★★★★★ 20+ five star Google reviews

Electrician on the Thames Coast for baches, homes and coastal wiring

Charly The Sparky is your local electrician for the Thames Coast, covering the string of beach settlements north of Thames, from Tararu through Te Puru, Waiomu and Tapu, up to Te Mata and Thornton Bay. Bach power-ups before summer, storm-cut generator backup, salt-air corrosion fixes and off-grid systems, certified properly.

20+ Years on the tools
6 Coastal villages covered
2x Electrician & inspector
20+ Five star Google reviews
Charly The Sparky on the job at a bach up the Thames Coast Image: Charly on the job up the Thames Coast

Electrical work we do up the coast

From a tripping switchboard to a new heat pump, here's the work we do most for homes and baches along the coast – one local sparky who turns up when he says, gets it done, and cleans up after himself.

Home electrical

Switchboard upgrades, fault-finding and repairs, rewires, lighting and extra power points. The day-to-day stuff around a coast home or bach.

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Heat pump installation

Single-room splits right through to whole-house ducted, sized to suit the rooms so it actually heats properly.

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Home ventilation (SmartVent)

SmartVent positive-pressure systems for the sea-air damp and condensation that closed-up coast homes get over winter. We're an authorised installer.

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Solar & battery

Grid-tied solar and battery storage to take the edge off the power bill and ride out a cut, sized to how your place actually uses power.

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Inspections & sign-offs

A Certificate of Verification on an existing install, a switchboard inspection for an insurance review, or a caravan EWOF, all handled locally as a registered inspector.

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Data, TV & EV charging

Network and TV points, WiFi and Starlink for bach internet, plus a home EV charger wired on its own circuit, tested and labelled.

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Not sure which one you need? Give Charly a call and we'll point you in the right direction.

Call 021 244 5757

For the baches and homes along the coast

The coast is its own world. Long power lines that drop out in a storm, salt air that chews through outdoor gear, and baches that sit closed up all winter. The work up here is built around that, and we keep the right gear on the truck because we are up the coast every week.

Bach power-ups before summer

Switching a bach back on for the family without a check is asking for trouble. Mice chew cable over winter, and circuits sit damp and dead. We isolate the supply, test every circuit, check the board and the wiring, and give you a written report before you flick the main on. A common spring booking at Tararu, Te Puru and Thornton Bay.

Storm-cut generator backup

The coast sits at the end of a long line, so winter storms can knock the power out for hours, especially up around Tapu and Te Mata. A properly wired changeover switch keeps the fridge, freezer, water pump and heating running off a generator, without backfeeding the lines. Manual or automatic, sized to what you actually need on.

Salt-air corrosion fixes

The sea air eats unprotected gear. An outdoor outlet or exposed switchgear within sight of the water at Waiomu or Te Puru can corrode through in a couple of years. We fit weatherproof enclosures, marine-grade outlets and stainless fixings that stand up to it, so you are not redoing the same outlet every few summers.

Battery backup on existing solar

A lot of solar along the coast was put in battery-ready. When the storm-cut tolerance runs out, we add the battery to the existing panels and inverter, usually in a day. See our battery storage page for the options.

Off-grid up the gullies past Tapu

Up the gullies past Tapu, where running a grid connection costs more than a stand-alone system, off-grid solar is the answer. Panels, battery, inverter and a generator for the worst weeks. See our off-grid solar page for how we design them.

Finance Available

Spread the cost of your upgrade

Ask us about Q Card. Get the job done now and pay it off over time.

  • Switchboards
  • Heat pumps
  • Solar
  • Ventilation
  • Larger projects

Banks also offer low-interest green loans for eligible energy efficiency upgrades, worth asking yours. Q Card is provided by a third party, lending criteria, fees and terms apply.

Why Thames Coast homeowners pick Charly

Charly's a registered electrician and electrical inspector, based in Ngatea and working across the Thames Coast for more than 20 years.

Inspector and Electrician on one job

Charly is registered with the EWRB as both an Electrician and an Electrical Inspector. The same person who inspects other people's work wires yours, then checks and certifies it himself.

Swiss precision, Kiwi practicality

Charly trained as an electrician in Switzerland and moved to New Zealand more than 20 years ago. The wiring's tidy, the paperwork's done, and you'll know what's happening and what it'll cost before he starts.

Local, just up the road in Ngatea

We're based just up the road in Ngatea, so we're nearby and easy to get hold of when you need a hand on the Thames Coast. You're dealing with a local who knows the area and the homes around it. Members of Master Electricians NZ and the NZ Trade Group.

How it works

No call-out fee for the chat, and you'll hear back the same day. Here's what booking Charly looks like, start to finish.

1

Get in touch

Call or send a quote request and tell us what is going on. Urgent power faults get bumped up the list.

2

Free on-site visit

Charly comes out, takes a proper look at the job, and writes you a clear quote you can hold us to.

3

Price agreed upfront

We agree the price before any work starts, so there are no surprises on the invoice at the end.

4

Done and tidied up

Work completed, tested and signed off, and the place left tidy before we leave.

Thames Coast electrician FAQs

Straight answers to what bach owners and locals ask before they book a visit. Anything not here, just give us a call.

Can you check a bach is safe before we use it again?
Yes. We isolate the supply, test each circuit, inspect the visible cabling and the switchboard, and give you a written report before you switch on. Mice-damaged cabling in the roof space is the most common issue after winter. Allow a half-day on site for most baches.
We lose power for hours every winter. What are our options?
Three: a portable generator with a manual changeover switch, a permanently installed standby generator with automatic changeover, or hybrid solar with battery backup so there are no fuel runs. We size to your essentials, fridge, water pump, freezer and heating, not the whole house.
Will solar and a battery keep the bach running through a long power cut?
With the right sizing, yes. A typical home battery covers essential loads for roughly 8 to 24 hours depending on capacity and what you have running. We design backwards from the priority circuits, fridge and freezer first, then the pump, then lights and devices, rather than whole-house backup.
Do you do off-grid systems further up the coast?
Yes, for properties up the gullies past Tapu where a grid extension costs more than a stand-alone system. We design and install full off-grid setups, panels, battery, inverter, plus generator backup for the worst-weather weeks. See our off-grid solar page for the design process.
How do you stop salt air wrecking outdoor outlets?
Weatherproof enclosures, marine-grade outlets, stainless-steel screws and properly sealed cable entries. Costs a bit more upfront but lasts a lot longer than standard outdoor gear, which corrodes fast this close to the water.
Can you install a heat pump without damaging the weatherboards?
Yes. We run the cable through the roof space where we can, or in tidy external trunking on weatherboard, clipped neat rather than surface-fixed any old way. The indoor unit goes on an internal wall.
We want an EV charger at the bach. What do we need to know?
Three things matter: supply capacity (older coast baches sometimes need an internal-mains check or a small upgrade first), a dedicated RCD-protected circuit, and where the cable lands relative to the parking spot. We assess on site before quoting.
How long does Powerco take to get the power back on up the coast?
It varies a lot. Big winter storms can mean 12 hours or more for properties up the coast, longer the further north you are. Powerco prioritises by customer numbers, so the small coastal settlements are usually not first. Generator backup is the realistic answer.
Same-Day Callback

Thames Coast sparky, ready when you are

Whatever the job, Charly's the one to call. No call-out fee for the chat, no jargon, and you'll hear back the same day, with urgent work prioritised.

EWRB Registered Electrician + Inspector
20+ Years on the Tools
27 Towns Covered
20+ Five-Star Reviews