One of these calls is free. One isn't.
Here's the whole rule, and we'll never make you guess which one you're on: if you already know what you want, the estimate is free. If something's wrong and it needs finding, that's a paid diagnostic. Everything below explains why, and what it all costs.
Free estimate
You've decided on a project and you want it priced. There's nothing to diagnose, so there's nothing to charge for.
- Panel replacements and service upgrades
- EV chargers, including Tesla Wall Connector
- Storm or tree damage to your mast or service
- Hot tubs, pools, saunas, GenerLink
- New circuits, lighting, renovations
- Anything you can point at and say "I want that"
Diagnostic visit
Something's not working and nobody knows why yet. Finding the cause is skilled work — it's the actual job, not a sales call.
- An outlet or a room has stopped working
- A breaker keeps tripping and won't stay on
- Lights flickering, dimming, or buzzing
- A GFCI that won't reset
- Half the house lost power for no obvious reason
- Something smells hot or feels warm to the touch
Further out? Get a free video estimate.
We text you a link, you open it on your phone, and you walk us out to the panel on live video with a real electrician — not a form, not a chatbot. You get a written quote the same day and nobody has to drive anywhere. Free, wherever you are.
Which kind of call is yours?
The test isn't the size of the job or what it costs. It's one question: are you asking us to price something, or to find something?
Free estimate
"I want this done — what'll it cost?"
- "My Federal Pioneer panel needs to go."
- "I just bought an EV and need a charger in the garage."
- "A branch came down and took my mast off the wall."
- "We're putting in a hot tub next month."
- "I want pot lights through the whole main floor."
- "The home inspector flagged the aluminium wiring."
Diagnostic — $150
"Something's wrong — can you figure out what?"
- "Half my kitchen outlets stopped working."
- "This breaker trips every time we run the dryer."
- "The lights dim whenever the furnace kicks on."
- "There's a buzzing coming from somewhere in the wall."
- "The bathroom GFCI won't reset."
- "It works sometimes and not others."
The grey area: no power
This one confuses everybody, so here's how we handle it. If you can see the cause — the mast is bent, the wires are down, a tree took out the weatherhead — that's a known job and the estimate is free. If the power's out and nobody knows why, that's a diagnostic. Our office asks a couple of questions on the phone and tells you which one you are before we book anything.
Why one is free and the other isn't
When you already know what you want, pricing it is our sales job. It's how we earn your business, and it would be strange to charge you for the privilege of being sold to. So we don't.
Diagnosis is different. Finding an intermittent fault behind a finished wall is not a sales call — it is the work. It takes a licensed electrician, a meter, and sometimes an hour of methodical elimination. If we gave that away, we'd have to recover the cost somewhere, and the only place to recover it is in the price charged to everybody else. We'd rather charge the person actually receiving the service.
Bright Home Club members pay nothing for it. Membership is $20 a month — $10 for our first fifty founding members. Members get two diagnostics waived a year.
What if it takes longer than an hour?
Most faults are found inside the hour. Some aren't — an intermittent connection, a buried junction box, a circuit somebody rerouted in 1974 without telling anyone. Here's exactly what happens when that's your house, so there's no suspense.
At the one-hour mark, we stop. Not "check in while the clock runs" — stop. Our electrician walks you through what's been tested, what's been ruled out, and what the remaining possibilities are. Then one of three things happens:
- We found it. You get a flat-rate price for the repair. Approve it or don't.
- We know where it is but not exactly what it is. Sometimes the smart move is to skip further hunting and just quote the repair that covers it — a new circuit costs less than three more hours of chasing an old one. We'll tell you when that's the better buy.
- It needs more digging. We quote you a flat-rate Advanced Diagnostic — $350, which covers everything it takes from there. Not an hourly rate. A number, before we start, that doesn't move.
And if we can't solve it at all — rare, but it happens — we'll tell you plainly, give you everything we've ruled out in writing so the next electrician isn't starting from zero, and we won't charge you for the Advanced Diagnostic.
Flat rate in your home. Flat rate or hourly in a building.
Residential work is always flat rate. You will never see an hourly number on an invoice from us. Hourly billing puts you and your electrician on opposite sides — the slower he works, the more he earns — and that's a bad way to run a trade.
Every price we give a homeowner is a flat price for a defined piece of work, agreed before it starts. If the job takes longer than we expected, that's our problem, not yours. If a fitting fights us for an extra forty minutes, your price doesn't change. You approve a number, you pay that number.
Commercial is different, and here's the honest reason
On a defined commercial scope — a lighting retrofit, a panel, an EV charger install — we quote flat rate, same as a house.
But a lot of commercial work can't be defined in advance. Troubleshooting a fault in a building nobody has an as-built drawing for, or ongoing maintenance across a portfolio, genuinely can't be priced up front. When we try, one of two things happens: we pad the number to cover the unknown and you overpay, or we guess low and we eat it. Neither of those is honest, and neither lasts.
So for commercial troubleshooting and ongoing work we bill $140 per hour with a two-hour minimum. A lot of building managers prefer it that way regardless — it's what their approval process is built for. If you'd rather have one number and the scope allows it, ask and we'll quote flat.
ESA permits: where a permit is already built into a published flat rate — our EV charger installs, for instance — the line says so and there's nothing extra to pay. Everywhere else it's quoted as its own line, and a single permit often covers several items on the same quote.
Where we work
Core area — free on-site estimates
Kingston, Amherstview, Bath, Odessa, Glenburnie, Gananoque, Napanee and the townships in between. Roughly 30 minutes from our shop. Free estimates, no conditions.
Extended area — up to about an hour out
Belleville, Trenton, Brockville, Perth, Westport and similar. We're out that way most weeks, and here's the honest arrangement:
- If we have a crew in your area that week, the on-site estimate is free. Call us and we'll tell you straight away whether we do. Often we do.
- If we don't, a video estimate is free anyway — and for most jobs it's genuinely just as good.
- If you'd rather have someone physically there and we're not out that way, it's a $100 travel charge, credited against the job if you go ahead.
One thing to be straight about: extended-area visits are scheduled around our routes, not around a calendar. We often can't hit a specific day or a narrow time window out there, and we'd rather tell you that than book you and disappoint you. Booking a week or two ahead gives you a much better chance of both a free on-site visit and a slot that suits you.
Beyond an hour
We're not able to serve you well at that distance, and we'd rather say so than take the booking and let you down. Video estimates are still free if you want a professional opinion, and we'll happily point you toward someone closer.
Why we don't just say "we cover Eastern Ontario"
Because plenty of contractors do, and then take three weeks to show up. We'd rather publish a real boundary and keep it than publish a big one and miss.
Scheduled visits and emergency call-outs
The difference isn't the time on the clock. It's whether it's booked or whether it's now.
A booked appointment is charged at our normal rates. We schedule Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, and we don't generally book outside that window — we're extending our hours as we grow. When we do, the rule won't change: an evening appointment you booked last Tuesday is still a normal-rate appointment. It doesn't become an emergency just because it's dark out.
An emergency call-out is different: you need someone now, we pull an electrician off whatever they were doing or out of bed, and we come.
Which is why we'll talk you out of one if we can. Call us anyway — if what you're describing can safely wait until morning, we'll tell you that, tell you what to switch off in the meantime, and book you at the normal rate. That conversation is free and it happens more often than you'd think.
Storm damage is different
If a tree came down on your service, we're coming out for a free estimate, day or night. That's insurance work — you're not shopping quotes, you're dealing with a mess that isn't your fault, and you shouldn't be paying a call-out fee to find out what a storm did to your house. If anything is live or on the ground, call your utility first, then call us.
What the work costs
Standard published flat rates for residential work in Kingston and area. All prices exclude HST. Where a line includes the ESA permit, it says so; otherwise the permit is quoted separately.
What moves you up or down the range
Two houses on the same street can be $1,400 apart on the same job. It's almost never mystery — it's one of these.
↓ Toward the low end
- Panel has spare capacity and open breaker spaces
- Short, direct run from the panel to the work
- Unfinished basement or accessible attic
- Existing circuit is sound and can be reused
- Work is on an exterior wall or in an open ceiling
- You can bundle it with other work on the same visit
↑ Toward the high end
- Panel is full, undersized, or a known problem brand
- Long run, or the work is on the far side of the house
- Finished walls and ceilings that must be opened and patched
- Knob-and-tube or ungrounded aluminium that has to be dealt with first
- Concrete, brick, or a trench between the panel and the destination
- Service upgrade required before the new load can be added
- Utility coordination or a mast replacement
Most Kingston EV charger installs land between $1,000 and $1,500. The ones that reach $2,000 are almost always a full panel plus a long run to a detached garage. If that sounds like your house, budget for the top of the range and be pleasantly surprised.
We install GenerLink. That's it.
There are several ways to connect a generator to a house. We've settled on one.
GenerLink is a meter-collar transfer switch. It sits between your meter and the meter base. No subpanel, no separate transfer switch on the wall, no rewiring of circuits, no drilling through the foundation. When the power fails you roll out your generator, plug into the exterior inlet, and you can run any circuit in the house — you just choose what to run.
We install it because it's the simplest thing that's also the safest thing. Fewer connections means fewer places for a mistake to hide, and it makes backfeeding the grid physically impossible, which protects the utility crews working on your line.
When GenerLink is the wrong answer for you
- You want it to start by itself. GenerLink is manual. If you want a standby generator that fires up automatically when you're at the cottage, we're not the contractor for that job and we'll tell you so rather than sell you something else.
- You want to run everything at once. A portable generator has limits. GenerLink gives you access to every circuit, not the capacity for all of them at the same time. You manage that yourself, and we'll walk you through what your generator can realistically carry.
- Your meter base can't take it. Not every installation qualifies, and it needs utility sign-off. We check that before we quote, not after.
- You have nowhere safe to run a generator. It needs to be outdoors, well away from windows and doors. If your only option is a garage or a covered porch, the honest answer is no.
If any of those are dealbreakers, say so on the phone and we'll save you the visit.
What you can supply, and what you can't
There's a clean line here and it isn't about money. You can supply the things you chose because you liked them. We supply everything that's part of the electrical system.
Bring your own — happily
Things you picked out
- Light fixtures and chandeliers
- Ceiling fans
- Specialty or smart dimmers and switches
- EV chargers — check compatibility with us first
- Bathroom fans, if you've got a model in mind
We supply — no exceptions
Things that are the electrical system
- Wire and cable
- Panels and load centres
- Breakers of any kind
- Boxes, conduit, connectors, fittings
- Grounding and bonding materials
Why we won't install your breakers or wire
Counterfeit breakers are a real and growing problem in online marketplaces, and they're very difficult to spot once they're out of the packaging. A fake breaker doesn't trip when it should. We can't put our licence and your family behind a component we can't verify — so we buy those ourselves, from distributors we can trace, every time. It isn't a markup play. It's the part of the job where being wrong burns a house down.
Fixtures and fans are different. If one fails, it stops working. Pick whatever you like.
- Check the EV charger with us before you buy it — a two-minute call. Not every unit suits every panel or every install, and we'd rather tell you before it's out of the box than after.
- If a part you supplied is wrong, missing or incompatible, it changes the job. We'll re-quote it in front of you before doing anything else — flat rate, as always. This is the most common way a customer-supplied job ends up costing more than if we'd supplied the item.
- We warranty our workmanship, not your part. If a fixture you bought fails in eight months, the return trip is a service call. When we supply it, the whole thing is covered.
Commercial & industrial work
We're primarily a residential service company, and we're straight about where that ends.
Light commercial — yes
Repairs, troubleshooting, service calls, lighting, panel and circuit work, and small fit-ups for offices, retail, restaurants and multi-unit buildings. If you're a property manager who needs an electrical contractor who actually shows up and documents the work, that's exactly what we're built for.
Commercial EV charging — yes, and growing
Workplace charging, multi-unit residential buildings, retail and fleet installations. We handle the install, the utility coordination and the ESA notification, and we bring in an electrical engineer for the load calculations — because on a commercial service that's engineering work, not a rule of thumb, and it's what stands up when the building's capacity is questioned later.
If you're a condo board weighing an EV charging plan or an employer being asked for charging by staff, we'll walk you through what's actually involved and what it costs before you commit to anything.
Industrial — troubleshooting only
We're not an industrial contractor and we won't pretend to be. We don't want your plant expansion.
But if you're a municipal facility, a water plant, or a manufacturer who's lost power and needs an electrical contractor who'll actually answer the phone at 2am — call us. Emergency troubleshooting and getting you back up is work we do and do well. We've done exactly that for township facilities and industrial sites in this region.
When you should not hire us
We'd rather tell you now than waste an afternoon of your time and ours. Call someone else if:
- You need the cheapest possible price. We're not it, and we won't pretend otherwise. We're generally in the upper third of Kingston pricing. If price is the deciding factor, nothing on this page will change your mind.
- You want free troubleshooting. Estimates are free. Diagnosis isn't, and "just have a quick look while you're here" doesn't change that.
- You're a homeowner who wants hourly billing. Residential work is flat rate, full stop. Commercial troubleshooting is a different story — see section 04.
- You need appointments outside business hours. We schedule 8am–4pm, Monday to Friday. Outside that it's an emergency call-out at emergency rates.
- You want an automatic standby generator. We install GenerLink and nothing else. See section 09.
- You need an industrial contractor. Plant work, process equipment, high-voltage distribution. We'll refer you rather than fumble it.
- You want us to work around an unpermitted installation. If it needs an ESA permit, we pull one. If that's a dealbreaker, we're the wrong company.
- You're more than an hour from Kingston. We can't serve you well at that distance. A free video estimate is still yours if you want a professional opinion.
- You're gathering four quotes to beat somebody down on price. We'll give you our number and it won't move. If that's the exercise, we're not a good use of your time.
If none of those apply, we're probably a good fit — and everything above tells you what it'll cost.
Us versus the cheaper quote
You will get a lower number from somebody. Sometimes that lower number is the right choice, and we'll say so. Here's the honest difference so you can judge it yourself.
| Typical lower-priced quote | Wieser Electric | |
|---|---|---|
| The estimate | Free — and so is the troubleshooting, until it quietly isn't | Free, with the one paid exception stated up front |
| How it's priced | Hourly, with the clock running while you watch | Flat rate on every home job, agreed before work starts |
| Who shows up | Often a single operator, no oversight, no paper trail | A licensed electrician from our own team, under ECRA/ESA licence 7009467, with a Master Electrician accountable for the work |
| ESA permit | Sometimes skipped to keep the price down | Pulled on every job that needs one, shown as its own line |
| Breakers and wire | Whatever's cheapest, sometimes online marketplace stock | Traceable distributor supply, every time |
| The quote itself | A number on a business card or a text message | Written options — good, better, best — priced before work starts |
| Warranty | Verbal, often 90 days, hard to enforce if they move on | 2 years on workmanship, in writing, from a company that isn't going anywhere |
| Best for | Simple, low-risk jobs where price is the priority | Work you want documented, permitted, and warrantied |
When the cheaper quote is genuinely the better call: swapping a light fixture, replacing a receptacle, adding a dimmer. If that's your job and you've got a competent licensed contractor quoting $200 less, take it. We mean that. Save us for the panel, the service, the EV charger, and anything you'd have to disclose when you sell the house.
Full visit terms
Nothing here should surprise you if you've read the sections above. It's the same thing, written so both of us can point at it later.
Free estimate visits
- No charge, no obligation. We won't invoice you for an estimate visit under any circumstances.
- Free on-site estimates apply in our core service area. In the extended area, on-site is free when we already have a crew out that week; otherwise a video estimate is free, or on-site is $100 travel, credited against the job if you proceed.
- An estimate visit prices a known scope. It doesn't include troubleshooting, testing to locate a fault, or repairs.
- If the job turns out to need diagnosis, our electrician will tell you on the spot that it's now a $150 diagnostic and ask whether you'd like to proceed. Nothing is charged unless you say yes.
- Written quotes hold for 30 days.
Diagnostic visits
- The $150 residential diagnostic is a flat rate covering a licensed electrician on site, the first hour of diagnosis, and written findings with photos. It is not credited toward repair work. Bright Home Club members pay $0.
- Commercial troubleshooting is billed hourly rather than as a flat diagnostic — see "How work is priced" below.
- If diagnosis isn't complete at one hour, we stop and quote you a flat-rate Advanced Diagnostic ($350) before continuing. You may decline and stop there with nothing further to pay.
- If we're unable to identify the fault, you don't pay the Advanced Diagnostic and you keep our written findings.
How work is priced
All residential work is priced flat rate, agreed before it starts. We don't bill homeowners by the hour. If a job takes us longer than expected, your price doesn't change. Prices only change when you approve a change — a larger scope, an added item, or a condition we uncover and re-quote with you.
Commercial work on a defined scope is quoted flat rate the same way. Commercial troubleshooting and ongoing work is billed at $140 per hour with a two-hour minimum, in 30-minute increments thereafter, plus materials.
Who performs the work
All work is carried out by licensed electricians on our own team, under ECRA/ESA licence 7009467, with a Master Electrician accountable for it. Our people, our licence, our warranty.
Hidden and unforeseen conditions
We may find things we couldn't see from the driveway — a buried junction box, aluminium branch wiring, a panel that's been modified. When that happens we stop, show you, and re-quote. You decide whether to continue.
If we find a safety hazard, we may pause or stop work until it's addressed.
Permits and code
Work is performed to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code. Where an ESA notification is required we file it. Some published flat rates include the permit — our EV charger installs do — and the line will say so. Otherwise the permit is quoted as its own line, and a single permit often covers several items on the same quote. We won't conceal or work around unpermitted installations.
Materials you supply
We'll install customer-supplied fixtures, ceiling fans, specialty dimmers, bathroom fans and EV chargers — please confirm EV charger compatibility with us before purchase. We supply all wire, cable, panels, breakers, boxes, conduit, fittings and grounding materials ourselves, without exception, because we can't verify the provenance of those components otherwise.
If a customer-supplied item is incorrect, missing, incompatible, defective or insufficient, we'll re-quote the job in front of you before proceeding. We don't warranty customer-supplied items or failures caused by them.
Scheduled visits and emergency call-outs
- A booked appointment is charged at normal rates regardless of the hour it's scheduled for.
- An unscheduled emergency call-out is $375 residential or $750 commercial and industrial, covering the first hour on site. Residential repairs are quoted flat rate and approved before work starts; commercial time beyond the first hour is billed at $140 per hour.
- Storm and tree damage to a service, mast or weatherhead is treated as a free estimate, at any hour.
- We schedule Monday to Friday, 8am–4pm, and don't generally book appointments outside that window. Those hours will expand as we grow.
Access
We need safe access to the panel and the work area at the scheduled time — pets secured, area clear, someone 18 or over on site. If we arrive for a diagnostic and can't get in, the diagnostic fee applies. If we arrive for a free estimate and can't get in, there's no charge, but we'll ask you to rebook. We always call before we leave.
Warranty
Two years on our workmanship. Manufacturer terms apply to equipment we supply. Bright Home Club members get extended coverage for as long as membership is active.
Payment
Payment is due on completion unless agreed otherwise in writing. For diagnostic visits and emergency call-outs, you authorise the fee when you book.
Cancelling or rescheduling
No charge if you let us know at least 24 hours ahead. Inside 24 hours on a diagnostic or emergency call-out, or if nobody's home, the fee applies.
Book your visit
If you're on the free side, there's nothing to agree to — just pick a time and we'll be there.
Book a free estimate Free video estimate
Booking a diagnostic visit
Because there's a charge attached, we want you to see it and agree to it before you book — not discover it on an invoice.
Diagnostic visit agreement
Revision 2026-07-25 — Wieser Electric Ltd., ECRA/ESA licence 7009467.
