A garden room without power is a shed with better glazing. Getting electricity to it properly is a legal matter, not just a practical one — outdoor circuits are covered by Building Regulations. Here’s what a compliant installation involves, what it typically costs, and which parts VeltHaven handles.
The short answer
Yes, you need a qualified electrician. A garden room takes a dedicated circuit run from your house’s consumer unit, through armoured (SWA) cable (usually buried in a trench) to a small consumer unit in the room itself. In England and Wales this is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations, so it must be done by a registered electrician who certifies it (or signed off through building control). Budget roughly £500–£1,500 for a typical connection run, more for long gardens or difficult routes. The wiring inside a VeltHaven room is part of the build; the connection run to your house is quoted up front from your site photos.
What a proper installation looks like
A compliant garden room supply has five parts:
- A dedicated circuit from the house consumer unit, not an extension lead, not a spur off the kitchen sockets. It gets its own breaker and RCD protection, so a fault in the garden room can’t take the house down (or vice versa).
- SWA (steel wire armoured) cable between house and room — normally in a trench, below spade depth, along a route agreed before the base goes in. Overhead runs are possible but rarely the tidy option.
- A small consumer unit in the garden room with its own RCBOs for sockets, lighting and any heating circuit.
- The room’s internal wiring (sockets, lighting, switching) designed for how you’ll use it (an office wants sockets at desk height; a gym wants them out of the way).
- Certification — an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) from a registered electrician. Keep it: you’ll want it for insurance and when you sell the house.
Is it legal to do it yourself?
Mostly, no. In England and Wales, new outdoor circuits are notifiable under Part P: either a registered electrician (NICEIC, NAPIT or similar) does the work and self-certifies, or you pay building control to inspect a DIY installation — which usually costs more than hiring the electrician. Scotland has its own, broadly stricter, system. Non-notified electrical work can void insurance and surfaces as a problem in conveyancing when you sell. More in our building regulations guide.
None of this is a reason to be put off — it’s a routine job for any registered electrician. It’s a reason not to let anyone talk you into “just running a lead out”.
What it costs
| Item | Typical 2026 cost |
|---|---|
| Connection run (trench, SWA, connection both ends) | £500 – £1,500 |
| Long or awkward runs (60m+, driveways to cross) | £1,500 – £2,500+ |
| Consumer unit upgrade at the house (if yours is full or dated) | £500 – £1,000 |
Two honest caveats. First, the trench matters: digging it yourself, or having it dug alongside the groundwork for the base, saves a meaningful slice of the electrician’s bill. Second, an older fuse board with no spare ways may need upgrading before anything can be connected — worth checking before you order any garden building, from anyone.
What VeltHaven includes
The room’s internal electrics come with the package you choose. Signature includes a complete concealed electrical first fix — a consumer unit installed, and wiring prepared for lighting, sockets and heating, run inside the walls while they’re open, by a qualified UK-registered electrician to BS 7671; your own electrician then completes the second fix and issues the final certificate. Executive goes further and includes the full installation (sockets, switches, LED lighting, Daikin heating and cooling, networking and safety systems) tested, certified and commissioned before handover. The connection run from your house is the part that varies by site, which is why we quote it from your photos before you commit — the same way the base is handled. No installation-day surprises.
Planning to heat and cool the room with a Daikin heat pump (included with Executive), or charge a car nearby with an EV charger? Say so before the electrician sizes the supply — a heat pump or 7kW charger changes the cable calculation, and it’s cheap to allow for now and expensive to redo later.
Get the sequence right
The cheapest electrical installation is the one planned before the base is poured:
- Decide what the room needs to power (office kit is trivial; a heat pump, air-conditioning or an EV charger is not).
- Agree the cable route and who digs the trench.
- Book the electrician for the connection run around your installation date.
- Building installed, internal electrics in, connection made, certificate issued.
Price your room and specification in the configurator — the estimate updates live, and your deposit is fully refundable until you pay your balance.
Garden room electrics FAQs
Can I run a garden room off an extension lead?
For a laptop on a summer afternoon, physically yes. As the permanent supply, no: leads and outdoor sockets aren’t designed for continuous load, heaters will trip or cook them, and nothing about it is certified. A dedicated circuit is the difference between a room and a liability.
How much power does a garden office need?
Less than people fear: a desk setup, lighting and a monitor or two draw a few hundred watts. It’s heating that sets the requirement — which is why the circuit is sized for the room’s heating choice, not the laptop.
Does the electrician need to visit before I order?
Not for the room itself — VeltHaven quotes the internal package and assesses your site from photos. For the connection run, a local electrician quoting from the same photos plus a look at your consumer unit is usually enough.
Do garden room electrics need building regs sign-off?
The electrical work does — that’s Part P, handled by the registered electrician’s certification. The building itself usually doesn’t (under 30 m², not slept in); see the building regulations guide.
Every VeltHaven building is delivered and installed by a UK-registered company (Companies House 17261887), with the VeltHaven 10-Year Structural Warranty (2 years full warranty + structural cover to year 10). Does not affect your statutory rights.
