COST GUIDE

Garage Electrical Installation Cost UK 2026: Garage Wiring Prices

Detailed breakdown of garage electrical installation costs in the UK for 2026 — detached garage from £800, integral garage from £400, SWA armoured cable and trenching costs, garage consumer unit, EV charger add-ons, and Part P compliance.

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10 min readUpdated 2026-06-10Andrew Moore, Founder of Elec-Mate

Written and reviewed by Andrew Moore, founder of Elec-Mate, against BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, IET Guidance Note 3 and the IET On-Site Guide.

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Key Takeaways

  • 1A detached garage electrical installation typically costs £800 to £2,000, with the main variable being the length of the armoured cable run from the house and whether trenching through a driveway or garden is required.
  • 2An integral (attached) garage electrical installation is simpler, costing £400 to £800, as the cable run is short and no external trenching is required.
  • 3SWA (Steel Wire Armoured) cable is required for any underground cable run to a detached garage. Unprotected SWA must be buried at a minimum depth of 600 mm (BS 7671 Reg 730.521.101.3.2 NOTE 1); a shallower depth is permissible only with additional mechanical protection such as conduit or cover tiles. Trenching, sand bedding, and cable covers add £20 to £50 per metre to the installation cost.
  • 4A dedicated consumer unit in a detached garage is strongly recommended and is required under BS 7671 where the supply enters at a point remote from the main board. Expect to pay £300 to £600 for a small garage consumer unit.
  • 5Adding a 7kW EV charger to a garage installation costs an additional £600 to £1,200 (excluding the charger unit), but if the consumer unit and cable are being installed anyway, the marginal cost of adding an EV circuit is much lower.
01 · Cost Guide

Garage Electrical Installation — What to Expect

Whether you are wiring a detached garage for the first time or upgrading an existing supply, a properly installed garage electrical system transforms the space. Lighting, power tools, EV charging, and security are all possible with the right installation. The key variables that affect cost are whether the garage is attached or detached, the length of the cable run, and whether trenching is required.

  • Detached garage (standard) — £800 to £2,000. Includes SWA cable, trenching through garden, small consumer unit, lighting, and socket circuits.
  • Integral (attached) garage — £400 to £800. No external cable run required. Circuits fed from the main house consumer unit through the party wall.
  • EV charger add-on — £600 to £1,200 additional (excluding the charger unit). Significantly cheaper when done at the same time as the garage wiring rather than as a separate job later.

All garage electrical installations are notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations. A registered competent person scheme electrician self-certifies the work without a separate building control application.

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02 · Cost Guide

Detached Garage Electrical Costs

A detached garage installation involves running an armoured cable from the main house consumer unit to the garage, typically underground. The installation scope and cost break down as follows:

  • Short run (up to 10 metres, garden) — £800 to £1,200. Typically one day's work. Includes 6mm² SWA cable, shallow trench through lawn, small consumer unit, one lighting circuit, one socket circuit.
  • Medium run (10–25 metres, mixed surfaces) — £1,200 to £1,600. Longer cable run, possible trenching through path or patio, increased materials cost.
  • Long run (over 25 metres, or under concrete driveway) — £1,600 to £2,000+. Under-driveway cable requires diamond cutting or boring through the concrete slab, significant reinstatement, and potentially a larger cable size to account for volt drop (Regulation 525 of BS 7671).

On very long runs, the electrician should calculate volt drop using the design current and cable impedance. A 6mm² SWA cable on a 30-metre run with a 40A supply may have acceptable volt drop; a 10mm² cable may be required on longer runs or where an EV charger adds significant load.

03 · Cost Guide

Integral Garage Electrical Costs

An integral or attached garage shares a wall with the house, making the electrical installation significantly simpler. There is no external cable run, no armoured cable, and no trenching. The circuits are fed from the main house consumer unit through the party wall.

  • Basic integral garage (lighting and sockets) — £400 to £600. One lighting circuit, one socket circuit (ring main or radial), tested and certified. Consumer unit has spare capacity.
  • Integral garage with consumer unit upgrade — £800 to £1,200. New 18th Edition compliant steel consumer unit in the house, plus all garage circuits.
  • Integral garage with EV charger — £1,000 to £1,800. Dedicated 32A EV charger circuit, consumer unit work if required, and charger installation. Does not include the cost of the charger unit itself.

For an integral garage, standard 2.5mm² twin and earth cable is acceptable for the socket circuit inside the garage wall, provided it is run in a safe zone or mechanically protected. The supply from the house consumer unit to the garage can be via the party wall without armoured cable if entirely within the building structure.

04 · Cost Guide

SWA Armoured Cable and Trenching

The underground supply to a detached garage must use SWA (Steel Wire Armoured) cable. This is a robust cable designed for direct burial in the ground and provides mechanical protection against accidental damage from future excavation.

  • Standard domestic supply: 6mm² SWA — suitable for most domestic garages with lighting, sockets, and a small workshop. Typically 40A or 50A MCB protection at the main board.
  • EV charger supply: 10mm² SWA — a 7kW EV charger draws 32A continuously. On a longer cable run, 10mm² SWA is required to keep volt drop within the 3% limit for the final circuit.
  • Burial depth: 600mm minimum (unprotected cable) — BS 7671 Reg 730.521.101.3.2 NOTE 1 gives 0.6 m as the generally accepted minimum to avoid damage. A shallower depth is permissible only where additional mechanical protection (conduit, duct, or cover tiles) is provided. Sand bedding above and below, plus cable covers, are mandatory regardless of depth.
  • Overhead alternative — where trenching is not feasible, an overhead supply on a catenary wire is an option. Minimum height of 3.5 m above ground (6 m where vehicles can pass underneath — BS 7671 Regs 708.521.7.3 and 730.521.101.3.3). Cheaper than cutting through a concrete driveway but less aesthetically pleasing.
05 · Cost Guide

Garage Consumer Unit

A detached garage must have its own local consumer unit (distribution board) at the point where the supply enters the building. This provides protection for the garage circuits independently of the main house board.

  • Small 4-way consumer unit — £300 to £450 fitted. Suitable for a standard garage with one lighting circuit, one socket circuit, and one or two spares. Steel enclosure, dual RCD or RCBO protection.
  • Larger 6–8 way consumer unit — £400 to £600 fitted. Accommodates an EV charger circuit, workshop power circuit, outdoor sockets, and a security lighting circuit in addition to the standard circuits.
  • Isolation switch — a lockable isolator on the garage consumer unit is best practice, allowing the supply to the garage to be safely isolated. Particularly useful if the garage is let to a tenant or shared.

A4:2026 Certification Note

BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 Regulation 133.1.3 requires that certain equipment selections — including the type of RCD and whether an Arc Fault Detection Device (AFDD) is fitted — are explicitly recorded on the Electrical Installation Certificate (Part 6). If the garage consumer unit is installed or replaced after the A4:2026 effective date, the electrician must complete these fields on the EIC. Regulation 421.1.7 recommends AFDDs for final circuits supplying socket-outlets; they are mandatory in Higher Risk Residential Buildings, HMOs, student accommodation, and care homes. For a standard domestic garage, an AFDD is recommended but not mandatory — the decision and the device type used must still be recorded on the EIC.

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06 · Cost Guide

EV Charger Add-On to Garage Installation

Adding an EV charger to a garage electrical installation is increasingly common. If you are already having the garage wired, the additional cost of adding an EV charger circuit is much lower than having it installed as a standalone job at a later date.

  • 7kW (32A) home charger circuit — adds £200 to £400 to the installation cost if done at the same time as the garage wiring. The main cable and consumer unit costs are already covered.
  • As a standalone job — £600 to £1,200 for the EV charger circuit and installation (not including the charger unit itself, which costs £500 to £900 for a quality smart charger).
  • Cable sizing for EV — a 7kW charger requires a 32A dedicated circuit. At 32A continuous, the supply SWA cable must be sized for this current with appropriate correction factors for burial depth and thermal insulation. On runs over 20 metres, 10mm² SWA is typically required.
  • OZEV grant eligibility — the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Grant (formerly OZEV) is no longer available to most domestic properties but may still apply in certain circumstances. Check current eligibility with the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) before quoting.
07 · Cost Guide

Building Regulations and Part P

Garage electrical installations are notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations (England and Wales). This applies whether the garage is detached or integral, and regardless of whether the work is a full new installation or an upgrade to an existing one.

  • Competent person self-certification — electricians registered with NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, or another approved scheme self-certify the work and notify building control. You receive a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate and an EIC on completion.
  • Electrical Installation Certificate — the EIC documents the design, construction, inspection, and test results. It is your property's compliance evidence when you sell — solicitors routinely request it for garage and outbuilding electrical work.
  • EV charger notification — EV charger installations have an additional notification requirement under the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles scheme. Most certified EV charger installers handle this automatically.
08 · Cost Guide

For Electricians: Quoting Garage Electrical Work

Garage electrical installations are a great bread-and-butter job for domestic electricians. The work is straightforward, the scope is well-defined, and adding an EV charger as an upsell is easy to justify when the main cable and consumer unit are already being installed.

Survey the Cable Route First

Never quote a detached garage job without walking the cable route. A 10-metre garden run and a 25-metre run under a concrete driveway are entirely different jobs. Measure the route, identify obstacles, and quote the trenching separately as a line item.

Always Offer the EV Charger

If the customer has a car, offer the EV charger option. On a new garage installation, adding a 32A EV circuit costs far less than a standalone job. Use the quoting app to show the cost with and without the EV charger option — most customers choose the upgrade when the price difference is clear.

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