The South Side of Bethlehem alone has hundreds of homes built before 1940, many with wiring that has never been comprehensively updated. The North Side adds thousands more mid-century properties with their own electrical histories. Kelley Electric works in all of them, handling everything from targeted circuit additions to full whole-house rewires.
Whole-House Rewiring
A full rewire replaces all of the branch circuit wiring throughout your home with new, code-compliant wiring. It is a significant project that typically involves working in walls, ceilings, attics, and crawl spaces. For homes with active knob-and-tube wiring or seriously deteriorated insulation, it is often the most thorough and lasting solution.
Common situations that lead Bethlehem homeowners to a full rewire include:
- Active knob-and-tube wiring that is still in service
- Wiring with deteriorated insulation from age or heat exposure
- A history of DIY electrical work that was not done correctly
- Aluminum branch circuit wiring from the 1960s and 1970s
- Preparing a historic South Side home for renovation or sale
Knob-and-Tube Wiring Replacement
Knob-and-tube wiring was the standard method in homes built before roughly 1950, and a significant number of Bethlehem’s South Side properties still have it. The system uses separate hot and neutral conductors run through ceramic insulators with no ground wire. It was not designed for modern electrical loads, it becomes brittle and dangerous with age, and many insurance companies will not cover homes with active knob-and-tube systems.
Replacing knob-and-tube is not a simple swap. It requires running new wiring throughout the affected portions of the home and updating the panel connections. We handle all of it and make sure the finished work passes inspection.
Aluminum Branch Circuit Wiring
Homes built on Bethlehem’s North Side during the 1960s and 1970s sometimes have aluminum branch circuit wiring rather than copper. Aluminum expands and contracts differently than copper, which can cause connections to loosen over time and create fire hazards at outlets, switches, and fixtures. We address aluminum wiring through approved remediation methods that restore safe operation without necessarily requiring a full rewire.
Dedicated Circuit Installation
A dedicated circuit serves one device or appliance and is not shared with anything else. Dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, window AC units, EV chargers, and hot tubs all require dedicated circuits. If you are adding any of these to your Bethlehem home, we run the circuit, install the appropriate outlet, and make sure the breaker is properly sized.
110V and 220V Line Installation
Adding a new circuit for a specific appliance, workshop equipment, or a part of your home that needs more power is straightforward work we handle regularly. We run the line, install the outlet, and size everything correctly for the intended load.
Kelley Electric has been serving Bethlehem and the surrounding Lehigh Valley communities since 2008. We are locally operated, licensed, and insured, and we work exclusively on residential properties. Schedule service today or call us at (610) 395-2144.
