Planning the electrical installation and estimating the costs

Part of an electrician's job is to understand complex circuit diagrams and install components. As an electrician, you need to be familiar with physics, create electrical systems and prototypes and calculate circuits. We have already mentioned this. It sounds complicated but doable, but that's not all.

Customers have their own ideas about what they need. There is also a budget. This means that you are given guidelines that you have to follow and limits that you also have to adhere to in financial terms.

You must therefore be able to plan the electrical installations, discuss the plans with the customer and explain the costs involved. You can't work with just any costs, you have to work within the given framework.

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes

How are electrical installations planned?

Electrical appliances, lamps, switches and sockets all require electricity without overloading the system. They must function safely and reliably and provide the power that is needed. This requires electrical installations that are professionally planned and implemented.

The planning is also part of the overall construction planning, as the builders must ensure that all installations can be set up as intended. This is done, for example, by laying empty conduits through which the cables can later be pulled.

Nothing works without electricity. Yet installations are now more demanding than ever before, even in simple houses. Heating systems, fresh air supply and safety equipment must also be supplied with electricity. Electricity is now not only supplied via the public grid. It is often generated directly on the house via photovoltaics and can even be fed into the grid.

These challenges require a well-planned approach that begins with electrical planning. The builders must already think about where the lights are to be installed and where which electrical appliances, such as a stove, are to be connected.

What are standards for electrotechnical installations?

Standards apply to the electrical installations, such as the DIN 18015 for the minimum equipment, also known as equipment 1. Smart homes, on the other hand, need far more than the minimum equipment. There are lots of switches, dimmers and sockets.

For an apartment with a living space of 50 to 75 square meters, at least three circuits must be installed. These are used for lighting and supplying sockets. For a house with a living space of 125 square meters, 6 circuits are required.

The equipment 2 is the so-called standard equipment and the equipment 3 is the comfort equipment. There are also variants with a plus. For a smart home, equipment 3 with at least one plus is usually required.

For standard equipment, a living room of 20 square meters requires three connections for lighting and 11 sockets for general use. There are also connections for communication, television and data transmission.

Individual needs must also be taken into account. Should the household be equipped with a video camera at the door? Should the roller shutters be controlled automatically? Do you want timers? How many TV connections are needed? Is an additional row of sockets required in case the seating area needs to be rearranged?

How can I estimate the costs for the electrical installations?

Direct Costs for the electrical installations for the house are usually based on the construction costs. If equipment 1 is required, it accounts for around 3 % of the total construction costs. For equipment 2, this is already 4 % and with equipment 3, the costs rise to 4.8 % of the total budget.

If money is tight, there are other options. This means that subsequent installations can be facilitated without having to set them up directly. This can be done, for example, by laying installation pipes and flush-mounted boxes. The level of equipment can then be quickly increased later.

What does this look like in euros? For the simplest equipment, which only includes lights and sockets, it is around 10,000 euros. Programmable electric thermostats and switches can quickly add up to a total cost of 15,000 euros.

Can you reduce costs with your own work?

Generally speaking, the installation of electronics is a job for professionals. Nevertheless, it is possible for builders to provide their own services as private electricians, so to speak, and thus reduce costs. For example, they can install the empty conduits themselves. They can also pull cables and it is also possible for them to connect the switches and sockets.

In this context, however, it is important to note that this is not simply done by the builder. He must first consult with the electrician and the electrician must also approve all installations at the end.

Certain types of work can be not carried out by the client . These are:

• Setting up the fuse box
• Connection to the supply network

As this is where the greatest demands are placed on safety, this work should only be carried out by a professional electrician.

When carrying out their own work, builders must also adhere to the rules of technology. Therefore, consultation with and supervision by an electrician are necessary. This means that the costs for the electrician cannot be saved 100 % by carrying out the work yourself.

Cables must be laid in installation zones. These are located at the edges of walls and ceilings. They must be laid either directly parallel or across the floor. A cable cannot be laid diagonally across a wall. This means that anyone can find the cables quickly if required and they are not accidentally hit when drilling.

Connecting certain electrical appliances is not always very challenging and can be done by the builder. However, this is not the case when it comes to older installations or older properties. Here, electricians have to check and analyze the installations and determine what can be safely connected and where.

What other factors influence the cost of the electrical installation?

The cost of electrical installations depends on many factors, so it is not easy to give a general figure. This is also due to the fact that building technology as a whole has developed rapidly and is therefore subject to constant change.

Although the basic supplies are still sockets, lighting, switches, cables and distributors, the requirements nowadays go far beyond this. What's more, even the basic equipment can lead to cost differences. This depends on how much lighting, how many sockets and how many switches are required. Which manufacturer do they come from and which switch range is used?

What are cost-driving factors?

The drives for electric blinds, the supply of multimedia devices, alarm and monitoring systems, communication systems and more - all of which drives the costs up even further. There are practically no upper limits.

To determine the costs, it is therefore important to know exactly which components from which manufacturer are to be installed where. Nowadays, there is also the question of whether a classic installation or bus cabling is required.

• The classic installation sets separate circuits for the lighting and for the sockets. The switches are integrated directly into the circuits so that they can be switched on and off individually.
• However, when it comes to modern building system technology, it's better to combine its capabilities with bus cabling to make full use of them. The cables for the power supply and the control of the individual components are separated. This means that there is separate cabling for transmitting the control signals and cabling for the power supply. The bus for the control signals then connects the control logic in the computer with the sensors located on the doorbell, switches, touchscreens and outside the house for the weather. The central control logic is located in the distribution box, where the actuators that control the system are also located. The consumers are then connected to the distribution box in the form of a star.

This means that considerably more cables are required, which in itself drives up the costs. Then there are the costs for the components themselves, i.e. the actuators, sensors and control logic.

Which are additional costs for outdoor facilities ?

Then there are the outdoor facilities, which represent a further factor. These must also be taken into account when calculating the costs for the electrical installations. The associated additional costs are often considerable. In addition to the doorbell, they also include the lighting for the door area. There is also the electrical supply for the patio and garden. The shed and garage also need electricity. If there is a separate entrance gate, an electrical installation must also be taken into account here. This consists of lighting, intercom systems and motion detectors. The cables are then laid as underground cables from the house to the system.

How are costs for electrical installations determined exactly?

Optimum planning is the prerequisite for determining the exact costs of the electrical installations. To do this, the components required for each room should be determined in advance. This includes every lamp, every light, every switch, every socket, every motion detector and every electric roller shutter . All connections for antennas and communication , should be taken into account.

This means that builders need to think about how the rooms will be used in advance. It has proven helpful to take a virtual tour of the planned house. This starts with the entrance area and then goes into every room, discussing where the light should be, where it should be switched on and off and where the sockets should be located. All other components must also be discussed. This takes time and patience.

If there are rooms whose use has not yet been determined, it is advisable to work with empty conduits and empty sockets and a minimum configuration. This can then be easily expanded.

It is also important to plan the connections for powerful appliances from the onset - such as a stove. The locations for the main and sub-distribution boards must also be discussed. What telecommunications services are required? How should the bathroom be equipped? The latter comes with special requirements with regard to installations in wet rooms.

What are guide values for the cost calculation?

The costs of the electrical installations for a new construction amount to around 2 to 5 % of the total costs. There are guideline values that can be used for the costs of electrical installations. These also include various factors that influence the costs.

The classic electrical installation in the basic configuration costs 3 % of total costs for the new building. This means that if a new building costs €300,000, around €9,000 must be budgeted for the electrical installations. However, this is a rough guide.

Another way is to estimate the costs according to the number of square meters. For one square meter it will then cost between €75 and €90 . This means costs of €15,000 to €18,000 for a house with 200 square meters.

If a modern bus system is to be set up, there are naturally also higher costs. These result from the greater expense for the cabling, the additional material, the actuators, the sensors and the control logic.

The starting point for a bus system is the cost of the basic equipment. Once these have been calculated, the amount is increased by 50 to 100 %, depending on the quantity and type of components installed.

What potential savings are there for electrical installations?

In competition, it is possible to score points with lower prices compared to the competition. However, work is associated with certain costs. Material costs are incurred, employees have to be paid and the company wants to make a profit.

It is still possible to win customers through targeted savings potential. In doing so, you can give them more freedom. Instead of reducing the profit share, it often makes more sense to transfer certain cost factors to the client - provided they are willing to take them on.

Can you reduce labor costs with your own work?

Labor costs are usually the biggest factor when it comes to the installation of equipment. In general, the costs can be divided into 60 % labor costs and 40 % material costs.

If a building owner wishes to carry out the work themselves, this can be allowed. It should be noted that certain systems may only be installed by specialist personnel who have the necessary qualifications. However, the client can install the other systems themselves if they wish.

Often enough, expensive tools are required for the work. Many companies score points here by letting the client carry out the work themselves, supervising it with an electrical engineering site manager if necessary and even providing the necessary tools. At the end, the work is then approved by the specialist personnel.

In this way, the company saves on labor costs and can pass these savings on to the client. Self-performed labor can reduce the total costs by €2,000 to €3,000.

What are savings potential through the reduction of material costs?

There is another opportunity to save on the cost of materials. Online retailers often have better prices than specialist retailers. However, there are also limits here. The electrical contractors calculate with the profit from the sale of the material to the builder. However, it is possible for the builder to order the required material himself. In this way, they can reduce both their own costs and the operating costs incurred by purchasing the materials and the associated work.

It is important that the client coordinates with the company. This ensures that the client only procures the material that the company approves. This also includes ensuring the quality of the material, which is not always the same in online retail stores as in specialist retail.

The company should also advise the client to only order from reputable dealers who allow returns. It is always possible to order the wrong material or the right material in the wrong quality. In this case, it is therefore very important to return the material so that the builder is not left with the wrong material. If the specifications are adhered to and the company is cooperated with, the home builders benefits from savings potential in the range of €1,000 to €2,000.

The magic word "future-proof" offers another opportunity for savings. Instead of installing only the most modern components now and already covering the needs of the next 80 years, simpler equipment can be selected. This is then fitted with certain precautions so that it can be expanded quickly and easily in the future.

Cutting costs with personnel from Eastern Europe

Would you like to save on electrical installations? With qualified skilled workers from Eastern Europe - whether as a subcontractor or via temporary employment - this can be realized efficiently and cost-effectively.

We, from Zeitarbeit International place experienced electrician cable technicians from Poland, Turkey,, Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine, Latvia and other Eastern European countries. Our temporary workers electricians, electrical assistants, assembly assistants, auxiliary staff for electrical engineering and industrial assembly are deployed for various tasks in the electrical industry. Looking for an electrician? Then you've come to the right place! We offer you a large selection of electricians.