with approved methods.

Large aluminum feeders and service cables are a different thing and are common and acceptable when installed correctly.

Common signs are a fuse box or very old panel, no open breaker spaces, breakers that trip often, a 60- or 100-amp service with big new loads planned, or a panel brand with a known safety record.

A load calculation tells us what your house actually needs. Sometimes a new panel is the answer; sometimes a full service upgrade is; sometimes neither.

A panel upgrade replaces the breaker panel inside the house. A service upgrade increases the size of the electrical service from the utility, which usually means a new meter socket, service cable and panel together, with the utility disconnecting and reconnecting.

Service upgrades take more coordination; we handle the permit, the inspection and the utility scheduling.

For a modest house with gas heat, gas cooking and no EV, often yes. Once you add central air, heat pumps, an induction range, an electric dryer or an EV charger, 100 amps can get tight.

A load calculation based on your actual appliances answers it properly, and it’s the first thing we do before recommending anything.

A straightforward panel swap is typically about a day of work, and the power is off for part of it. A service upgrade also depends on the inspection and the utility’s schedule to reconnect.

We give you the plan and the expected outage window before we start.

Sometimes. A subpanel adds breaker spaces, which helps when the panel is full, but it doesn’t add capacity: the whole house still runs through the same service.

If the service is big enough, a subpanel for a basement, garage or addition can be a smart move. A load calculation tells us.

Most homes use a Level 2 charger on a dedicated 240-volt circuit, sized to the charger and to what your service can carry. The first step is a load check of your panel.

We also look at where you park, how far the circuit has to run, and whether the charger will be outdoors. Check with your utility and the state for any current EV charging incentives before you buy.

You can charge slowly from a standard 120-volt outlet with the cord that comes with many cars, but only on a circuit in good condition that isn’t shared with other big loads. It’s slow: typically only a few miles of range per hour.

If the outlet or plug ever gets warm, stop and have the circuit checked.

Yes. Each outdoor unit needs a dedicated circuit sized to the manufacturer’s specifications, with a disconnect near the unit.

Several units can add a lot of load, so we check the panel and service before the HVAC contractor sets the equipment. Look into Mass Save for current heat pump rebates.

A dedicated circuit serves one appliance or piece of equipment and nothing else, so its load can’t combine with other devices and trip the breaker.

Ranges, dryers, microwaves, dishwashers, refrigerators in some layouts, heat pumps, EV chargers, freezers and workshop equipment commonly get their own.

Because both are on the same circuit and together they exceed what it can carry. Kitchens in older homes often have just one or two circuits for all the countertop outlets.

The fix is adding properly sized kitchen circuits, which is often done during a remodel. Don’t replace the breaker with a larger one.

Modern code requires GFCI protection in wet and damp areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry, basements, garages and outdoors, and AFCI protection on many living-area circuits in new and altered wiring.

Older homes often lack both. Adding GFCI protection in bathrooms, kitchens and outdoors is one of the simplest safety upgrades you can make.

No. Backfeeding a house through an outlet with a “suicide cord” can electrocute utility workers and neighbors, damage the generator and start a fire. It is illegal and never safe.

A generator should connect through a transfer switch or a listed interlock installed by a licensed electrician.

Outside only, well away from doors, windows and vents, and never in a garage, basement or porch, even with the door open. Generator exhaust contains carbon monoxide, which kills quickly.

Have working carbon monoxide alarms in the home whenever a generator runs.

A standby generator starts automatically and can run the whole house or the essentials, but costs more and needs a gas supply and a pad. A portable generator with an inlet and interlock is the budget option: you start it and choose what runs.

We help you pick based on what you can’t live without in an outage: heat, sump pump, refrigerator, medical equipment or working from home.

A whole-home surge protector at the panel helps protect appliances and electronics from surges caused by lightning, utility switching and storms. It works best alongside plug-in protectors for sensitive electronics.

It’s an inexpensive addition, especially during a panel replacement.

Don’t touch anything electrical while standing in water. If you can reach the main breaker safely from a dry place, turn it off; if not, call your utility to disconnect power. Then call an electrician.

Electrical equipment that has been under water usually needs to be replaced, not just dried. Have it inspected before the power goes back on.

Massachusetts electricians are licensed by the Board of State Examiners of Electricians, part of the state’s Division of Occupational Licensure. You can look up a license number on the state’s “Check a License” service on mass.gov.

Ask for the license number and proof of insurance before work starts. Fedoce Electric is licensed and insured.

In Massachusetts, a Master Electrician (Class A) license allows a person to run an electrical contracting business, while a Journeyman Electrician (Class B) license allows a person to do electrical work under a licensed contractor.

Both have passed state exams and completed required training and hours.

Most electrical work does. The licensed electrician files a permit with the city or town’s wiring inspector, and the work is inspected, usually before walls are closed and again when it’s finished.

Permits protect you: they mean the work was checked by the town, which matters for insurance and when you sell.

Massachusetts generally requires electrical work to be done by licensed electricians, and homeowners are not broadly exempt the way they are in some states. Changing a light bulb or plugging in a lamp is fine; wiring, circuits, panels and service work are not do-it-yourself jobs.

Check with your local wiring inspector if you’re unsure about a specific task, and never work inside a panel.

The Massachusetts Electrical Code, 527 CMR 12.00, which adopts the National Electrical Code with Massachusetts amendments.

Local wiring inspectors enforce it, and it is updated periodically as new NEC editions are adopted.

Yes. Before a home is sold in Massachusetts, the local fire department inspects the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and issues a certificate of compliance. Requirements depend on the age of the home and when it was last renovated.

We can install or replace hardwired, interconnected alarms where they are needed.

A clear scope of work, the price, what is and isn’t included (permit, patching, fixtures), and a realistic schedule. You should know the price before work starts.

Fedoce Electric gives free quotes. Call (617) 692-0559 or send the details through our request form.