Howick was founded in 1847 by Fencible soldier-settlers, and its village core still has buildings like the 1847 All Saints' Church. It grew into a commuter suburb after a concrete road to Greenlane was built in the 1930s, and most of today's housing went up from the 1950s around Picton Street, Stockade Hill and the bays.
Many of those homes now run on switchboards from the 1970s and 1980s, and the salt air off the Tāmaki Strait is tough on outdoor fittings. Our licensed electricians upgrade boards, add RCD protection to new circuits, fit sealed outdoor lighting and install EV chargers.
Common Home Types in Howick
Howick's housing is mostly suburban family homes built from the 1950s, including homes from the 1970s and 1980s, wrapped around a historic Fencible village core. Homes of this age often keep their original switchboard, which may have RCDs on some circuits or none, since lighting circuits were added to the wiring rules in recent editions. Decades of new kitchens and heat pumps can leave a board short on space and capacity. The oldest buildings in the village core may hide much older wiring, which needs careful inspection before any work.
What Howick Conditions Mean for Your Wiring
Howick Beach, Mellons Bay and Cockle Bay face the Tāmaki Strait, so homes near the water get salt-laden wind that corrodes outdoor lights, sockets and switches. We fit sealed, outdoor-rated fittings and check corrosion at terminals. Early settlers found heavy clay soil that was hard to farm, and that clay still makes trenching slow in wet weather. Picton Street has older commercial buildings with their own electrical history.
Electrical Services in Howick
- Electrical Repairs Howick: Tripping RCDs, dead power points, flickering lights and faulty switches traced to the cause and repaired, not just reset.
- Emergency Electrician: Power out, sparks, a burning smell or a breaker that will not reset?
- Switchboard Upgrades: Old fuse boards replaced with a modern switchboard, circuit breakers and RCD protection, inspected and certified.
- House Rewiring: Full and partial rewires for villas, bungalows and older homes, replacing tired rubber-insulated or overloaded wiring.
- Power Points: Extra power points, USB sockets, outdoor weatherproof outlets and new circuits for heat pumps, spa pools and workshops.
- Extractor Fans: Bathroom extractor fans and kitchen rangehoods wired and ducted outside, to move steam and damp out of the house.
- Oven Installation: Ovens, induction cooktops and new kitchen circuits connected safely, including upgrades from gas or older electric hobs.
- Electrical Inspections: Electrical safety inspections and pre-purchase checks with a written report, covering the switchboard, wiring, RCDs and earthing.
- Smoke Alarm Installation: Hard-wired and long-life photoelectric smoke alarms installed in the right places, including rentals that must comply.
- LED Lighting: LED downlights, pendant and feature lighting, dimmers and smart switches, planned around how each room is used.
- Outdoor Lighting: Garden, deck, driveway and security lighting, with sensors and timers, wired safely for the outdoors.
- EV Charger Installation: Home EV chargers installed on a dedicated, properly protected circuit, with a switchboard check and certificate.
- Solar Installation: Solar panel systems and home batteries sized to your power use, installed and connected by licensed electricians.
- Commercial Electrician: Maintenance, fit-outs, lighting upgrades and fault finding for offices, shops, clinics and light industrial sites.
- Test and Tag: Portable appliance testing and tagging for workplaces, with a full register of results for your records.
- Data Cabling: Network and data cabling for homes and offices: Cat6 points, comms cabinets, wifi access points and TV outlets.
Not sure what you need? Read the electrician prices guide or book an electrician in Howick.
Working in Howick
Howick was founded in 1847 by Fencible soldier-settlers as a defensive outpost for Auckland.
Early settlers found almost no building timber and heavy clay soil that was hard to farm.
Our electricians are in and around Howick Beach (Waipaparoa) and Picton Street village and the rest of Howick most weeks.
Electrician Howick FAQs
Why are the outdoor lights at my Howick home corroding?
Salt air off the Tāmaki Strait attacks metal fittings and terminals. We replace them with sealed, outdoor-rated fittings on RCD-protected circuits.
Does my 1970s Howick switchboard need upgrading?
Not always. We check its RCD coverage, space and condition, then tell you whether it can take new circuits or should be replaced.
Can you work on older buildings in Howick village?
Yes. Older buildings can have older wiring, so we inspect carefully before starting and replace any brittle rubber cable rather than extending it.
Will I get a Certificate of Compliance in Howick?
Yes, for any fixed wiring work. Keep it with your property records, as insurers and buyers may ask for it.