Electrical Upgrades for Commercial Buildings

Commercial electrical isn't just bigger residential — it's a different planning game. Service capacity, code, downtime, and the way each upgrade interacts with the next determine whether the project pays back in 3 years or 13. Here's how we plan upgrades for Sonoma County businesses.

Service capacity — the gating question

Every other upgrade — LED, EV, HVAC, refrigeration, server room — depends on whether your service can carry it. We start every commercial conversation with a load study and a current service review. Often the service is fine and the panel is the bottleneck; sometimes it's the other way around.

LED retrofit — the obvious-but-easily-bungled upgrade

LED retrofits cut commercial lighting energy 50–70%. The trap is poor color rendering, mismatched fixtures, and incompatible dimmers. Done right, the lit space looks better, runs cooler (less HVAC load), and pays back in 18–36 months including PG&E and BayREN incentives.

EV charging stations — customer and employee

Sonoma Clean Power and CALeVIP have funded thousands of commercial EV stations. The right design: a Level 2 cluster with networked load management (so the building doesn't have to add service for them), proper signage, and lighting. We design and install regularly across Sonoma County.

Backup power for continuity

PSPS events have made backup power a standard ask. Options range from a small standby generator that keeps registers and lighting up, to a full ATS/generator pairing that runs the whole building. Battery + solar islanding is increasingly viable for buildings with the roof for it.

Code and Title 24 at the commercial level

Commercial code is heavier than residential — Title 24 lighting controls, occupancy sensors, dimming, daylight harvesting. New tenant improvements typically trigger lighting controls upgrades whether you wanted them or not.

Doing the work without disrupting operations

The mark of a good commercial electrician is sequencing. After-hours panel work, weekend service swaps, lighting retrofits done one circuit at a time during slow periods. We schedule around your operations, not the other way around.