The Difference Between Commercial, Industrial and Residential Electricians

19/06/2020

An electrician is not a one size fits all profession and there are marked differences in the skillset required to complete domestic, commercial and industrial electrical installations. Each type of job requires different techniques, equipment, load demands and legislation to abide by and choosing a specialised electrician for your area will amount to a better-quality installation. Some electricians, like the team at One Way, however, are multi-faceted and can straddle one, two or all three industries, with our specialities being in the commercial and industrial sectors.

Commercial

When we complete commercial electrical installations, they are typically in offices, retail outlets or small business premises and uses a three-phase approach. Wiring for these buildings has 2 smaller ‘legs’ running one smaller and one larger voltage load with the 3 wire system allowing for an overall lighter workload. Other commercial roles undertaking include the design of suitable fire alarm systems, LED lighting, data cabling and emergency lighting systems. Maintaining these electrical installations is also part of the role and our specialised knowledge of legislation in this sector means we can ensure adequate electrical safety throughout.

Industrial

Our pursuits in the industrial sector call for us to rely on many of the same services, skills and specialised knowledge required for commercial buildings, only scaled up for factories, plants and warehouses. While they still operate on 3 phase power systems, there are specialised pieces of equipment necessary to support bigger loads, accounting for electrical machinery and other high consumers. We’re able to provide maintenance to all industrial electrical installations including electrical load monitoring, portable appliance testing and Electrical Installation Conditioning Reports.

Residential

Residential electricians work in people’s homes, which use single-phase power supplies and minimises exposed wires to protect the tenants. Although we cannot offer residential services, we can help landlords by conducting an electrical safety test on all new tenancies, as required by law in July 2020.

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