There's something about the smell of hot asphalt and the hum of a transformer that tells me it's summer. While most people are heading to the lake or turning on their air conditioning, I'm putting on my steel-toe boots, grabbing my tool belt, and putting on my bright yellow hi-vis reflective shirt. Every electrician needs this shirt to survive the hot weather.
6:00 a.m. – The Sun is about to be beaten!
Summer days start early. I get up before the sun has had its coffee. Why? By 11 o'clock at morning, the high-visibility shirt will start to feel more like a personal sauna than personal protective equipment. But I still wear it every day. Reflective strips might not let me breathe, but they make sure I can be seen, especially around heavy machinery and distracted drivers. I've seen what happens when someone isn't. I'd rather get really hot and sweaty than end up hitting someone's car.
7:30 a.m. – Starting the day
Whether I'm running new cables in a building or fixing a problem with a breaker in a home attic, the job always involves using both my brain and my muscles. In summer, you also need to think about how to keep your horse cool. Every attic feels like an oven, and the insulation? That stuff sticks to everything like fiberglass confetti. I learned fast to keep myself hydrated. You should drink at least one bottle every hour. It might be more if the ground is covered in blacktop.
That shirt? It will be wet by 10 a.m. But, strangely, it stops the sun from reaching my skin. It's better to have a wet shirt than sunburned arms, especially when you're working with metal that feels hot.
12:00 PM – Lunch in the shade
I usually have lunch wherever I can find shade. That could be a tailgate, under a tree, or if I'm lucky, inside a building with some airflow. In the summer, there's a friendly atmosphere among the tradespeople. You'll see us all in different bright colours – yellow, orange, green – looking like the brightly coloured markers used on construction sites. We nod at each other, drink our water and maybe complain a little about the heat. But we keep going.
It's 2:30pm at The Drag.
This is the hardest part of the day. The sun is high in the sky, my shirt is stiff with sweat and dust, and I am starting to feel tired. Sometimes I have to crawl under a building or up into an attic, and the reflective shirt feels like armour in a medieval battle against the elements.
But the work doesn't stop. Electricity doesn't care if it's hot or cold. Even if the power outlets are dead, they still need to be checked. The control panels still need to be upgraded, and people still need electricity to keep their fans working.
5:30 PM – Summary and thoughts (literally)
By the time I've finished packing the tools and closing the circuits, I'm completely exhausted. My shirt, which used to be bright and clean, is now dirty and stained with grime and sweat. But it did its job – I stayed visible, I stayed safe, and I stayed working.
When I get back to the truck, I take the sticker off, throw it in the laundry, and let the air conditioner cool me down for a few minutes. Tomorrow, I'll put on a fresh one and do it all again.
When you're an electrician in the summer, especially one wearing hi-vis shirt, you don't just work with electricity—you live wired.