Residential New Construction Electrical in South Florida

For custom-home builders, GCs and owners

The electrical scope on a new South Florida home

Who this page is for

This page is for custom-home builders, general contractors, developers of small residential projects and owners building a single-family home in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach. It describes the electrical scope on a new home the way it runs on site, what we need from the builder to price and permit it, and the code items that shape a South Florida house before the first wall goes up.

KRW Electric Company LLC is a Florida certified electrical contractor, license EC13012832, based in Miami Beach, and we handle the electrical permit and inspections on our jobs. Where a project needs engineered electrical drawings, those come from a licensed engineer of record. The building department with jurisdiction over the address has the final word on every requirement below; our South Florida electrical permits guide links each department.

Our scope on a new home

New-home electrical is a sequence of stages, each tied to a trade before it and an inspection after it. These are the services we provide at each stage.

• Electrical planning. Reviewing the plans and the owner's equipment list, the load calculation for the service, panel and meter locations, and the circuit layout, so the permit set and the house agree. See electrical planning.
• Temporary power. The temp stand or pedestal, its permit and inspection, built to the utility's standards so construction power can be connected. See temporary power poles and FPL temp service.
• Underground and slab. Foundation grounding, underground conduit and conductors, and raceways in and under the slab, ready for inspection before backfill and the pour.
• Rough-in. Boxes, cable, panel and grounding installed with the framing open, protected and left accessible for the rough inspection. See rough-in wiring.
• Service. The service entrance, meter enclosure, main disconnect, surge protection and outdoor emergency disconnect, built to the utility's service standards and the building department's elevation requirement.
• Trim and finish. Devices, fixtures, plates and covers, panel completion and labeling, and testing. See finish electrical.
• Final. The final electrical inspection, and the step that lets the utility energize the permanent service.

Around that core, we also handle the systems that often come with a custom home: standby generators, EV chargers, surge protection, pool and spa electrical, dedicated circuits for equipment, lighting and low-voltage wiring.

What we need from the builder

Missing information is an avoidable source of delay. This is what we ask for before pricing, and what the permit and the utility will need later.

• Plans. The architectural set with the electrical sheets, plus any engineered electrical drawings, the site plan, and the kitchen and lighting layouts. The permit is reviewed against the approved plans, and so is each inspection.
• Load calculation inputs. Conditioned square footage and the equipment list with nameplate data: HVAC equipment, water heater, range, cooktop and ovens, dryer, pool and spa equipment, any EV charger, and whether a standby generator is planned. The service size follows from these. Our guide to the electrical load calculation for a permit explains the methods.
• Flood elevation. The flood zone and the required flood elevation for the lot, from the building department and the elevation certificate. Electrical equipment has to be at or above it, and it decides where the meter, disconnect and panel can go.
• Utility information. Which utility serves the lot (FPL, Homestead's HPS Energy or Lake Worth Beach), the FPL project or work request details once the application is in, and the point of delivery and meter location FPL designates.
• Permit and schedule. The master permit number once issued, the Notice of Commencement where the job needs one, and the construction schedule so rough, slab and trim can be sequenced with the other trades.

FPL's standards ask that FPL be contacted before service equipment is purchased and installed, to confirm service availability and the point of delivery (FPL Electric Service Standards). The utility side is covered in FPL's new construction service process.

Code items that shape a new home

Florida's current building code, the 8th Edition (2023), adopts NFPA 70-2020, the 2020 National Electrical Code, for residential electrical work (FBC-Residential Chapter 34). The 9th Edition, which would move Florida to NEC 2023, is proposed to take effect Dec 31, 2026; it is not yet adopted (Florida Administrative Register notice). These items affect layout and budget on a new house.

Outdoor emergency disconnect

Under NEC 230.85 (2020), one- and two-family dwellings need an emergency disconnect at a readily accessible outdoor location: the service disconnect, a meter disconnect marked for the purpose, or another listed switch or breaker on the supply side (Leviton NEC 2020 summary). It changes the meter and main arrangement, so it is planned at the start, not at trim.

Surge protection at the service

NEC 230.67 (2020) requires a Type 1 or Type 2 surge protective device for dwelling unit services, integral to the service equipment or immediately adjacent to it (Leviton NEC 2020 summary). The panel location needs room for it. See surge protection.

GFCI and AFCI

The 2020 code's section 210.8 covers GFCI protection by location, and 210.8(F) added dwelling outdoor outlets up to 150 volts to ground and 50 amps (Leviton NEC 2020 summary). Florida amended that rule to exempt listed and labeled HVAC equipment (FBC-R E3408.1). Arc-fault protection is covered by 210.12, and Miami-Dade's inspection checklist looks for smoke alarms interconnected and on arc-fault protected circuits at rough (Miami-Dade electrical inspection guidelines). Our guide to GFCI and AFCI requirements in Florida goes further.

Flood elevation

Florida's residential code, section R322.1.6, requires electrical systems, equipment and components to be at or above the required flood elevation, with limited exceptions, including wiring that meets wet-location rules and pool equipment under specific conditions (Palm Beach County flood requirements summary). Standby generators follow the same rule under M1905.2.2 (Florida Division of Emergency Management flood provisions). The meter elevation itself is set by the inspecting authority, not the utility, and FPL's standards describe platform access when meters are raised (FPL Electric Service Standards). See flood zone electrical requirements.

Garages and outlets

The 2020 code also added a dedicated 120 V, 20 A circuit for garage vehicle-bay receptacles (210.11(C)(4)) and extended tamper-resistant receptacles to garages and accessory buildings (406.12) (Leviton NEC 2020 summary). The broader list is in our guide to NEC 2020 requirements for new homes in Florida.

The inspections, in order

Each stage above ends with an inspection. In unincorporated Miami-Dade, the electrical codes include 012 Temporary for Construction, 074 Foundation Grounding, 023 Underground, 006 Slab, 002 Rough, 013 Temporary for Test, 048 Rough/Slab for pools, 064 Accessibility and 001 Final (Miami-Dade inspection codes). Palm Beach County and each city use their own names and codes. Our guides walk through them:

• The electrical inspection sequence for new construction: every stop in order and what it checks.
• Electrical rough-in inspection checklist: a printable list from the county's inspector guidelines.
• Final electrical inspection checklist: devices, protection, the panel directory and the outdoor disconnect.
• What to do after a failed inspection: corrections and re-inspections, step by step.

Scheduling is by permit number and code. Miami-Dade takes requests online or at 786-315-2100 by 4 p.m. the business day before (Miami-Dade inspections).

Working with the GC

On a new home the electrical schedule is tied to everyone else's. The coordination points that matter most are the slab pour, framing complete for rough, the insulation and drywall start after rough approval, cabinet and fixture selections before rough, and the utility's site-readiness requirements before permanent power. We ask for the schedule early and keep the electrical inspections moving so no trade covers work that is still waiting. Our page for general contractors covers how we work as the electrical subcontractor, and what GCs should require from an electrical subcontractor is a useful list at bid time.

For larger ground-up work, including multifamily and commercial buildings, see our new construction electrical services page. To talk about a specific home, send us the plans and equipment list or call (305) 359-7312.