Losing power for an hour is annoying. Losing it for three days after a storm tears through the Sandhills turns into a real problem, and you feel it everywhere: the fridge full of spoiled groceries, the well pump that won’t prime, the CPAP machine sitting silent at 2:00 a.m., and the sump pump doing absolutely nothing while water creeps across the crawl space. At After Hours Electrical, LLC, we offer generator installation services in Southern Pines, NC, and nearby areas, so your home or business keeps humming while the rest of the street waits for the utility truck.
After Hours Electrical, LLC is a local electrical business based in Southern Pines, NC, serving the surrounding communities. Owner Corey Pope spent eight years as a full-time fireman before going out on his own, and he comes from three generations of electricians on his dad's side. Backup power sits right in our wheelhouse. We size and install standby units for homes and small commercial buildings, pull the permits, make the electrical and fuel connections, and test the whole system before we hand you the keys.
Here's the frustrating part about an outage: nothing you do inside your house fixes it. The problem sits somewhere out on the line, and you're stuck on the power company's timeline, which stretches from a couple of hours to the better part of a week, depending on how many neighborhoods went dark at once.
Most of our outages trace back to the same handful of culprits. Pine limbs come down on the lines during a thunderstorm, ice loads up the conductors in January, and whatever's left of a hurricane pushes through in September and takes half the county with it. Plenty of people try to ride it out with portable generators, then spend the whole night running extension cords through a cracked window and hunting for gas cans at midnight.
A permanently installed unit skips all of that. When you bring in an electrical contractor like us, the job starts with a load calculation and a walk of the property to find the right spot for the pad. From there, we set the generator, run the fuel line, mount the automatic transfer switch beside your panel, tie everything into the service, and get the inspector out to sign off.
Then the good part. The next time the grid drops, your transfer switch senses it and starts the generator within seconds. The lights blink once and then come back on. You don't go outside, you don't touch a thing, and half the time you find out the power went out because a neighbor mentions it the next morning.
Here's a closer look at the services we handle on a backup power project.
One company manages the entire project, from the first walk-through to the day we fire it up. Scheduling, permitting, the concrete or composite pad, the electrical, the fuel, and the inspection all run through us, so you're never stuck playing middleman between three contractors. Our crews also clean up behind themselves and keep the disruption to a minimum, because nobody wants a trench across the yard for two weeks.
Guessing at generator size gets expensive in both directions, because an undersized unit stumbles under load and an oversized one costs you money you didn't need to spend. Our evaluation covers your panel, your appliances, and how you actually use the place. Then we run the numbers and recommend a unit that fits. Some people want whole-house coverage down to the last outlet, while others just want the fridge, the well, and a few lights, and both approaches work fine.
Unlike a portable unit you drag out of the shed, home standby generators live outside on a pad year-round and kick on by themselves. We install them for families who'd rather not think about the weather forecast every time the sky turns green. Medical equipment, well pumps, freezers, and home offices all keep running without anyone lifting a finger.
Homeowners around here ask for Generac more than any other brand, and we install the full lineup. Their air-cooled and liquid-cooled units cover everything from a few essential circuits to a large home with two HVAC systems, and we'll help you land on the right one. For generator sales and model comparisons, visit our sister company’s website, GenSmart USA.
Backup power involves permits, setback requirements, and an inspection, and that paperwork trips up a lot of people who try to tackle this themselves. We pull the permits, schedule the inspection, and build the installation in compliance with the current National Electrical Code (NEC) and local code from the start. You get a system that passes the first time and won't cause you grief when you eventually sell the house.
Two trades meet at a generator, and both have to be right. As your licensed electrician, we handle the service tie-in, the transfer switch, and the branch wiring, and we coordinate the natural gas or propane connection so the fuel side is sized and sealed correctly. Sloppy work at either connection creates a hazard, so we take our time and pressure-test before startup.
A backup system only works when every piece of it works, and a tired battery, a clogged filter, or a fouled spark plug turns your safety net into one more headache the night you need it. Our team sources, recommends, and installs generator parts and accessories, including batteries, filters, spark plugs, and transfer switches. Cold weather kits, maintenance kits, and performance upgrades are also available for anyone who wants their unit to run stronger and last longer.
Once the inspection clears, we run the unit through a full simulated outage to confirm the transfer switch trips, the generator starts, and every circuit you're counting on actually comes alive. After that, we walk through the system with you and show you how to read the controller, when the weekly exercise cycle runs, and what each indicator light means. Nobody gets left standing in the yard wondering what the blinking red light is trying to say.
Every unit we install comes with its full manufacturer warranty intact, and we register the equipment for you so coverage starts off right. Residential and small commercial projects both fall within our experience, and we've installed enough of these around Moore County to know how they hold up in our climate. Give us a call later on if something acts up, and you'll talk to the same crew that put it in.
Older panels struggle to keep up with everything a modern household plugs in, and our electrical panel upgrades give your home the capacity it needs without the guesswork. Ask us about panel rejuvenation, a service we developed that swaps out internal components in about a quarter of the time it takes a traditional cleanout.
Charging at home beats hunting for a public station, and we install every type of unit on the market. Our electric vehicle (EV) charger work covers Tesla wall connectors in the garage, multi-station setups at dealerships and fleet yards, and we'll help you check with your utility about available rebates.
Kitchens and bathrooms make up the bulk of the electrical remodeling projects we take on, though we've reworked everything from home offices to retail buildouts. Moving outlets, adding circuits, hanging ceiling fans, and updating tired lighting all fall under one visit, and we shape each job around how you actually use the room.
Good lighting changes how a room feels more than paint or furniture ever will. Our lighting installation work runs from under-cabinet strips and recessed cans to landscape fixtures, motion-sensor security lights, and even outdoor tennis court setups, all sized and placed so you get the effect you pictured.
Downtime costs money, so business owners across Moore County call us when something needs fixing fast. Panel replacements, lighting retrofits, EV charging stations, and priority response to emergency calls during business hours are all part of our commercial electrical services.
Flickering lights, a breaker that keeps tripping, or a discolored outlet all point to something worth checking before it turns serious. Our electrical repairs cover failing switches, outdated ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), smoke detector replacements, and the old outlets in historic homes that can't handle the power modern appliances draw.
Aluminum, knob-and-tube, and brittle cloth insulation still hide behind the walls of plenty of houses around here. Whole-home wiring and rewiring sit squarely in our wheelhouse, along with low-voltage runs and hot tub circuits. We build every job to the current code so it passes inspection the first time.
Builders and homeowners bring us in early, back when the framing is still visible and the walls are open. Panels, GFCIs, outlets, indoor and outdoor lighting, whole-home wiring, and EV charging stations all come standard with our new construction electrical services, backed by a one-year warranty.
Lightning, utility issues, and everyday electrical activity can send damaging voltage through a home before you ever see a warning sign. Our surge protection service helps shield connected appliances and electronics by stopping excess voltage from traveling farther through the electrical system.
Adding a pool, spa, or sauna often means your electrical system needs new circuits, controls, or safety protection to support the equipment. We handle pool, hot tub, and sauna wiring for pumps, heaters, lights, disconnects, and other components so everything gets the power it needs.
Plenty of electrical contractors can bolt a generator to a pad, so here’s what you get by working with our crew instead.
Trouble tends to show up on a Sunday night, and that's exactly when we answer the phone.
Backup power is a big-ticket purchase that rarely comes at a convenient time, so we offer financing to spread the cost into manageable payments.
You'll get a clear, no-obligation quote and an honest conversation about your options before anyone picks up a tool.
New construction work comes with a full year of coverage from our crew, in addition to any manufacturer protection.
Seniors, veterans, active military, first responders, and healthcare workers all get exclusive savings as a small thank you from a shop the owner started while working as a fireman.
Yes. Southern Pines currently lists generators under its electrical permit schedule, so permanent standby generator installations go through the local permitting and inspection process. Depending on the project, the installer may also need to account for fuel connections, site requirements, and other applicable approvals.
The hands-on installation may take several hours, but the full project can take longer once you factor in site preparation, permitting, fuel connections, and inspections. More involved installations may also require electrical upgrades or additional coordination before the generator can go online.
Follow the maintenance schedule for your specific generator, since service intervals can vary by model and operating hours. Many manufacturers recommend regular inspections and annual service, and a generator that runs for an extended outage may need attention sooner.
Choose generator capacity based on the electrical loads you want to run during an outage rather than relying on home size alone. An electrician can calculate the demand from HVAC equipment, refrigerators, pumps, lighting, appliances, and other circuits to determine whether selected-load or broader whole-home coverage makes more sense.
A typical installation includes choosing a safe location, preparing the generator pad, connecting the fuel source, installing the transfer switch, completing the electrical connections, and testing the finished system. The installer should simulate a power outage before wrapping up so the generator and automatic transfer equipment can respond as intended.
FAQs reviewed by Corey Pope, owner of After Hours Electrical, LLC, a licensed electrician.
The next outage is coming, and the best time to sort this out is on a quiet Tuesday instead of during a storm. Call us for a free estimate, and we'll get your backup power squared away long before you need it.
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Discounts available for active military and veterans, healthcare workers, first responders and senior citizens
1 Year Warranty for New Construction Electrical Services
