Garage and workshop wiring

Garage and workshop electrical in Edmonton: lighting, receptacles, 240 V tool circuits, subpanels and power to detached garages, with permits handled.

More than a single bulb and one receptacle

Plenty of Edmonton garages still have one bare bulb and a single receptacle shared by the door opener and the freezer. That is fine for parking, but not for working on a car, running a table saw or welding a trailer frame.

We wire garages and shops for how you actually use them: bright, even lighting, receptacles along the bench, dedicated circuits for big tools, and power you can count on in January. If you are planning an EV, we can make the garage EV-ready at the same time.

Power for tools and heaters

Larger tools often need a 240 V circuit. Welders, compressors, table saws, kilns and garage heaters each have a nameplate rating that sets the circuit size and receptacle type. Send us the model numbers or nameplate photos and we size the circuits to match.

• Bench receptacles on more than one circuit, so a saw and a shop vac can run together.
• GFCI protection for garage receptacles where the code requires it.
• Dedicated circuits for a freezer or second fridge, which you do not want sharing with tools.
• A heater circuit with a thermostat, so the shop is usable at -30 C.
• Exterior receptacles for block heaters, weatherproof covers included.

Detached garages and subpanels

A detached garage needs a feeder from the house, usually run underground. Depending on how much power you need, that feeds a small subpanel in the garage. Feeders must be sized for the load and protected where they run, and the garage needs its own means of disconnect.

Before any digging, utility locates are required. Call or click before you dig through Utility Safety Partners in Alberta. We arrange this as part of the job. Burial depth depends on the cable type, how it is protected and where it runs, so we design to the code rather than a rule of thumb.

If your house panel is already full or your service is small, a subpanel or service upgrade may come first.

Lighting that lets you see what you are doing

Good garage lighting is bright, even and does not throw shadows over the bench or the engine bay. LED strip fixtures work well in the cold and start instantly in winter. We usually recommend a few rows across the ceiling plus task lighting over the bench, and switching near each door.

Motion-sensing lights at the side door and over the driveway add safety on dark winter evenings, and a switch by the house door means you never walk into a dark garage. If you work late, consider a separate switch for the bench task lighting.

Cost depends on the garage size, how far it is from the house panel, trenching length and ground conditions, the number of 240 V circuits, and whether panel capacity has to be added.

Questions we hear