Common Questions

Yes — in Victoria, most electrical work must be performed by a licensed electrician. This includes installing power points, ceiling fans, switchboards, smoke alarms, lighting circuits and any wiring work. The only exception is replacing a standard fuse or resetting a safety switch.

Unlicensed electrical work is illegal and can void your home insurance. JBP Electrics holds REC 20297, which you can verify on the Energy Safe Victoria website.

A Certificate of Electrical Safety (CES) is a legal document that confirms electrical work was carried out by a licensed electrician and meets Australian standards. It's issued to Energy Safe Victoria and a copy goes to you.

You need one for most notifiable electrical work — new circuits, switchboard upgrades, smoke alarm installations and more. Keep it — you'll need it when you sell the property or if an insurer asks for proof of compliant work.

Go to the Energy Safe Victoria website and search the electrical licence register. You can search by name or licence number. JBP Electrics is REC 20297 — we encourage you to check it before booking anyone.

A tripping safety switch usually means something on that circuit is drawing more current than it should — a faulty appliance, damaged wiring, a moisture issue, or a worn-out switch. The safety switch is doing its job by cutting power.

Try unplugging everything on the circuit and resetting. If it holds with everything unplugged, plug appliances back in one at a time to identify the culprit. If it trips with nothing plugged in, the fault is in the wiring and you need a licensed electrician. Get in touch to book a fault-finding visit.

Yes. Since 2022, Victorian regulations require interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms in all residential properties — not battery-operated ionisation alarms. Interconnected means when one alarm triggers, all alarms in the house sound.

This applies to all homes, not just new builds. If you're selling or renting, compliance is mandatory before settlement or tenancy. JBP Electrics installs and certifies smoke alarms across Melbourne.

A few signs: your home still has ceramic fuses (not circuit breakers), there's no safety switch on the board, breakers trip frequently, the board feels warm, or it's more than 25 years old.

Modern switchboards use circuit breakers and RCDs (residual current devices/safety switches) that cut power in milliseconds if a fault is detected — ceramic fuses don't do that. An upgrade also adds capacity if you're adding a battery, EV charger or significant new loads. Get a free quote.

No. Installing a ceiling fan involves wiring to the mains — that's notifiable electrical work requiring a licensed electrician in Victoria. Doing it yourself is illegal and would void your home insurance if something went wrong.

It's a straightforward job for a licensed electrician. Get in touch for a quote — most ceiling fan installations take under an hour.

Usually yes, but it depends on your existing inverter and solar setup. Some older systems need an inverter upgrade to work with battery storage — others are compatible as-is.

We assess your current system before recommending anything. There's no point buying a battery that doesn't work with what you have. See more about battery installation or call to discuss your setup.

Most residential battery installations take a full day — roughly 6–8 hours. This includes mounting the battery, integrating it with your switchboard and inverter, commissioning and testing, and walking you through the monitoring app.

More complex setups (switchboard upgrades required, difficult install locations) may take longer. We give you a time estimate when he quotes the job.

It depends on the battery system. Some batteries include an automatic backup (islanding) function that kicks in during a grid outage — these are sometimes called "blackout protection" or "backup mode" batteries. Others don't have this feature and switch off when the grid goes down (for safety reasons).

We clarify this upfront when recommending a system — if blackout protection matters to you, say so and we'll factor it into the recommendation.

Frequency depends on the environment. In a construction or demolition site, testing is required every 3 months. In offices or low-risk environments, every 5 years is standard. High-risk or manufacturing environments fall somewhere in between.

We can advise on the right schedule for your workplace and set up a recurring service so you're not chasing compliance. See more about test and tag services.

Yes, by arrangement. For commercial jobs where downtime during business hours is a problem, we can schedule early starts, evening work or weekend jobs. Discuss this when you enquire — we'll factor it into the quote.

For straightforward jobs, We can often quote over the phone in a few minutes. For larger jobs or anything that needs a site assessment, we'll arrange a time to come out — most inspections are free.

The quote is the price. We don't start work until you've agreed to it, and we don't increase the price mid-job without telling you first and getting your approval.

We are based in Upwey and regularly service the Dandenong Ranges, eastern suburbs, Knox, Yarra Valley, and most of greater Melbourne. For larger commercial or battery jobs, we travel further.

Not sure if you're in range? Call and ask — it's a 30-second conversation.