Electricians in Delaware County, PA: township licenses and older homes
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should you know before hiring an electrician in Delaware County?
That your township may license electricians itself, and that the housing is old. Pennsylvania has no state electrician license, and Labor and Industry says municipal licensing of electrical contractors exists in some places and can only be learned from the municipality. Delaware County has places where it does, and a larger share of prewar houses than any of its suburban neighbors on the Census figures below.
What does a township license look like here?
Haverford Township is a clear example. Its Building and Codes Department says contractors performing work in the township must be licensed with it, and it has a separate application for a master electrical contractor license. It will not accept a permit application without:
- a signed contract between the property owner and the contractor;
- a current Haverford Township license for plumbing and electrical contractors;
- the contractor's Pennsylvania home improvement registration;
- a certificate of insurance including workers' compensation, or a self-employed affidavit.
The township takes electrical and generator permit applications online and has a smoke detector affidavit among its forms. So in Haverford a permit application filed with an electrician who lacks the township license will not be accepted, which makes the license the first question to ask anyone you call. Other Delaware County townships and boroughs set their own rules; ask yours.
How old is the wiring likely to be?
Older than in the suburbs around it. The Census Bureau estimates that 22.1 percent of the county's 229,715 housing units were first built in 1939 or earlier, close to the state's 25.0 percent, and only 3.5 percent were built since 2010.
That prewar share matters for two reasons. The Electrical Safety Foundation dates knob-and-tube wiring to the 1800s through the 1930s and says it is now regarded as a fire hazard because it is ungrounded and vulnerable to age and careless renovation. And every one of those houses is older than 1978, the line the Environmental Protection Agency uses for lead paint: anyone paid to do work that disturbs painted surfaces in a pre-1978 home must be certified in lead-safe practices. Fishing a new cable through old plaster walls can count, so ask about it when an electrician quotes for rewiring.
What if you rent?
Nearly a third of the county's households do. The Census Bureau counts 30.4 percent of occupied homes as renter-occupied. The National Fire Protection Association's list of warning signs, from warm or discolored outlets to breakers that trip often, ends with the advice to call a qualified electrician or your landlord. The EPA's lead rule also applies to owners who rent out all or part of a home, unlike owners working on their own house. If your rented home has hardwired smoke alarms that need replacing, the U.S. Fire Administration says only qualified electricians should install that kind, so raise it with the owner rather than swapping them yourself.
How are Delaware County homes heated?
Mostly by gas. The Census Bureau puts gas as the main heating fuel in 62.6 percent of occupied homes, electricity in 22.9 percent and fuel oil in 13.2 percent. Electric heat is less common here than in Bucks (30.9 percent) or Chester (31.1 percent). PECO lists Delaware among the counties it serves; its page does not say it serves every address, so the name on your bill settles who to call about the service line or meter.
Where do you check a contractor, and complain?
For state registration, use the Attorney General's contractor search, which can be filtered to Delaware County and to electrical work. For a township license, ask the township.
The county runs its own complaints office. Delaware County's Office of Consumer Affairs offers voluntary mediation and takes complaints about home repair and remodeling, referring suspected crimes to the District Attorney or the Attorney General. It is in the Government Center Building, 201 West Front Street, Media, on 610-891-4865.
How to choose an electrician sets out the checks to make first, and electricians serving the county are on the Delaware County electricians page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Building & Codes Department, Township of Haverford
- Consumer Affairs/Weights & Measures, Delaware County
- Contractor Licensing, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Understanding Your Home Electrical System, Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI)
- Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Electrical Home Fire Safety, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
- Smoke Alarms, U.S. Fire Administration
- Company Information, PECO