“I had a fantastic experience working with American Construction San Diego. They handled several electrical projects for me, including installing two GFCI outlets, setting up a new Tesla charger, adding a couple of interior outlets, and hanging a new chandelier. Everything was completed professionally and efficiently, and I really appreciated their attention to detail and commitment to keeping all work fully up to electrical code. …”
CSLB C-10 · San Diego County
Electrical Services in San Diego County
From main service panel and subpanel upgrades to electric vehicle chargers, lighting and wiring, our electrical team handles troubleshooting, repairs, remodels and new construction across San Diego County.
Emergency and after-hours calls taken after 5pm and on weekends.
What we do
Electrical work we take on
Service calls, panel and power upgrades, and the full electrical scope on remodels and new construction.
Panels & power
- Main service panel and subpanel upgrades
- Electric vehicle chargers
Panel work is about supply rather than fixtures. The main service panel is the point everything in the building draws from, and a subpanel extends that supply to one part of a property. A charger is the same question in a smaller frame, because it needs a circuit of its own and somewhere in the panel to land it.
Lighting & wiring
- Lighting and wiring upgrades
- New construction and remodel
Lighting and wiring cover the visible end and the part behind the wall. Cans, pendants and fixture swaps are the visible half. Circuits, outlets and switching changes are the half that decides whether the visible half is possible. On new construction that work goes in while the framing is still open.
Service & repairs
- Troubleshooting, diagnostic, service and repairs
- Residential and commercial
Troubleshooting is its own kind of work. A dead outlet, a breaker that will not stay set or a light that flickers is a symptom, and the cause is often nowhere near the thing that stopped working. Finding it is the job, and it is the difference between replacing a fixture and fixing the circuit feeding it.
Why us
Why customers call us for electrical
Licensed for electrical
MKA Services Inc dba American Construction holds CSLB license #1028305, which carries the C-10 electrical classification.
Electrical is in house
One of the four trades the company performs in house, and one of the four owners leads it.
Multi-trade projects
When electrical work runs into plumbing, HVAC or construction, it stays with one team.
Local San Diego team
Serving homes and businesses throughout San Diego County.
The C-10 electrical classification sits on the same CSLB license as the plumbing, HVAC and construction work, and that is what makes a mixed job one job. A panel upgrade that opens a wall leaves drywall to close behind it. A remodel that adds circuits usually moves plumbing too. Those handoffs stay inside one company.
Before you call
Signs a panel may need attention
A service panel does not announce itself. It gets noticed because something else stops behaving, and the same handful of symptoms come up again and again.
- Breakers that trip under normal load rather than under an obvious fault.
- Lights that dim or flicker when a large appliance starts.
- Power strips and extension cords doing the job of circuits that were never installed.
- A planned addition: an electric vehicle charger, a new appliance, a workshop, or a remodel that adds circuits.
None of these is a diagnosis on its own. What they have in common is that they point at the supply rather than at the fixture, and the supply is what a main service panel or subpanel upgrade addresses. Electrical is usually estimated by phone, so that conversation can start without a visit.
Main service panel and subpanel, side by side
| Main service panel | Subpanel | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The point where the building's supply lands. Every circuit in the property originates here. | A panel fed from the main panel, distributing power to one part of a property rather than to all of it. |
| Where it sits | At the service entrance, so its location is set by where the supply arrives. | Near the load it serves, such as a garage, an addition, a workshop or a detached structure. |
| Typical fit | Where the property as a whole has run short of capacity or of spare positions. | Where one area needs a group of circuits of its own and the main panel still has the capacity to feed it. |
| What the work involves | Both the supply side and every existing circuit, because each circuit has to be transferred onto the new panel. | Running a feed from the main panel to the new location, setting the panel, and landing the new circuits on it. |
What an EV charger install actually involves
Mounting the charger is the small part. The work is the circuit behind it: a dedicated run from the panel out to where the vehicle parks, sized for the charger being installed, plus somewhere in the panel to land it. When the panel has neither the capacity nor the position spare, the charger job becomes a panel job, which is why the two questions get asked together. Distance counts as well, because that run goes through walls, an attic or a garage ceiling, and the path is most of the labour. Permitting is covered below, and it is the city's rule rather than ours.
Remodel wiring versus new construction
On new construction the electrical goes in before the walls close, so the layout is decided on paper and executed once. A remodel is the harder version, because wiring is already in place and some of it stays. The scope becomes a mix: new circuits where the plan adds load, existing runs reused where they are sound, and removal where they are not. What settles it is what is actually behind the wall.
How do I choose the best electrician in San Diego County?
The license is the checkable part. Electrical in California is the C-10 classification. Ours is CSLB #1028305, held by MKA Services Inc dba American Construction, with C-10 on it alongside B, C-36 and C-20, and the CSLB record is public: check license #1028305.
Past the license, three things separate one licensed electrician from the next. Whether the other trades are in house, because a panel upgrade that opens a wall leaves drywall to close behind it, and all four sit under that one license here. Where the company is based: ours is 6250 El Cajon Blvd Ste 209 in San Diego, by appointment only rather than a storefront. And how the estimate is arrived at, which for electrical here is usually by phone.
If you are searching for an electrician near me in San Diego County, the county is the service area end to end, and the city pages carry the detail: panel upgrades in Chula Vista, wiring work in Santee and electrical coverage in National City.
Permits in the City of San Diego
These are the City of San Diego's rules rather than ours, and they apply to properties inside the city's jurisdiction. The city requires an electrical permit for all electrical work, including any alteration, addition or replacement to existing wiring or equipment, except where the city exempts it. It lists electric vehicle charging stations for private garages among the minor installations that can go through a simple no-plan permit, on non-historically designated properties. Both are set out on the city's own electrical permit page. Other cities in San Diego County set their own requirements, and this page does not speak for them.
Electrical is one of four trades in house here, so a panel upgrade that lands in the middle of a remodel stays with the same company. See the construction and remodeling page for what that side covers, or the coverage detail for San Diego and El Cajon.
Reviews
An electrical job in their words
Questions
Electrical questions
What areas do you serve?
All of San Diego County. We are based in San Diego and work throughout the county.
How does an electrical estimate work?
Electrical and HVAC are usually estimated by phone. General construction and plumbing usually start with a site visit.
Do you take after-hours calls?
Emergency and after-hours calls taken after 5pm and on weekends. Regular hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Do you work on commercial buildings as well as homes?
Yes. The electrical work covers residential and commercial.
Are you licensed for electrical work?
Yes. MKA Services Inc dba American Construction holds CSLB license #1028305, issued in June 2017, with classifications B, C-36, C-10 and C-20. C-10 is the electrical classification. You can read the record on the CSLB website: check license #1028305.
Does electrical work need a permit in the City of San Diego?
The city requires an electrical permit for all electrical work, including any alteration, addition or replacement to existing wiring or equipment, except where the city exempts it. It lists electric vehicle charging stations for private garages among the minor installations that can go through a simple no-plan permit, on non-historically designated properties. Both are set out on the city's own electrical permit page. These are the City of San Diego's rules rather than ours and they apply inside the city's jurisdiction. Other cities in San Diego County set their own.
Why does my breaker keep tripping?
A breaker that trips is doing its job, so the real question is what it is protecting against. The three usual causes are a circuit carrying more load than it was sized for, a fault in something plugged into it, and a fault in the wiring itself. Unplugging things one at a time separates the first two. The third is a troubleshooting job, and troubleshooting, diagnostic, service and repairs are part of the electrical scope here.
Do I need a panel upgrade to install an EV charger?
Not always. It depends on whether the existing panel has a position spare for a dedicated circuit and the capacity to carry the added load. Where it does, the charger is a charger job. Where it does not, the charger job includes a main service panel or subpanel upgrade. Both are on the electrical list here, and electrical is usually estimated by phone.
Why do my lights dim when a large appliance starts?
A brief dip as a motor starts is ordinary, because a motor draws more current in the instant it starts than it does while it runs. A dip that is deep, that lasts, or that shows on circuits nowhere near the appliance is a different signal, and it points at the supply rather than at the appliance. That is the category a main service panel or subpanel upgrade addresses.
Can you add outlets or recessed lighting to a room that does not have them?
Yes. Lighting and wiring upgrades cover adding circuits, outlets and fixtures to rooms that do not have them, not only replacing what is already there. What decides the difficulty is access: whether there is an attic or a crawlspace above or below, and what has to be opened up to get a cable where it needs to go. When something does have to be opened up, construction and remodeling is in house here too.
Do you do the electrical on a remodel, or only standalone repairs?
Both. New construction and remodel wiring is on the electrical list alongside troubleshooting, service and repairs. On a remodel the electrical has to be sequenced with the framing, the plumbing and the finishes, and all four of those trades are in house here under one CSLB license.
Do you have an emergency electrician available after hours?
Emergency and after-hours calls taken after 5pm and on weekends. Regular hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and the number is the same either way, (619) 815-5546. The service area does not change after hours: all of San Diego County.
What should I look for in an EV charger installer?
Start with the C-10 electrical classification on the CSLB record, because the charger is the small part and the circuit behind it is the work: a dedicated run from the panel to where the vehicle parks, sized for the charger, plus somewhere in the panel to land it. Ask whether panel work is in house too, since a panel with no capacity and no spare position turns the charger job into a main service panel or subpanel upgrade. Both are on the electrical list here, and coverage includes EV charger work in Carlsbad and electrical in La Mesa.
Coverage
Where we do electrical work
Based in San Diego and serving homes and businesses throughout the county.
- Electrical in San Diego Residential and commercial across the city, including electric vehicle chargers.
- Electrical in El Cajon Inland East County, with main service panel and subpanel upgrades.
- Electrical in La Mesa East County hillside properties, with lighting and wiring upgrades.
- Electrical in Chula Vista South Bay on the bay, with new construction and remodel wiring.
- Electrical in Santee Inland East County, covering troubleshooting, diagnostic, service and repairs.
- Electrical in Spring Valley Unincorporated county area, with subpanel upgrades and electric vehicle chargers.
- Electrical in Lemon Grove East County, where lighting upgrades and remodel wiring are both in scope.
- Electrical in National City A commercial base on the bay, and the electrical work is residential and commercial.
- Electrical in Vista North County inland from the coast, where remodel wiring and panel upgrades both apply.
- Electrical in Escondido Inland Escondido, with electric vehicle chargers and new construction wiring.
- Electrical in Carlsbad Coastal North County, with electric vehicle chargers, troubleshooting and repairs.
- Electrical in Del Mar The coast at Del Mar, and the electrical on a remodel stays with the same team.
Our other trades: Plumbing · Air Conditioning · Construction & Remodeling
Contact
Tell us what you need.
Phone: (619) 815-5546
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
After hours: Emergency and after-hours calls taken after 5pm and on weekends
Service area: All of San Diego County