Kitchen electrical requirements for a UK refit

What load a modern kitchen actually draws

An older kitchen might have had a cooker, a kettle and a fridge. A current one routinely has an induction hob, a double oven, a dishwasher, a washing machine, a tumble dryer, a microwave, a boiling water tap and a wine cooler, plus everything that lands on the worktop. Several of those run simultaneously at the exact moment everyone wants dinner.

The practical consequence is that a kitchen refit is rarely a matter of moving a couple of sockets. The existing ring final circuit was very likely designed for a different decade, and the cooker circuit was sized for a gas hob with an electric oven rather than an induction hob drawing seven kilowatts on its own.

• Induction hobs usually need their own dedicated supply
• Ovens over the manufacturer's stated rating need a separate circuit from the hob
• Fixed appliances need accessible isolation, not just a plug behind a fitted unit
• Extractors, plinth heaters and boiling taps all add load that is easy to overlook

Circuits and dedicated supplies

The starting point is an assessment of the existing installation: what the board can take, how many spare ways exist, whether the protection is adequate, and what the earthing arrangement is. In many South Wales properties the honest answer is that the board is full and the kitchen work needs a board upgrade first. That is better discovered at survey than on the day the fitters arrive.

As a rule, high load fixed appliances get their own circuit, and worktop socket outlets are grouped so that a fault at one appliance does not take out the whole room. Splitting kitchen sockets from the rest of the ground floor also means a tripping dishwasher does not plunge the living room into darkness.

Where sockets can and cannot go

There is no rule banning a socket near a sink, but there is a firm expectation of sensible design and safe separation from water and from heat sources such as hobs. In practice that means keeping socket outlets a reasonable distance from the sink and hob, and never siting one where it will be reached across a hot ring.

Height and access matter too. Socket outlets serving fixed appliances need to be reachable for isolation, which is why grid switches above the worktop are so common: the appliance plugs in behind the unit and the switch that kills it is where you can actually get at it.

• Group worktop sockets in usable clusters rather than one per wall
• Use above worktop switching for appliances that sit behind fitted units
• Keep outlets sensibly clear of the sink and hob
• Plan under cabinet lighting supplies at first fix, not afterwards

Lighting a kitchen properly

Kitchen lighting works in layers. A general ceiling layer, a task layer over the worktop and sink where you actually cut things, and often a low level or plinth layer for the evening. Trying to do all three from one pendant in the centre of the ceiling is why so many kitchens feel gloomy at the worktop even though the room is bright.

Task lighting under wall units needs a supply run before the units are fitted, and the driver needs somewhere accessible to live. Retro fitting it later is possible but usually means lifting a worktop or chasing a finished wall.

Notification, certification and sequencing

New circuits in a kitchen are notifiable work under Part P. Using a registered electrician means the work is self certified and notified for you, and you receive an Electrical Installation Certificate along with the compliance notice. Keep both: they matter when you sell and they matter to insurers.

On sequencing, the electrical first fix happens after the old kitchen is stripped and before plastering, and the second fix happens once the units and worktops are in. The single most common cause of delay is deciding on appliances after first fix, because appliance choice determines circuits. Choose the hob before the cables go in the wall.