Frequently asked questions

Yes — Miranda Electrical is based in Carina and we work across the inner-east Brisbane suburbs every day. Morningside, Camp Hill, Coorparoo, New Farm, Hawthorne, Bulimba and Cannon Hill are right in our backyard, and we travel further across greater Brisbane for ongoing commercial clients. The fastest way to confirm we cover your address is to call us — we'll usually have a sparky in your area on the day you call.

Our office takes calls and bookings 9am to 5pm seven days a week, and our team is on the road most of that time. For genuine emergencies — power out, sparks at an outlet, burning smell from a switchboard — we run a 24/7 urgent electrical line. Outside business hours that's an after-hours rate, but when it's a real emergency the cost of waiting is almost always worse.

Yes. Miranda Electrical holds Electrical Licence 2468 and carries full public liability and workmanship insurance. Every electrician on the team is also accredited through Master Electricians Australia, which is the industry body that audits us on safety, training and compliance. You can ask to see paperwork before any job — most clients don't, but we'd rather you did.

For small jobs (a couple of power points, a fan, a faulty safety switch) we charge a fixed call-out fee plus time on site, and we tell you the rate before we start. For larger jobs — switchboard upgrades, full rewires, EV charger installs — we provide a written fixed-price quote after we've seen the property. We do not start work without you knowing the price in writing.

We accept bank transfer, credit and debit card (Visa, Mastercard and Amex), and Apple Pay / Google Pay on site. Invoices for completed work include payment details and are due within seven days. For commercial accounts we can arrange 30-day terms after the first job.

Most weekday inquiries are quoted within 24 hours — either we book a quick site visit or, for clear-scope work, we'll send pricing back over email. Emergency work skips the quote step entirely; we get you safe first, then bill once the situation is resolved. Either way, you won't be sitting around guessing what something will cost.

Yes. All electrical work carries a workmanship warranty — if anything we installed develops a fault because of the way it was installed, we come back and fix it at no cost. Manufacturer warranties on supplied parts (switches, lights, AC units, EV chargers) sit on top of that, and we register them where required.

Sizing depends on room area, ceiling height, sun exposure and insulation — a small bedroom typically wants 2.5kW, a large open-plan living area might want 7-8kW. Undersizing means the unit runs flat-out and wears quickly; oversizing wastes power and dehumidifies poorly. We measure the space, ask the right questions, and recommend a size that will actually keep up on the hottest Brisbane days.

Yes. A complete install with us covers the indoor head unit, the outdoor compressor, brackets, refrigerant lines, drainage, electrical connection, and commissioning. We're refrigerant-licensed so your manufacturer warranty stays valid, and we leave the site clean — no patching holes or chasing other trades.

Yes, including new ducted systems and retrofits to existing homes. Ducted is the right call when you're conditioning multiple zones, you want a clean ceiling with hidden grilles, or you're building / renovating anyway. We coordinate with builders, plasterers and roofers as needed so the install lands without surprises.

Modern inverter splits and ducted systems are dramatically quieter than the units they replace — typically 25-35 decibels indoors, which is quieter than a fridge. The outdoor compressor needs to be sited thoughtfully (we discuss this with you before drilling), but inside the home you should barely hear it during normal operation.

Annual or 18-monthly service: clean the filters, check refrigerant pressures, inspect the outdoor coil, verify electrical connections, and confirm drainage is flowing. A unit that's serviced regularly will outlast an unserviced one by a wide margin and will run more efficiently the whole time, which shows up on your power bill.

Most modern boards (RCBOs, labelled circuits, dedicated AC circuits) handle it without modification. Older ceramic-fuse boards almost always need an upgrade — both for safety and to register the new load correctly with your insurer. We'll check during the quote and tell you straight if a board upgrade is needed first.

A single split-system in a straightforward location is half a day. A multi-head install across several rooms is one to two days. Full ducted retrofits, depending on the home, run two to four days. We confirm the timeline in writing before booking.

Yes — most commercial fit-outs, cabling jobs and emergency repairs we run after close. We work with cafes, retail, offices and small industrial sites across Brisbane and we plan the work so you open the next morning ready to trade. Out-of-hours rates apply but most clients consider that cheaper than closing during the day.

Yes. We design, install and maintain three-phase distribution for workshops, restaurants, industrial kitchens and small manufacturing. That includes new mains supply if your existing service can't carry the load, plus dedicated boards, isolators and motor protection where required.

We run scheduled testing and tagging, annual switchboard inspections, exit and emergency light certification, and reactive callouts for our commercial clients. Pricing is per-visit or annual, depending on what's easier for you to budget. Documentation is provided after every visit for your compliance records.

Every electrical job — commercial or residential — gets a compliance certificate when it's completed. For commercial premises, that paperwork is what your insurer and the QBCC will want to see if anything ever goes wrong, and we lodge / file it correctly the first time.

Yes. We've worked alongside builders, plumbers, plasterers, joiners and HVAC trades on dozens of fit-outs. Tell us who's running the project and we'll communicate directly with the head contractor — you don't need to chase us between phone calls.

Mandatory in commercial premises, and a frequent compliance gap when we walk through new sites. We install, test, tag and document the full system. Six-monthly testing is the legal requirement; we'll set up the schedule and remind you when it's due.

Yes — every team member we send to a commercial site has been background-checked. For sensitive sites (medical, education, government) we can also provide individual Working with Children Check or QBCC paperwork on request.

We install all major Type 2 wall chargers (Tesla, Wallbox, Schneider, Zappi, ABB, Ocular) and Type 2 tethered units. We're brand-agnostic — tell us your car and your daily charging pattern and we'll recommend a charger that matches. We don't push any one brand because every household setup is different.

Sometimes — depends on the existing board, the available supply, and the charger's rated current. A 7kW single-phase home charger usually slots in fine; a 22kW three-phase charger often needs supply or board work. We check at the quote and tell you up front.

Yes — load-balancing chargers (Zappi, OpenEVSE-style smart units) can prioritise solar generation when you're at home, then top up from the grid when the sun's down. If you have solar and want the lowest charging cost, ask about this when we quote — it's a small extra cost for a big efficiency gain.

A standard wall-mounted 7kW install on the side of a garage with the board nearby is around half a day. Longer cable runs, three-phase upgrades or apartment block installs take longer. We confirm the timeline in writing before booking.

Yes — we work with body corporates and building managers to plan multi-bay installs that share supply correctly. The board approval and metering side takes longer than the actual install, so factor that into your timeline. We can help with the strata paperwork.

The charger is yours — it's wall-mounted but removable. We can remove it for you and reinstall at the new property, which is far cheaper than buying again. We also commonly disconnect/reinstall for clients who want to lease their previous home with the charger left in place.

Yes. The install gets a Certificate of Electrical Safety, which is what your home insurer (and the manufacturer's warranty) will want to see. We register the charger with the manufacturer where required so warranty starts cleanly.

Yes — and it's one of the highest-impact upgrades you can do. Modern LEDs use roughly a fifth of the power, run cool, last ten to twenty times longer, and most can be dimmed from a wall plate. We swap the transformers/drivers where needed and tidy up any ceiling damage from the old fittings.

Yes. Whether it's a single double-socket behind the TV or a dozen new outlets through a kitchen renovation, we run new circuits cleanly through wall cavities or ceilings, terminate everything correctly at the switchboard, and patch holes neatly. We'll usually quote per outlet rather than hourly.

Yes. Path lights, deck lighting, sensor-triggered floodlights, pool area lighting and feature lighting on garden walls are all common requests. We use IP-rated fittings designed for Brisbane weather, run wiring through conduit underground where possible, and switch via the existing house circuit or a dedicated controller.

Yes — and it's one of the simpler upgrades. Modern LED-rated dimmers work cleanly with the most common LED downlights and pendant globes. The trick is matching the dimmer to the load type; mismatched dimmers buzz, flicker or kill globes early. We carry the right ones in the van.

We hang anything from a single pendant over a kitchen bench through to multi-arm chandeliers in stairwells. We do the structural anchoring properly (most pendants are heavier than they look), wire to the existing circuit, and adjust the drop height to your specs. Disposal of the old fitting is included.

Yes. If there's an existing light point we wire the fan to a remote-and-light kit or a wall control; if there isn't we run a new switch leg. We balance the blades on install so they run quietly, and we test the timer / reverse / dimmer functions before we leave.

A typical 20-30 downlight retrofit through an average house is one day. Multi-storey homes or homes with sealed insulation take longer. We confirm the timeline in writing before booking.

Yes — safety switches (RCDs) on every circuit are now the standard for new builds and are strongly recommended for existing homes. Without one, a fault current that touches earth can be lethal; with one, the circuit cuts in under thirty milliseconds. We retrofit individual RCBOs into existing boards as a same-day job in most cases.

Yes. Hardwired, interconnected, photoelectric smoke alarms are the legal standard in Queensland and we install them through your home connected to the mains with a battery backup. When one trips, all of them sound — which is the only way you reliably hear an alarm from the other end of the house.

Yes. Ovens, induction cooktops, gas/electric ranges, rangehoods and built-in microwaves all need a licensed sparky to terminate the supply correctly — most are 20A or 32A and they often need a dedicated circuit. We coordinate with cabinetmakers and gas fitters where needed to land everything on the same install day.

For older homes — typically pre-1980 with cloth-insulated cabling or VIR wiring — a full rewire is sometimes the only safe option. We plan the job in stages with you, work room-by-room to minimise disruption, and provide compliance paperwork for your insurer. Expect two to four weeks for a typical 3-4 bedroom home.

Yes — and yes to all the obvious questions: bathroom heat lamps with built-in extraction, IP-rated fans for showers and laundries, in-line bathroom extraction through the roof void. We handle the structural mounting, the wiring, the wall control, and the testing in one visit.

Yes, and almost always on the first visit. A tripping breaker is your house telling you something is wrong; we isolate the affected circuit, identify the cause (faulty appliance, water ingress, damaged wire, overload), and either repair the fault or quote you for the replacement on the spot.

Yes. Drop sheets where we work, plaster patched neatly after we drill, packaging and old parts taken away, your floor vacuumed before we go. This isn't a marketing line — three generations of customers expect it and we'd be embarrassed not to.

If your board still has ceramic-fuse rewireable circuits, asbestos backing, or no safety switches on the lighting and power circuits, it's well past replacement. Same goes if breakers trip regularly, smell hot, or you're adding significant load (EV charger, ducted AC, solar). If you're not sure, we'll pull the cover and tell you.

Typically a single day. The supply authority needs to disconnect and reconnect, which we organise; you'll be without power for around four to six hours during the swap. We schedule the work for a day that suits you and warn you the night before so you can plan.

It depends on the size of the board, the number of circuits, and whether the supply needs upgrading too. A straightforward residential board swap is one fixed price; commercial boards and three-phase setups are quoted individually after a site visit. We do not give made-up phone numbers — every quote is in writing.

Many home insurers now ask for a compliant board (with safety switches and labelled circuits) as a condition of cover, especially after an electrical incident. After the upgrade we provide a Certificate of Electrical Safety, which is the document your insurer wants on file. Send it to them when you renew.

Yes — and we follow the proper containment process. Asbestos-backed boards are common in pre-1990 homes and removing them safely is part of our standard procedure. We test, contain, dispose through a licensed waste handler, and document everything.

For at least the start and finish of the day, yes — there's a brief outage you should be aware of, and we want to talk you through the new board and its labelling before we leave. The middle hours of the work, we're happy to keep going while you're at the shops or at work.

Yes. A big part of a board upgrade is sorting out the spaghetti behind the old face plate. New circuits get labelled at the breaker, cable runs are cleated, neutrals and earths are bonded correctly. The result is a board the next electrician will thank us for.

Any situation where staying on power is unsafe: smoke from an outlet, sparks at a switch, burning smell from the switchboard, a circuit that trips and immediately re-trips, water near live wiring, a downed wire on your property. Power being out, on its own, is not always an emergency — but if you're not sure, call us and we'll talk through it on the phone.

Most genuine emergencies inside our service area get a sparky on site within two hours, and same-day for less urgent issues. Late at night or in the early hours that timeline is honest about traffic — we don't pretend everything is half an hour away.

After-hours work attracts a higher call-out rate, which we'll tell you on the phone before we dispatch. The time-on-site rate is also higher than business hours. For genuine emergencies, the cost of waiting until morning is almost always worse than the after-hours premium.

Yes — and we will. While we're on the way, we'll walk you through turning off the right circuit at the board, unplugging the suspect appliance, or moving people away from the affected area. We are not going to leave you waiting unsafely on the phone for two hours.

For almost every common emergency — yes. Replacement breakers, RCDs, switches, outlets, cabling, joints, isolators all live in the van. If a job needs a specialist part (large industrial switchgear, manufacturer-specific module) we'll isolate the danger and source the part the next working day.

Yes — we don't work on a property without the occupant or owner present. If it's an investment property and you're not in Brisbane, we can liaise with your tenant or property manager directly once you've authorised the work over the phone.

You still pay the call-out, but we'll be straight with you on the visit — if what looked like an emergency turns out to be a $40 fix, we'll fix it then and there and not invent extra problems. Reputation matters more to us than upselling a panicked customer.