Beacon Home Services, Inc.

The overall experience was very good. The two electricians that actually did the work at our home, Victor and Jimmy, were especially good. They did a heavy-up for us, as well as several additional services. The job would take a couple of days. After the first day, they were not scheduled to come back the next day...but ended up calling us to see if they could come by after all  and finish because the weather was bad and their scheduled job was outdoors and had to be canceled. So we finished in two days--which was nice. Our house is older, so some of the smaller jobs, like adding a new light switch at the bottom of our stairs to connect with another switch at the top, took some creative thinking. But they figured it out. A couple of months later, we thought something had gone wrong with the heavy up because we lost power. I called Beacon and Victor came over that day to check it out. Turns out our entire block was having an outage...but I was still impressed that someone from Beacon came the very same day to troubleshoot the problem.

The work was fine. They were very specific about asking questions for the location.  They cleaned up after themselves. I feel like the extra charge for $59.95 was weird.

I was contemplating being my own general contractor for this project since I thoroughly researched what it took to install and how I wanted it to be configured. The reason that I initially contracted Beacon was that the electricians and gas installers that were recommended to me via contractor friends were too busy doing larger projects to tackle this one. I found Beacon on Angie's List. Beacon advertises that it does a number of generator installs. I tested this with my discussion with their owner, Bob, and found him very knowledgeable regarding the components, what the job entailed, level of effort, scheduling, complexity, etc. My job was somewhat complex. I needed 2 200-amp ATSs since I had 2 200-amp electrical panels. I didn't want to select circuits in my house, I wanted them to all be connected and able to be powered by the generator. To manage the load, I wanted my three HVAC zones to be managed by the load shedding capabilities of the ATS. Beacon brought the generator with them on day 1 and placed it on the gravel pad I had constructed. The dug a trench of approx 15 ft long to contain the gas line and electrical connections between the generator and the gas meter and ATSs. The gas guy Don did a beautiful job - it was inspected on day 3 and passed. The electricians worked on day 1 and day 2 and completed most of the work. At the end of day 2 the generator was operational, even though they had a bit more work to do to install a cold weather kit (waiting on part), wireless remote monitor, and some of the load shedding functionality. They came back in several weeks and on day 3 completed the work and walked me thru operation, maintenance, etc. On day 3 the lead electrician Jesse tested the system with me. He shut down power from Dominion, and the generator automatically started in 10 or so seconds. In another 5 or 10 sec. the ATS switches kicked from utility to generator power, and the house was running off the generator. I went thru the house and turned on almost all the lights, TVs, electric oven, etc. Jesse put a meter over the generator power feeds to measure amp of usage. After 5 minutes or so the system went to priority one (1st HVAC) and it started the first A/C. After 30 sec. it went to priority two (2nd HVAC) and it powered the second A/C. After another 30 sec it went to priority three (third HVAC). My system didn't have enough available power for the priority three A/C, so it kicked off all three, waited 5 min. and repeated the process starting with priority one. During that 5 min period I shut off the electric oven, which was drawing approx 14 amps. It cycled thru the priorities and started all three A/C units with the electric oven shut off. Jesse also advised that my power usage was imbalanced between my two generator feeds, and I could boost overall power availability by moving a few breakers to balance the load. I decided to wait to see if I need to do that since I believe my test demonstrated I have more that adequate power to run what I plan on running when the utility power is not available. Several days after installation day 3 Fairfax County completed its final inspection and it passed. In summary, I paid a bit more than I wanted to, but the level of effort was significant (approx 8 hr for gas man, approx 58 total hours for electricians). The workmanship was superb. The complexities my system and requirements presented required some research and discussion with Generac, the manufacturer, but they developed workable solutions to all issues. All of the people involved in the installation were professional and courteous, and left a very clean workplace. Most importantly, my ability to live a near normal electrical life while on the generator was achieved beyond what I could imagine.

They are busy, so it will not get done immediately, but the

Clean, efficient, knowledgeable work.

Went really well - the guys were punctual, clean, professional and very knowledgable.  I would use them again.

2 electricians came out to review house panels, smoke detectors, electrical sockets and more. Noted several smoke detectors would not alarm but only did not push test button well enough. Missed a previous improper wiring now having to fix.

They showed up and did the work.  Professional and competent.

Initial survey be Bob Hanifin was helpful an informative.  He helped us to select the right generator for needs in the price range that we could afford.  Dee Shirley coordinated the down payment and installation schedule.  Electricians Victor and Jimmy arrived right on time and, after surveying our electrical panel and basement layout,  explained the best approach for placing the generator and running the conduit into the basement and over to the breaker panel.   They completed the work on schedule and returned after the propane tank was installed the following week to test the generator's operation and provide us with training to operate the system. Our only concern is that the generator is louder than we expected.  We are pleased with this purchase.  

Beacon Electrical Services Inc. I used them in the past but I just bought the Big Deal Coupon for them. I was pleased with them. I think it was last July.  It was $2,000.  I had no problem with them.