Howard Simons Electrical

I called Howard about a plug-in wall plate that stopped working, he told me what the most likely problem was and I tried his solution; it worked this guy is the best

Howard installed a Tesla Wall Connector in my detached garage and was an absolute pleasure to work with. He didn't shy away from having to run dozens of feet of thick wires through existing underground conduit, and accommodated all of my special requests around details of how I wanted him to install everything. He gave by far the most reasonably priced estimate, and was experienced with Tesla chargers already. Equipment functions flawlessly and I can definitely recommend him to anyone else who prefers working with an experienced small business. You're definitely not making a mistake!

Loved that he showed up at in a mask and wore one the whole time he was working in our home.  Safety is really important to us during this time.  He showed up on time, was the best price by far for the work, and finished ahead of schedule.  He worked with us around our timeline and our availability and was extremely communicative.  I felt he was extremely trustworthy and delivery excellent work.  We have found our electrician for all our future work and would extremely recommend.

We had some outside electrical work that needed to be done and based on the Yelp reviews, we contacted Howard.  We couldn't have made a better choice!  Howard was right on time, very courteous, did great work and was quite reasonable with his pricing.  I will be sure to contact Howard in the future for any other electrical issues that may arise in our home.

We called Howard this afternoon (the day before Thanksgiving) when we lost power in 1/3rd of our house.  Howard discovered that our basement renovation resulted in multiple junction boxes being dry-walled over (a big no-no).  After explaining the problem, he took the time to tediously saw holes and follow the BX cable from the fuse box through the ceiling to find the proper junction box.

All in all, it took 3 hours, but Howard found the problem (a bad connection at the junction box) and fixed it.

Sure, we'll have to fix the drywall, but it couldn't have been fixed otherwise. Furthermore, it will allow us to put in the proper access doors at the junction box locations to prevent it from happening again.

With 18 people coming over for Thanksgiving in 16 hours, it would be no understatement to say that Howard saved our Holiday (and at a reasonable price).

We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Howard to anyone needing work done.

It's hard to find a good electrician and one you can trust nowadays. They always wanna price gouge and cheat you for services you don't need. Well that's not the case with Howard. He did a phenomenal job completing 4 new outlets and putting them on a separate circuit. He also did a couple of other things which were not included in the estimate. He charged a fair and honest price and didn't require me to leave any kind of deposit for an estimate. All the work was clean and I have only the utmost respect for what he does. I would highly recommend Howard and would definitely use him again.  He's definitely from the old school of when people actually cared about customer service and doing the job right.

I called Howard again when I ran over a pipe in the back yard and blew a circuit.  He walked me through everything on the phone and then came and fixed it. Howard is great!!!

I called Howard after we had a scary experience one night  with our front hall ceiling fixture, which spouted flames after I screwed in a light bulb. He came over the next day and confirmed that our fixture was shot. He was very prepared and professional and did a fantastic job. I had him come back to install a replacement fixture and install a new one in my daughter's room as well. Both jobs were quick and look great! I would definitely use Howard again!

Howard was prompt and did a great job separating and creating new circuits in our home. We discussed and agreed on pricing before he completed any work, and stuck to the quoted price. I recommend and would definitely use Howard again.

I've been calling on Howard for electrical repairs in my home and condo association for years now. He's prompt, clever, sympathetic, persistent and trustworthy. He'll be totally up front with you about problems and stick with the job until it's finished.

Today I called him about a horrible grinding noise near my breaker panel that had kept me awake all night and been recurring every 5 minutes. He moved his schedule around to get to me within the hour! It took him an additional hour on site to ferret out the source, which wasn't coming from within my condo but from 3 stories down via the conduits. He methodically eliminated every possible cause and explored every avenue to avoid knocking into my walls.

He was also great about coming and going carefully once he realized that my cat likes to bolt out the door.

Totally worth digging out the checkbook for this guy.

Howard is excellent.  I highly recommend him.

I first called him a few weeks ago when I had an electrical issue in my master bath.  While we were talking on the phone, he advised me to check the simple things first, like the circuit breaker.  Turns out, the circuit breaker had popped.  Switched it back on, and most (but not all) of my problem was solved.  I appreciated his willingness to help troubleshoot over the phone -- even when he wasn't getting paid.

Howard came to the house a few days later to resolve the remainder of the issue.  A couple of hours later all was well again!  He even installed an exhaust fan/light while he was here.

Howard is friendly, knowledgeable, prompt, and professional.  If I need any additional electrical work in the future, he's my guy.

I'm going to add my voice to the chorus of people praising Howard. He was such a pleasure to work with-- we needed a more detailed evaluation of a commercial office/industrial space following a somewhat alarming general inspection. Howard made time that week and was flexible when we needed to reschedule. He was the only one of our specialists that requested the home inspection in advance of our meeting -- and actually read it! He came prepared to walk the clients through exactly what the home inspection said and why. He went above and beyond in so many ways. I am a Chicago-dweller so typically I would never have been yelping Skokie electricians so we got lucky. Howard will permanently be in my Rolodex! I don't know how his pricing compares -clients have not embarked on the repairs yet, but Howard would be a welcome addition to any home inspection team.

Edit: also, Michael C, regarding your middling review, if you think an electrician that shows up on time, get the job done within 20 minutes of the anticipated timing, and does not want to repair your BROKEN ELECTRICITY with his shoes off is average, then best of luck finding a professional that will satisfy you. Gross.

We used Howard to have out house rewired. It was built in the late 40's and had old wrapped electrical wires throughout. Howard was great and also added in some additional outlets. We were having our kitchen redone too and he worked with the GC on outlet placement.

After reading the reviews, I have called Howard to get the quote on replacing the electrical panel and circuit breakers in our new house. Howard showed up within few days and gave me price that was way better than the other electrician quoted me. I went with Howard and let me tell you, I was not disappointed at all. Howard put a new panel , secured the open wires and relocated few switches where were hard to reach before. Relocation of those switches, yard light's timers and securing extra wires were not included in the estimate. I was amazed to see he went above and beyond on this project. Very Clean work, very knowledgeable and an honest guy. Definitely recommended.

Believe the glowing reviews: Howard delivers excellent work at a reasonable price. We needed an outlet put behind our mounted TV, and he was able to get the job done perfectly at a price that was a fraction of the one quoted by the bigger companies. Electrical work is not something most people feel comfortable doing on their own (myself included) but you can trust Howard.

Super impressed! Very knowledgeable and fast. He knew exactly what was going on and fixed us right up! Highly recommend!

We needed to have a number of small things done -- fix light switches, replace outdated outlets, install a chandelier -- and Howard had good reviews so we called.

He was able to schedule the appointment pretty quickly after I contacted him, he called when knew he'd be late, he worked hard on our projects, and he did a great job for a good price. We're thrilled with the work!

Howard is fantastic!   Showed up at the time he said he was going to, quickly assessed the issue and charged a reasonable rate.   If you are looking for someone who you can trust, Howard is the guy!  Will definitely use him again.

Look no further if you want an HONEST and EXPERIENCED electrician. During the extreme cold (yes, the one when where it was colder here than in Antarctica) our power went out for a few hours and as a result, several of my circuit breakers did not respond. I have the outdated push-in on/off circuit breakers. Howard told me that these types of circuit breakers are no longer manufactured, but he has a collection of good ones of the type I needed that he had collected over his many years of EXPERIENCES. Here's the HONESTY/KNOWLEDGEABLE part--another not-so-honest or not-as-aware electrician could have told me that because my type of circuit breaker are no longer manufactured I would need to install an entirely new circuit breaker box. Think thousands!!!  He also fixed a ballast  that I thought needed to be replaced. Again, HONESTY and EXPERIENCE. Howard explained I had to have both fluorescent bulbs in place for the fixture to function properly. I only had one in that constantly flickered Of course, he had the exact bulb size I needed (also hard to find). Upon completion, I felt Howard's bill was quite reasonable and all systems are go! [He is also an aficionado repairing and restoring very old cars. :-) ]
My highest recommendation for Howard!

THE BEST! Just like all the other reviewers I'm delighted with the service from Howard. He is highly experienced, thoughtful and kind. Howard came over to fix our garage outlets which were tripping a circuit breaker. He listened carefully to the symptoms, took a targeted approach to problem solving and our issue was fixed in an hour- highly recommended!

After reading the reviews, I would have expected more.  After coming in to the house and helping resolve the problem (a minor one) he stayed around 20 minutes longer to make the total time over 1hr, and billed us more.  He also didn't want to take his shoes off when coming in the house and did not have covers for them...on a rainy day, I would expect a Yelp 5 star to have been more courteous.

On the bright side, he charged the hourly rate that he states and  he came on time.  All in all, an average experience.

Howard is the REAL DEAL.

I needed some major electrical work done on my new (older) home, and had several electricians come in to give me an estimate.  As i mentioned, this was no small job, the house was still wired to a fuse box from the '50s, so hopefully you can imagine what kind of undertaking this was.

Out of all the estimates I received, the thing that stuck out about Howard was his attitude.  While the other 3 electrician's (who I found on Yelp) gave me long-winded, repetitive, and overly salesy pitches; Howard gave it to me straight.  He told me what needed to be done, asked what I wanted to address, informed me how many days the job would potentially take, and then he left.  no nonsense.  no drama.  no BS.

After considering all the other estimates, I chose to move forward with Howard and let me tell you I made the right choice.  Everything I asked for was completed per my original request.  The price was competitive, yet reasonable.  The job was completed on time without any problems.  What more could you want from your electrician.

If you want to be coddled by your electrician, then look elsewhere.
If you want to be 'scared' into getting more work done, then look elsewhere.
If you want to overpay for your electrical work, then look elswhere.

BUT

If you want an experienced electrician who will LISTEN to you, give you a fair deal, and complete the job successfully, then Howard is your guy.

*** if you leave him an email/voicemail, and he doesn't follow-up right away, don't get discouraged.  Howard is a very busy guy and is always out on a job- be patient!  He WILL get back to you.

I called Howard based on his excellent Yelp reviews.  He arrived on time at my house this morning and took care of my electrical issue.  The job turned out to be a bit more extensive than anticipated, yet his pricing was fair and I'm confident with his quality of work.  I am pleased to recommend Howard to other Yelp users..

Howard, on top of being knowledgable, punctual and professional is also personable and a real pleasure to have working in your home. He was able to complete a job that another individual wasn't able to, and we are very pleased with his work!

Hopefully this 5-star review helps balance out the guy who got free advice and decided as a thanks he would harm this guy's perfect rating. What a tool.

I would hire Howard again to do work in my home. The cost was extremely reasonable. The job was installing an extra breaker and running a new circuit in my basement with two extra outlets and extending an existing line for a 3rd outlet. Howard 1) Picked up the phone when I called 2) Came over to provide an estimate quickly 3) Has a good appointment turnaround 4) Shows up on time 5) Keeps the work area clean 6) Is happy to answer any and every question.

We have been burned by different contractors and handymen in different ways (we're young first-time homeowners with a fixer-upper) so I really appreciated that Howard looked at the problem we had, provided a fixed-bid amount to do this job, and made sure that he was doing exactly what we wanted with our home.

I hired Howard Simons Electrical when I somehow lost electricity to the 2nd floor of my house while at work one day. I called Howard at 6:30 pm and he was able to come out the next day (.We used a few long extension cords from downstairs to get us through the night )

Howard tested the circuit box and found the problem quickly.  He went to his truck, got the parts and fixed the problem- and explained what he did and why.  My 2nd floor electricity was restored within 30 minutes and I was charged $100 total parts/labor.  

Howard was very pleasant and courteous and knew what he was doing.

I would not hesitate to hire Howard SImons Electrical for any future electrical repair.

Howard is the man. Straight and to the point. He fixed our electrical breaker problem and was honest about it. I got other electricians to come out and they all said I needed to replace the entire electrical service to the tune of about $2000-3000.

Howard told me that he would not replace the service unless need be and he did not think it was necessary.

He will be our go-to electrician from this point on.

Call Howard, you wont be sorry. He may be busy so be patient and wait for a call back. It is worth the wait for someone honest and whom will save you money in this day and age.

I needed some electrical work done for a kitchen remodel and called Howard Simons from a recommendation by a friend. Not only did he perform the work in a timely, professional manner--he found a serious problem in wiring done by a previous electrician.

Howard is now my go-to guy for any electrical work on my house.

I was visiting family in Skokie and my great-Aunt's ceiling fan had clearly been broken for awhile.  We found Howard on Yelp and he was able to come the next day and fixed it immediately.  He was super pleasant and really knew his stuff.  My great-Aunt now loves him and wants him to fix all her stuff - but I don't know if he'll fix her hip!

Seriously - check this guy out if you live in Skokie area!

Had Howard back to repair some ancient bad wiring.  Thought is was going to be an easy repair but turned out to be very complicated and extensive.  Howard was persistent in finding a solution and made sure that it was fixed appropriately and completely.  Hire this man!

I hired Howard after reading all the wonderful reviews here.  They are all true.  Howard was prompt, courteous and professional.  The work he did in my condo was finished quickly and I was charged a very fair rate.

I am so happy to have a go-to electric guy to use and to recommend to my friends!

Howard Simons is a prideful, experienced , extremely capable and more than anything else, DEPENDABLE !!!
I have hired Howard for mostly electrical work at my home and business. He is also an accomplished carpenter.
IF YOU WANT A CONTRACTOR TO SHOW UP 'ON TIME' EVERY TIME
COUNT ON HOWARD...' I GUARANTEE IT' !!!!!!!
TRY HIM, YOU LIKE HIM

Ok.  I was looking to help a family member with a complicated electrical problem.  Wasn't sure where to turn.  Found H.S.E. on Yelp.  The guy on the phone was helpful.  He told me the path I was currently taking was incorrect.  Saved me some time.  I was grateful for that lil' bit of info.

In my book, that's worth 3-stars.

great service
honest
and very reasonable

hands down someone you can trust.

Howard is legitimately good at what he does.  He is no fuss, no muss, gets the job done.  He will do little jobs, big jobs, etc.  He upgraded my whole house from two prong to grounded outlets, replaced a few sconces, two ceiling fans, installed flourescent lights in my basement and garage and was kind and timely and professional.  I would recommend him to anyone.  He knows his stuff!

Howard Simons is brilliant - not to mention very kind. I had been told by 2 other electricians that my outdoor light fixtures needed to be completely replaced - that the wiring was burnt out and useless. I put off replacing them for a few months and in the meantime, other electrical issues arose throughout my house (bathroom outlets and outdoor outlets). Based on all the excellent Yelp reviews, I thought I would give Howard a try -- thank goodness I did. He showed up on time and worked for several hours. I kept popping my head outside thinking he must need something, but all I saw was Howard going in and out of his truck completely immersed in his work. He not only fixed what I had been told was impossible, he saved me both my time and money by not having to replace light fixtures that he was able to repair! His work did not stop there...he stayed to answer all my questions on exactly what was done, and explained how he fixed things. Howard Simons clearly knows his stuff, enjoys his work and is simply a very nice man! Thank you Howard!

Based on the reviews here, I called Howard first thing on a Monday. We needed someone to figure out why we were living in electric bizarre world. Lights and outlets were working in some parts of the house but not in others. If you turned on the switch in one room, it didn't turn on that room's lights but it did turn on the lights in another room. Lights which previously had worked were now dead (we have a house that was built in the 20s and much of the wiring is still original).

Howard was pleasant and businesslike on the phone, listened to my description of what was going on, asked if it was an emergency (not really...just annoying), and told me that he might be able to come by late that day depending on his previously scheduled work but was definitely available two days later. He said he would let me know as the day progressed if he would be able to come by that same day.

Howard called midafternoon when he was on his way. He diagnosed our problem, explained it, fixed the immediate issue for a fair price, and gave us a fairly-priced cost for replacing the old wiring in our house. He also told us approximately how long that project would take, which is important to me because I telecommute.

Our experience with Howard was wonderful. We look forward to doing business with him for all of our electrical needs in the future. He is friendly, knowledgeable, and explains well what the problem is and how to fix it.

I'm glad I found my new go-to electrician!  Howard is more knowledgeable and experienced than other electricians I've hired. On top of that, he was extremely honest and helpful with all my questions.

I highly recommend him to anyone that wants an honest and professional electrician that gets the job done right.

Howard did some extensive work on rewiring and bringing our new home back up to code. He worked quickly and thoroughly and for a reasonable price ... even when he encountered some further work that needed to be done that would require him to come back for another day. He returned as quickly as he could, despite his busy schedule.

Howard responded to my frantic call on a Sunday.  My smoke/CO2 wired detector battery had died and the detector was chirping despite me having replaced the battery; as I had people coming over for brunch, I needed this fixed asap. Howard was gracious to come over in a timely manner despite having lunch plans of his own.  He fixed the issue quickly; and was very friendly.  I highly recommend him; he is professional, knowledgeable and friendly.

Just had Howard Simons out today.  Called in the morning as we only had half the electrical in the house working.   Fortunately, he was on a job nearby and came out that morning.  He did a very through job diagnosing the problem (which I thought would be storm related and found out I was completely wrong).

Turns out after checking circuit breakers and all the typical stuff, the issue it was my dog urinating on part of the floor over the crawlspace, that dripped down and started to corrode the electrical stuff down there. He replaced what needed replacing and saved me SO much time and most likely, money.   He and his associate were so helpful, calming and trustworthy.  I would definitely use Howard Simons again and recommend him highly.

I  called Howard based on his excellent reviews. He lived up to his reputation. He was prompt, courteous and knowledgeable. I have an older industrial building that needed to be brought up to code by rewiring 3 existing hanging light fixtures and installing bathroom fans. He furnished and installed 8 additional eight foot two-tube florescent fixtures as per estimate. We added 4 new exit signs that were not on the estimate and he installed them with no problem. His work was neat and organized and all was cleaned up at the end of the job. I would use him again and highly recommend him.

I hired Howard in May to upgrade our electrical service from 60A to 200A. He did the work in early June, and promised to return shortly to have it inspected, and ultimately to have the ComEd service replaced.

Repeated emails and phone calls have gone unanswered (it is now late July). I finally called the city myself to have it inspected. Notably, Howard did not pull a permit for the work he did. He made several expensive-to-correct mistakes with regard to Park Ridge code (e.g., not installing the right type of meter socket). Moreover, Howard has not been licensed with Park Ridge in 10 years.

Ultimately, 1.5 months later, the work is not complete, and now I have to pay out of pocket to have his work re-worked by another electrician.

Howard was able to come by on short notice and address an HVAC circuit breaker issue we'd been having. I appreciated his quick turn around time, ability to assess the problem and get our system back up and running in short order.

Based on a number of other positive Yelp reviews, I called Howard to get help with several small electrical tasks including moving a light switch, installing electrical boxes for some vanity lights, fixing a poorly wired outdoor light, and replacing a doorbell. Howard and his coworker showed up exactly when they said they would and they did a great job at a reasonable price.

Howard himself answered the phone and he was at my rental property within a couple hours to replace a bad breaker switch.  He met with my tenants and also fixed a light switch in their apartment.  I wish all contractors worked this way.  Howard was quick, prepared and reasonably priced.  I would definitely use him again and recommend him to others.

I used Howard to install back porch lights for my parents' house and everything went smoothly.  He came when he said and the price was right.  I then called to have him install a front porch light for my house and he cancelled on me twice.  This is fine because I know it's a small job but now he won't respond to my text messages so I can get the job done.  Shame because I had quite a lot of business to throw his way but I like to test out the service before getting to deep in with them and realizing they are unreliable.   Look else where if you want someone you can count on.

Howard came on time, was very professional, and did great work at a great price. Highly recommend!!

Outstanding service and a truly reputable guy! My family is relatively new to Evanston and needed some outdoor porch lighting. During my online search I noticed Howard Simons Electrical and the good words people were saying. Following my experience with Howard I have to agree with them. Howard knows his trade and offered suggestions throughout. The final product (lighting above my back door and flood lights into the yard) was fantastic. He came out to view the project, then we set a date for the job in which he arrived on time and finished on time. The details were handled quite well and his price was very reasonable. If you're looking for some electrical work, Howard is your guy. I highly recommend him!

We hired Howard Simons to install a light fixture over a stairway, a couple of fans, and to convert some light cans to regular light boxes from which to hang fixtures.  We thought we needed to convert the cans to light boxes to allow us to insulate in the ceiling.  Howard gave us an estimate and then came out to do the work.  Long story short, he told us that we could accomplish the insulating without having to replace the cans, installed the light and fans, and also repaired three outdoor outlets and then charged us only 60% of his original estimate.  We would recommend him to anyone and will be sure to hire him again when we need electrical work done.  Thanks, Howard!!!

Howard came highly recommended, and I can see why.  He replaced outdated outlets for us, and was reasonably priced, on time and very flexible.  He's a lot easier to work with than some of the big companies.  And he provides free estimates that he honors--unlike the big guys, too!

Howard is awesome.  We had several issues at our house after buying a foreclosure this winter.  The electrical outside had issues (flood lights, outlets, lamp post), the garage electrical didn't work and a couple of outlets were faulty in the house.  Howard came and did work in two sessions in our house.  He was extremely polite, friendly and honest.  He told us what was wrong and charged us a very fare rate for all of his work.  All of our issues are fixed 5 days after initially calling.  Couldn't be happier!

Howard is FANTASTIC!! I hired him to replace 3 old light fixtures in my home and he did an amazing job! He was on time, reasonably priced and most importantly, honest. While installing the light in my hallway, he found an issue with the wiring in my old, built in the 50's condo. He let me know right away that there was an issue, took the time to explain the problem to me, then checked the wiring on all of the other fixtures in my home as a precaution. He fixed it quickly and for a fair price. As a girl with absolutely NO electrical knowledge, he could have really taken me to the cleaners, but he didn't. He was honest and fair. And when the work was done, he even cleaned up after himself! Now if only I could get my fiancee to do that....

Very experienced.  Very knowledgeable.   Howie always gets the work done right!

Howard did a great job troubleshooting and fixing my electrical outlet problem. He was able to come over the same day that I called and I thought the price was very fair. He is a friendly, knowledgable guy and I will definitely use him again.

Patch job was much easier than I had anticipated, so my 3-star rating was a bit low.

Howard installed my 240 volt 5000 watt electric garage heater last week.  It necessitated a separate line from my basement panel to the garage.  He did it with his assistant in less than 4 hours and it looks and works perfectly.  His charges were very reasonable!  I recommend him to all.

I had installed a ceiling fan, so kinda know what I'm doing, but the light part didn't work. Also one outlet in the room was dead. Howard found the 2 problems were related. Wiring was a mix of cloth covered 40's and some 70's. I watched as he simply hauled new wire from ceiling to outlet to wall switch. Everything works. Two hours start to finish and very reasonable and personable. He's my electrician!

I've Howie do electrical work on my Crown Victoria, and there is no one better for the price than Howard Simons. Can't wait to have more work done! Thanks Howard!

Howard was on time, knowledgable, and did a very good job moving a light fixture including new electrical box.  I would definately recommend him.