247 emergency electrical service
If you have visible sparks, smell something burning, see scorch marks on a panel or outlet, or have lost power to a portion of your home that can’t be restored by resetting a breaker, call us immediately at the number above. Active electrical emergencies are dispatched 24/7 across Southeastern Wisconsin.
What we treat as an emergency
- Burning smell from any outlet, switch, or panel
- Visible sparks or arcing
- Scorch marks or melted plastic on devices or panels
- Buzzing or humming from a panel that wasn’t there before
- Loss of power to part of the home where the main breaker is on but a portion is dark
- Water intrusion at a panel or outlet after a flood, plumbing failure, or storm
- Tripped breaker that won’t reset even after waiting and checking for shorts
- Exposed live wires from storm damage, vehicle impact, or renovation accident
Non-emergency electrical issues like a single dead outlet or one tripping breaker without smoke or burning smell we’ll usually handle next business day at standard rates.
Outlet and circuit work
Outlet problems are some of the most common electrical service calls we run, and most are far simpler and cheaper than they look from the customer’s side.z
What we install and replace
- New outlet installations wherever you need power, including kitchen islands, garages, basements, attics, and outdoor patios
- 240-volt dedicated outlets for electric dryers, induction ranges, EV chargers (Level 2), welders, hot tubs, or window AC units
- GFCI outlets required by code in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, basements, outdoor receptacles, and anywhere within 6 feet of a sink
- AFCI breakers required in newer code cycles for bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and most habitable spaces; these protect against arc faults that cause electrical fires
- USB and USB-C outlets for modern device charging without bulky power-strip clutter
- Childproof tamper-resistant outlets required by current code for new construction; recommended for any home with young kids
- Smart outlets and smart switches that integrate with Alexa, Google Home, or HomeKit
Why your outlet stopped working
We get this call almost daily. Common causes, in rough order of frequency:
- A tripped GFCI somewhere upstream. GFCI outlets often protect multiple outlets on the same circuit. Pressing the Reset button on any GFCI in the kitchen, bathroom, garage, or basement can sometimes restore the dead one.
- A tripped breaker. Check the panel; sometimes a breaker trips but only halfway — flip it fully off and back on.
- A loose connection inside the outlet. Backstabbed connections, where wires push directly into the back of an outlet rather than wrap around a screw, loosen over time and stop conducting reliably. Common in 1970s–1990s homes.
- A failed outlet. Outlets are mechanical devices. They wear out, especially in high-traffic locations like kitchens, bathrooms, and bedside lamp sockets.
- An open neutral or hot wire somewhere upstream. Less common, but a potential fire risk; this is the diagnostic that needs an electrician.
If resetting GFCIs and breakers doesn’t restore power, call us — we’ll diagnose and repair on the same visit.
Schedule an electricianEV charger installation in Milwaukee and surrounding suburbs
Wisconsin EV registrations have grown 60% year over year for the last three years, and we now do a few EV charger installs per week. Tesla, Rivian, Ford F-150 Lightning, GM Ultium, and Hyundai/Kia EVs are the most common we see. The good news: most home EV charger installs are straightforward and finish in a single half-day visit if your panel has capacity.
What we install
- Level 2 home chargers (240V, 30–50 amp), the standard for overnight home charging, replenishing 25–35 miles of range per hour
- Tesla Wall Connector, Tesla’s branded Level 2 charger, requires a J1772 adapter for non-Tesla EVs unless using NACS
- NACS chargers, Tesla’s plug standard, now adopted by Ford, GM, Rivian, Hyundai, and most major EV brands
- J1772 chargers, the older universal Level 2 standard, still used by some EVs
- ChargePoint Home Flex, JuiceBox, Wallbox, and other major brand installations
- Smart-grid integrated chargers that coordinate with utility off-peak rates or solar systems
What an EV charger install typically involves
- Panel evaluation. A Level 2 charger usually needs a dedicated 50-amp circuit. If your panel is full or undersized, still 100A, you may need a panel upgrade first or a load-management charger that throttles based on whole-house demand.
- Circuit run. We run conduit and wire from the panel to the charger location, typically the garage. Length, finish, and accessibility affect time.
- Charger mounting and connection. Hard-wire or NEMA 14-50 plug, depending on your charger model and preference.
- Permit and inspection. Most municipalities in Southeastern Wisconsin require a permit for the new circuit; we handle it.
- Commissioning. First charge test, app setup if your charger uses one. A typical installation runs 3–5 hours. Homes that need a panel upgrade first take longer, and we’ll discuss that on the estimate visit.
Will I need a panel upgrade first?
Often yes, especially if your home is on a 100-amp service. We do a load calculation as part of every EV charger estimate and tell you upfront whether the install is straightforward or whether a panel upgrade should come first.
Get an EV charger installation quoteWhole-home wiring, rewires, and aging-wiring replacement
Many homes in older Milwaukee neighborhoods — Brewers Hill, Riverwest, Bay View, Walker’s Point, large parts of Wauwatosa, and the prewar sections of West Allis — still have wiring that predates modern code. Two specific situations come up often:
Knob and tube replacement
If your home was built before about 1950 and hasn’t been substantially renovated, there’s a good chance some of the original knob-and-tube wiring is still in place. KT isn’t automatically dangerous — properly installed, intact knob-and-tube wiring carrying its original load can be safe. The problems are:
- Insurance coverage. Many home insurance carriers refuse to issue new policies on KT homes, or charge significant premiums.
- Insulation contact. When attic insulation is added over knob-and-tube wiring, very common in 1980s–2000s energy retrofits, the wiring overheats and becomes a fire risk.
- Splicing. Modern outlets and updates require splicing modern wire to old knob-and-tube; done improperly, this is a leading cause of electrical fires in older homes.
We replace knob-and-tube wiring on a circuit-by-circuit basis or full-home depending on scope. Full-home rewires of a typical 1920s Milwaukee bungalow usually run 5–10 working days and require some drywall opening, but we coordinate carefully to minimize damage.
Aluminum wiring replacement
Homes built between roughly 1965 and 1973 often have aluminum branch-circuit wiring. Aluminum expands and contracts more than copper, which loosens connections at outlets and switches over time, creating arc-fault risk. Two repair paths:
- Pigtailing with COPALUM connectors at every outlet, switch, and junction — the recommended fix per Consumer Product Safety Commission, much cheaper than full replacement
- Full rewire to copper — necessary when aluminum has already caused outlet damage or when insurance is requiring full replacement
We do both. We’ll inspect during the estimate visit and recommend the appropriate scope.
Whole-home rewires
Some scenarios genuinely require a full rewire: fire damage, water damage, severe pest damage to wiring, gut renovations, or homes where the existing wiring is so deteriorated that band-aid repairs aren’t safe. Burkhardt does whole-home rewires across Southeastern Wisconsin. Pricing varies widely based on home size, finish requirements, drywall coordination, and whether the rewire is happening during an active renovation or in an occupied home; we provide written estimates after an in-home assessment.
Schedule a wiring assessmentLighting installation: interior, exterior, and landscape
Lighting upgrades are some of the highest-satisfaction electrical projects we do. They make a real visual difference, increase home value, and improve safety. Common requests:
Interior lighting
- Recessed can lighting, the single most common interior lighting request. We install LED recessed lights in kitchens, family rooms, hallways, and basements. Typical install runs XY per fixture installed; we provide written quotes.
- Under-cabinet lighting for kitchens, LED strips or pucks, hardwired so there are no plug-in cables visible
- Ceiling fan installation, both replacing existing fans and installing new fans where there’s currently no overhead box
- Chandelier and pendant installation, including dining room, foyer, and stairwell installations that require ladder or scaffold access
- Track lighting and accent lighting for art display, retail, or feature walls
- Closet lights, attic lights, and basement lighting, areas often under-lit in older homes
- Floodlights and security lights, motion-activated or dusk-to-dawn
- Soffit lighting for accent and curb appeal
- Porch and entrance lighting
- Garage exterior lighting for driveway safety
- Hot tub area lighting, code-compliant with appropriate GFCI protection
Landscape lighting
- Path lighting, low-voltage LED systems for walkways and driveways
- Tree uplighting and accent lighting
- Outdoor entertaining areas, patios, decks, pergolas
- Holiday lighting infrastructure, permanent outlets and switches for seasonal use
Schedule a lighting estimateSmart-home wiring, low-voltage, and modern automation
Smart-home installations have shifted from niche to mainstream over the last few years. We handle the wiring side of:
- Smart switches and dimmers, Lutron Caséta, Leviton Decora Smart, Kasa, and similar
- Smart panels, Span, Lumin, and similar full-home smart panels that replace traditional breaker panels with app-controlled circuits
- Smart thermostats, electrical wiring side; HVAC team handles the integration
- Doorbell camera installation, Ring, Nest, Eufy hardwired installations including transformer upgrades when needed
- Whole-home audio rough-in, speaker wire, in-wall conduit
- Network rough-in, Cat6 or Cat6a runs to home offices, media rooms, and smart-TV locations
- Low-voltage lighting controls, including Lutron RadioRA 3 and similar premium systems
If you’re building or renovating, we’ll work with your builder/GC to plan the wiring runs before drywall, much cheaper than retrofitting after the fact.
Surge protection: whole-home and point-of-use
A direct lightning strike or a major utility surge can destroy thousands of dollars of electronics in milliseconds. Whole-home surge protectors install at the panel and clamp surges before they reach individual devices. We install:
- Whole-home surge protectors at the panel, Eaton, Square D, Siemens, and Generac brands
- Point-of-use surge strips at sensitive electronics locations, home office, entertainment center, server racks
- Combination protection, whole-home plus point-of-use is the most reliable setup; whole-home alone catches most surges, point-of-use catches what slips past
Most whole-home surge installs are quick, 1–2 hours added to a panel upgrade or generator install, or a standalone visit for an existing panel.
Add whole-home surge protectionElectrical troubleshooting and repair
Half of our electrical service calls are diagnostic: something stopped working, something started flickering, a breaker keeps tripping, or there’s a smell or buzz the homeowner can’t trace. We diagnose and repair on the first visit whenever possible.
Why your circuit breaker keeps tripping
- Overloaded circuit. Too many devices on one circuit, especially older 15-amp circuits running modern kitchen appliances
- Short circuit. Hot wire touching ground or neutral somewhere; a damaged appliance cord, a chewed wire (rodents), or a backstabbed outlet that finally failed
- Ground fault. GFCI breakers will trip on small leakage currents; bathroom, kitchen, and outdoor circuits
- Bad breaker. Breakers wear out, especially in panels 20 years old. Replacement is straightforward
- Shared neutral overload. In multi-wire branch circuits where two hot wires share a neutral, the neutral can overload even when each hot is within its rating
Why your lights are flickering
- Loose neutral connection at the panel, fix this immediately; it’s a fire risk
- Loose connection at the meter base, utility-side, but we coordinate the fix
- Failing dimmer switch, incompatible with LED bulbs is the most common cause of LED flicker
- Aging breaker bus bar connections corroding inside the panel
Dead outlet diagnostics
We covered the common causes in the outlet section above. If basic resets don’t fix it and you’re not comfortable opening the outlet box, schedule a diagnostic visit.
Schedule an electrical diagnosticSpecialty electrical services
A handful of services we do that don’t fit cleanly into the other sections:
Hot tub electrical
Hot tubs need 50-amp dedicated 240V circuits, GFCI protection, and proper bonding to meet code. We handle:
- Hot tub dedicated circuits and disconnect, 50A 240V to NEC 680
- GFCI protection at the disconnect
- Bonding and grounding to current code
- Permit pull and inspection coordination with your municipality
Hot tub electrical work in Wisconsin is permit-required and inspection-required; we handle both.
Smoke detector and CO detector installation
Wisconsin code requires smoke detectors in every bedroom, hallway, and basement, with interconnected hardwired units in newer homes. We install hardwired interconnected smoke and CO detectors as a system replacement, typically a 2–4 hour visit for a single-family home.
Whole-home electrical safety inspection
Buying a home? Selling? Concerned about an older system you’ve inherited? We do whole-home electrical safety inspections: panel review, outlet sampling (we test 10–20 outlets across the home, more in older homes), GFCI/AFCI verification, smoke detector check, and a written report you can share with your insurance carrier or buyer.
Permit and inspection coordination
If you’ve started electrical work yourself or hired someone unlicensed and the permit/inspection isn’t passing, we can come in, fix the issues, and get the inspection signed off. Common with kitchen renovations and basement finishes that started DIY.
Service areas across Southeastern Wisconsin
Burkhardt provides residential and commercial electrical services across Milwaukee County, Waukesha County, Ozaukee County, and parts of Washington County.
Specific service areas where we have current customer relationships and existing local pages:
Milwaukee County
- Milwaukee
- Wauwatosa
- West Allis
- Whitefish Bay
- Shorewood
- Bay View
- Brown Deer
- Fox Point
- Glendale
- Greendale
- Greenfield
- Franklin
- Oak Creek
- South Milwaukee
- Cudahy
- Bayside
- River Hills
- Saint Francis
Waukesha County
- Brookfield
- Elm Grove
- New Berlin
- Waukesha
- Pewaukee
- Sussex
- Hartland
- Menomonee Falls
- Mukwonago
- Oconomowoc
- Delafield
- Muskego
Ozaukee County
- Mequon
- Cedarburg
- Grafton
- Port Washington
- Thiensville
Washington County
- Germantown
- West Bend
If your community isn’t listed here, contact us; we may still serve you. We expand our coverage area as customer density warrants.
Why Burkhardt for electrical
- Multi-trade licensed contractor. We’re the same Burkhardt that handles HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. If you need electrical work that interacts with HVAC — a new AC requiring a 240V circuit, an EV charger that needs panel coordination, a generator install that needs gas-line work — we coordinate it under one roof rather than juggling separate contractors.
- Wisconsin-licensed master electricians. All electrical work is performed by Wisconsin-licensed electricians, with master electrician oversight on every job that requires it.
- Pulled permits. Every job that requires a municipal electrical permit gets one, with us pulling it. We don’t do under-the-table work that creates problems for homeowners selling later.
- Written warranty. Every electrical service we provide comes with a written warranty appropriate to the work, typically 1 year on labor and the manufacturer warranty on parts. Major installations — panel upgrades, generator installs, EV chargers — carry longer warranties.
- Same-day diagnostic visits available. Most electrical service calls in our service area get a same-day or next-day diagnostic visit during normal hours.
- 24/7 emergency dispatch. Real human answer, real Burkhardt electrician dispatched.
- Multi-generation Milwaukee business. Burkhardt has been serving Southeastern Wisconsin for decades. Our reviews, our license, our truck signage, and our office are all real, all local.
Ready to schedule electrical service?
Burkhardt provides licensed residential and commercial electrical service across Southeastern Wisconsin. Most diagnostic visits are available same-day or next business day. For 24/7 emergencies, call us anytime.
Call nowSchedule onlineGet a free estimateMap widget goes here — service area map showing Milwaukee, Brookfield, Brown Deer, and surrounding Southeastern Wisconsin communities.
Standby generator installation in Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin
“Wisconsin loses power. Severe storms knock out the grid two to four times most years across our service area, and prolonged sub-zero stretches occasionally take feeders down for 24 hours or more. A whole-house standby generator means your sump pump keeps running, your furnace keeps firing, and your refrigerator stays cold no matter what the weather does. We install Generac, Kohler, and Briggs Stratton standby generators across the full residential range from 7.5 kW units that cover essentials—sump pump, furnace, refrigerator, a few lights—to 24 kW whole-house units that run everything in a typical Milwaukee-area home including central air. Larger commercial units handle small offices, restaurants, medical clinics, and multi-tenant buildings.”
How we approach a standby generator install
- In-home assessment. A Burkhardt electrician walks the home, reviews your panel size, locates a code-compliant pad site, and confirms gas-line capacity; most whole-house units run on natural gas, and LP propane is the alternative in rural areas.
- Load calculation. We size the generator based on what you actually want to power, not a guess. Most Milwaukee single-family homes need a 18–22 kW unit to cover central AC plus essentials; smaller homes or essentials-only setups can get away with 10–14 kW.
- Permit and inspection coordination. We pull the electrical permit with your municipality, schedule any required gas-piping inspection, and coordinate with We Energies for the meter-side work when needed.
- Installation. Pad pour or precast pad placement, generator set, transfer switch installed at the panel, gas line run, electrical hookup completed.
- Commissioning. First test run, weekly self-test program set, customer walkthrough of the manual exercise procedure.
- In-home assessment. A Burkhardt electrician walks the home, reviews your panel size, locates a code-compliant pad site, and confirms gas-line capacity; most whole-house units run on natural gas, and LP propane is the alternative in rural areas.
- Commissioning. First test run, weekly self-test program set, customer walkthrough of the manual exercise procedure.
What a typical 100A 200A upgrade involves
Most 200-amp upgrades take 4–6 hours of on-site time for a Burkhardt electrician, plus inspection scheduling.
- We Energies coordination — they pull the meter for the upgrade, then re-set after passing inspection.
- New panel installation, breakers, and grounding.
- Service entrance upgrade — new meter base, weatherhead, and feeder wire if existing is undersized.
- Municipal electrical inspection.
- We Energies meter re-set and power restored.
Most homes are without power for 4–8 hours total during the upgrade; we coordinate timing with your schedule.
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