A very friendly and knowledgeable electrician came by from Berkeley Electric and replaced our bathroom fan. Did excellent work, followed up promptly with questions and follow up work. He also ended up replacing a broken outlet in our bathroom when he realized it was a safety issue and fixed a problem in a fan in our attic, all without us asking. He made sure we were OK with everything at every step of the way and always explained all the options. Also dog friendly! I am glad to have done business with them and will definitely call again! read more

They are still 5-star. We called them this morning with our tale of woe and they showed up today. I love these guys. Professional. Efficient. Competent. Rock stars of the highest electrical order. read more

The service was excellent and the person they sent out was highly professional in every way. The work was done on time and turned out fantastic! read more

We had Berkeley Electric rewire our 1937 house in Oakland, which was almost all knob and tube wiring. Zalman was great from the beginning when he came to give an estimate. He took the time to take off light switch cover plates and look at the wiring, explain the situation, and answer questions. Everyone we worked with at Berkeley Electric was extremely professional, responsive, and easy to work with throughout the whole process, which took about a week. After the work was done, Zalman took care of arranging our inspection, which we passed with no issues. He even came back later and helped fix an issue we were having with our refrigerator, which was tripping a GFCI outlet in the kitchen, for no charge. I highly recommend them to anyone needing electrical work! read more

Complete bozos. We got the company's "best" electrician. He, during the middle of a workday, disconnected a live branch circuit taking down a string of computers. Then, he did it again by shorting out some other wires. His comment "oh, no big deal, just a breaker". He was utterly clueless about network wiring. He was rough. He did the easy work first (rather than the important work). At one point he lost a pull string, and decided to cut another hole. Then, another hole, leaving three awkward to patch holes right in our wall. And he left an extra hole in the ceiling. The only good spot about these folks was: the owner was willing to look the other way about a specific electrical code violation. read more

I live in a house built in the 1920, it has it's challenges, but Berkeley electric put in a new breaker box and removed the use of fuses, so we are good to go. Work done on time and within estimate and clean-up was good too. I have used them several times and will call them for any future projects. read more

I worked with Zalman several years ago, when he installed a new electrical panel on my house. The work was great, and he didn't try to sell me on anything more than I really needed. He gave me all the options and information I would need to make a good decision. When I had another problem recently with my wiring in the house, I reached out to Berkeley Electric again. They sent out Fran, who is wonderful! He was able to problem solve a tricky situation, he kept me informed on what he was finding, and he was able to fix the problem. He worked very quickly, was professional, friendly, and very knowledgeable. He explained the issue to me very well, and didn't talk down to me - even though I'm a layman when it comes to electrical stuff. He was also able to point out some minor issues that could be unsafe, and we discussed other items that I may want to have upgraded in the future. I didn't feel like he was pushing unnecessary repairs on me, and I was able to make informed decisions about the work I will approve. I'm having him back to make some of the other repairs. read more

I managed to blow the power to my backyard work studio on a Friday night. Kirk came out within two hours of my call on a Saturday morning, was friendly and helpful, and didn't laugh at me for not knowing how to reset the breaker. The discount for mentioning Yelp was nice, too! I would call them again if I needed any more electrical help. read more

The electricity in our kitchen went out this morning. I was worried that my refrigerator items would spoil if I could not get a service call pretty quickly. I called Berkeley and the office manager (?) told me how to reset the electrical outlet and circuit breaker saving me a service call (and all the food in my fridge). She did that without making me feel like an idiot too. THAT is good customer service - she could have not said a word about how to fix the problem and booked the appointment. I scheduled a service call anyway to fix another problem and to upgrade an outlet. I'll post again for part 2 of this experience. Part Two: Service person came on time this morning and fixed the outlet, figured out the garage lights with minimal effort and changed a bulb for me. Still 5 star review. Thank you Berkeley Electric!! read more

This has been the worst experience we have had since beginning our remodel. he is overpriced, kept having to come back for missed work being done and when we expressed frustration, he walked off the job. We have used other electricians in Berkeley and are superior. read more

They know what they're doing. I own very old properties, and they always have wiring problems. Berkeley Electric always gets the problems solved. read more

After a string of experiences with mediocre (or worse) tradespeople, I am pleased to share my outstanding experience with Berkeley Electric. I own a home in Oakland and PG&E was moving the electrical service from the back of the house to the front. So I needed someone to reroute the electrical from the new entry point to the existing circuit breaker panel. It was a medium-sized job. One highly-rated electrician came to scope it out and then never could get me an estimate. Another said he needed to ask PG&E how to do it. Zalman at Berkeley Electric came out and proposed a creative solution that was minimally disruptive, ie, not running a new conduit along the ceiling of the garage and basement. He knew PG&E's rules well and also what the city inspector would look for. His crew arrived as scheduled and they were not only efficient but meticulous in their work. They even put in place a temporary bridge to make it easy for PG&E to switch the service without them needing to be there. On top of all that, what was most impressive, was Zalman's insistence on removing the old equipment from the crawlspace under the back of the house once the job was completed. I have had a number of tradespeople simply abandon old stuff in place when it was not in anyone's way since it was extra work for them. Each of them was personable and professional, including their office staff. I recommend them for electrical work with no reservations. read more

I am a busy realtor and called Berkeley Electric on behalf of a client who needed some work done. I left a message on their voicemail and someone called me back to schedule an appointment for an estimate 2 days out. First of all, the person who scheduled the estimate was very unfamiliar with the area and told me she was just the scheduling person and was not actually in the area but that was OK. The day following, (one day before my appointment) another woman Jen, their office manager called me to schedule an appointment and I told her that someone else had already done that. She let me know that there would be a fee of $150 to come out to give me an estimate. I said that this had not been mentioned when I scheduled the appointment and she seemed surprised. She asked me if this was an appointment to just get an estimate to put the house on the market. I told her that we are getting the house prepared for market but that my client was intent on bringing the house up to the very best condition possible before doing that and that we had several pages of items from the general home inspector including updating panels and replacing old knob and tube wiring. She said there still was going to be a $150 charge because their conversion rate from estimates to paid work was just too low. This should have been my 2nd clue. At that point, I think her response should have been that they would waive the $150 fee or at least offer to credit toward work actually done since 1. It was their person who neglected to inform me of it up front, and 2. I had flat out told her I intended to have quite a bit of work done and I could have very well been a repeat customer for a long time to come. At this point, she accused me of being argumentative and I apologized but told her I was a bit set back by their tone. She asked me for my email and said she would have to speak to Zalman about it. No sooner had I hung up than I got an email saying they would not be able to keep my appointment the following day. I doubt that she even told Zalman. I responded asking why and letting her know that she now was putting me in a bind because my client was getting ready to go out of town, and I had planned to get the work done while he was gone. I never got an answer and suspect I never will. I also suspect that I will never work with them going forward and will recommend that my friends and colleagues not waste their time or money with them either. Really, I wonder how someone like this actually stays in business by treating their potential customers that way! read more

I found them on Emily's list. The work was entirely professional. The electrician was very helpful, very nice, explained everything we had questions about. The office was efficient, very polite and helpful as well, All in all it could not have been better! read more

Zalman was a true professional through and through. I had just purchased a new home and found out in the disclosure that I would need to replace the main electrical panel and add a sub-panel as well. Zalman came over multiple times and made himself available to answer all my questions. He walked me through all the options and his reasoning for why certain changes should be made. He provided his expert opinion, but also understood I was working within a budget so he explained trade-offs and what would make the most sense. He was able to work within my budget, within my timeframe, and completed everything at the highest standard. Thank you very much, Zalman, it was a pleasure working with you and I will be sure to reach out for future projects. read more

What a fantastic experience!! After many requests to numerous local electrical contractors, I was getting to think business was so good, no one needed to take on any more business! Wendy was extremely friendly and professional, and Zalman is as good as they get. Showed up on time (!!) and got everything squared away in a very short amount of time. And did I mention this was on a boat too? I can't think of a better experience with a company. If you need ANY electrical work, these are the folks to turn to. Thanks again for the great work! read more

American Electrical rewired our entire house- getting rid of all of our knob and tube wiring. The owner, Zalman, made solid recommendations about places where we would and would not want to add lights, switches, fans etc... The men who completed the work were fast, did excellent work, and were amazingly tidy. The painters who came in afterward actually commented on the quality of the patches on the holes in the walls. I will always call Zalman if we need any more work done and have no reservations in recommending him. read more

Excellent outfit. I needed a 220 circuit extended through a closet, stairwell ceiling, and wall to a rooftop deck -- for a hot tub heater. It was a complex, delicate, job in a highly visible part of the house. Zalman, at American, gave me a quote and proceeded. His crew was efficient, clean, and meticulous in their work. They covered and protected everything in the house, and patched the sheetrock and work areas expertly. The final price was even a bit lower than the estimate. In short, they were first rate. And reasonable. read more

We were very happy with Zalman and his team from Berkeley Electric on the big electrical job they just finished on our home. Our first assessment was with Zalman who visited us months before the job was to be started and gave us a quote. When we finally needed them to come in, he was willing to work with us based on our needs and prioritization of things that needed to get done. We need to pretty much update the electrical for our entire home and remove old knob and tube wiring. His crew was very professional throughout the process, and they fixed issues that they found as they were working on the scope originally defined. They also left the house in good condition at the end of the day. They stayed late the final evening to finish their work and vacuumed the house before they left. The electrical work they did was very high quality and they took full responsibility of the permit process and did everything up to code. Zalman provided his personal contact information to call him whenever we needed anything and they did a couple of quick visits to take care of a few small requests we had on our remodeling job without having a prior appointment. We highly recommend Berkeley Electric, especially because in the past we have experienced getting good electricians has been a painful experience. read more

Very professionally run business. Responded promptly to my call for an appt, then showed up on time the next day. Technician who came to my home was professional and courteous. read more

I had Berkeley Electric install two overhead light fixtures. They arrived promptly when they said they would arrive and were finished in a short time. They had all of the tools and supplies necessary to do the job without hesitation. The price was very fair. read more

Expert, knowledgeable service. They schedule appointments promptly, show up on time, and get the job done quickly and efficiently. The office staff is courteous and helpful. Can't say enough good. read more

In a word, American Electrical is fantastic. I needed to replace some out dated wiring in my home and install recessed lighting in the living room. I called a couple of Alameda based electricians for quotes and was unsatisfied from the get go until I called American Electrical. Unlike the others American Electrical was cooperative, responsive and easy to work with. Zalman came to my house on a Saturday and did a very through inspection on my wiring to determine exactly what needed to be done in order to provide a quote. His quote that was more than 50% below any I received to date from other electricians in Alameda. Now that the job is done I couldn't be more satisfied. It was a three day process, and his guys worked to keep the noise level low, cleaned up before they left, and made what could have been a major headache into a minimal interruption. They did a professional job at patching the necessary holes they had to punch in the walls too. After a a quick touch up paint job, it will look like nothing ever happened. These guys are the best and I am going to use them again. I highly recommend you check out American Electrical for any of your electrical needs. read more

I called Berkeley Electric recently to repair the electrical problem at my father's house in North Berkeley. This company had so many great reviews on here, I felt confident calling them. When I called, I got an answering service. They said they would get the message to Zalman and he would call me back. Two days go by, and nothing. I call again. Again, an answering service during regular business hours. I explain that this is second time I am calling. The person checks the phone message log, confirms my message and says they gave it to the office the day I called. They said they would send another message to them. What do you know....no call back at all. I guess this company is so successful they don't need the business. I ended up calling another local Berkeley electrician and couldn't be happier with the service. read more

We hired Berkeley Electric to do a substantial amount of electrical work in the home we purchased in North Berkeley. Our house was built in 1936 and had much of the original knob and tube wiring. I met with the owner, Zalman, who went over the most critical areas to be addressed as we had a set budget to work with. Zalman and his crew replaced our electrical breakers, re-wired much of the house, and made several improvements to the overall electrical system to make it more efficient and far safer. During the work our contractors for the general construction short circuited the new electric boxes BE put in. Zalman worked with us to replace them at cost even though it was not the fault of his crew. Zalman is very knowledgeable and trustworthy and a person of his word. I would recommend him to anyone in the East Bay looking for an outstanding electrician. read more

I am glad that the job is completed and I don't have to worry about it anymore! However, I was a bit shocked by the $150 hourly fee, specially since the job took 4 hours. Identical fixtures and type of job. The first fixture took 45 minutes to fix... my tenant had to go to school and left the apartment.... the second fixture took 3 hours. I am not sure why it the discrepancy between the two different fixtures. read more

Zalman installed our new service when we first moved into our house almost 5 years ago. He showed up on time, did the work quickly and for a great price. He was friendly, skilled, reliable and knowledgeable. He was also flexible with our schedule. 4+ years later we haven't had one problem with the service, he did great work. read more

When my new dryer was delivered, the guys who were supposed to install it told me I needed an updated plug and left. I called Zalman at American Electrical and he agreed to fit me into his weekend schedule. Not only did he install the new plug, he also installed the dryer -- all within 1/2 hour. He was ingenious in making the dryer vent fit my 25 year old townhouse-sized utility closet. Everything fits and works beautifully. read more

We just did a remodel on a 1930 vintage home and used American Electrical to upgrade all the electrical to code, which involved many hours of work. They provided detailed accurate estimates and excellent service. Electricians were exceptionally courteous and hard working. Our neighbors were even impressed! If you are looking for an electrical contractor we recommend them highly. read more

I contacted them based on Yelp reviews. They showed up on time, trouble shot the problem and fixed it! Professional and friendly. After their visit, they sent ME a thank you note! read more

I had to move in 3 weeks and needed to replace all the wiring in the new condo, flooring, and paint the whole place. Zalman was personally responsive, explained everything in detail with great patience, gave me the options, prepared a detailed and handwritten offer, and got to work a few days later. His colleagues were focused, extremely orderly, and friendly. Everything was finished by Saturday night so the flooring people could start on Monday morning! If you want a team that gives you security, high quality, and clarity, this is the team! read more

I had a small problem and they treated it like it was important for them even though I'm not a "big money" customer. I probably asked way too many questions but they were patient and helped me understand what I needed done. Looking forward to working with them when I do some sort of fancy upgrades down the road. read more