Like a commercial or industrial electrician has a different subset of skills, qualifications and experience from a residential electrician, so does a high rise electrician. Working on high rise buildings – such as commercial high rises and condos – poses a completely different challenge as compared to working on smaller dwellings and offices.

A high rise electrician must rise up to the occasion of electrical troubleshooting, which in this context is akin to trying to find a needle in a haystack. What’s more, since high rise buildings have such high occupancy rates, ergo enormous electrical demand, the electrical supply from the utility is much more high capacity and complex in its organization.

In this article we look at what sort of work a high rise electrician must be prepared for; and the challenges he or she is going to face.

Blueprints – High rise buildings are, looked at from a very macro point of view, a modular set-up. The architecture, structural supports, elevator systems, the usable floor space, plumbing, heating and air conditioning and the electrical system are all conjoined in complex knot. The building’s blueprints are essential for unravelling this knot. A high rise electrician must be able to read, interpret and work according to the plan laid out (and sometimes not clearly so).

Electrical supply – The electricity supply from the utility company differs so much from that of a residential dwelling that only a high rise electrician can appreciate its complexity. Multiple sources of electricity, different compliance and wiring requirements, and more, all require very careful handling and a strict adherence to the established procedure and standard.

Conduits and wiring – More often than not high rises will have conduits placed into the core structure and wiring will run along these conduits. A high rise electrician faces the challenge of having to make long wiring runs through these pre-determined channels. Certainly, this requires experience and equipment to complete the long wire pulls.