Power point placement — the questions to answer before your electrician visits.

The most consistent regret I hear from homeowners who have recently renovated is not having enough power points in the right spots. Not the bathroom tiles, not the kitchen handles — the power points. Specifically: not enough on the kitchen bench, nothing on the right side of the bed, no outdoor power, nowhere to charge in the hallway, no dedicated circuit for the home office.

All of these are cheap to fix before the plasterboard goes up. After lock-up, each one is a plastering and painting job as well as an electrical job.

This guide covers the questions to work through before your electrician visits — so the quote reflects what you actually need rather than a minimum that you will add to every time you renovate a room.

What AS/NZS 3000 actually requires

The Wiring Rules set minimum numbers of power points per room, but it is worth understanding that the minimum is genuinely a minimum — it reflects what is needed to avoid a hazard, not what is needed to live comfortably in a modern home.

Key minimums:

• Living and dining areas: at least two double power points (four outlets), located to serve the room without extension leads
• Bedrooms: at least one double power point per bedroom
• Kitchen: at least two double power points on the work surfaces, plus dedicated circuits for fixed appliances (dishwasher, refrigerator, rangehood)
• Bathroom and laundry: specific requirements around clearance from water sources; shaver sockets in bathrooms

These minimums assume a home with modest electrical demand. A kitchen where two people cook simultaneously, a bedroom that functions as a workspace, a home office — all of these need more than the minimum.

The kitchen

Kitchen power point requirements are where I see the most mistakes in both new builds and renovations.

Bench outlets: the standard minimum is two double points (four outlets) along the work surfaces. In a modern kitchen where a kettle, toaster, coffee machine, air fryer, and mixer are all competing for bench space, four outlets is not enough. Aim for a double point every 900–1200mm along the bench run. If you have an island, plan for at least one double point on the island as well — specify flush or angled outlets that do not project forward.

Position height: standard bench height is 900mm, and outlets typically sit at 1050–1100mm above finished floor level. Double-check that this works around your splashback tile height and cabinetry. Changing the position after tiles are laid is expensive.

Appliance circuits: the dishwasher, refrigerator, and any fixed cooking appliances need dedicated circuits. Do not share these with the general bench outlets. A shared circuit that trips because the dishwasher and toaster ran simultaneously takes your bench outlets out at the same time.

Rangehood: a fixed rangehood needs a dedicated switched outlet or hardwired connection above the cabinetry. Often overlooked until the joiner is fitting the cabinetry.

USB and USB-C: specify one or two USB/USB-C combination outlets on the bench. The phone charging clutter on the kitchen bench is real and an integrated outlet handles it without using a bench socket.

The home office

Home offices have grown from a convenience to a genuine workspace requirement in most households. The electrical requirements have grown with them.

Dedicated circuit: if you are running multiple monitors, a desktop PC, a laser printer, and peripherals, put the home office on its own circuit. When the circuit trips — and it will, eventually — you want to lose only the office, not the living room or bedroom as well.

Outlet count: behind the desk, you need more than you think. Four double points (eight outlets) sounds excessive until you count the monitors (2), PC (1), laptop charger (1), USB hub (1), desk lamp (1), external drive (1), speaker (1). That is eight outlets before you add the printer, monitor arm hub, or anything else.

Position for desk layout: confirm where the desk will sit before the electrician positions the outlets. Desk against the wall, freestanding desk, sit-stand desk — each requires outlets in different positions.

Ethernet: worth planning at the same time as the power. A hardwired ethernet run from the router cabinet to the office eliminates Wi-Fi variability and is easiest to run while the walls are open.

Bedrooms

Bedside charging: the most common bedroom complaint is a single outlet on one side of the bed. Each side needs at least a double point. If you want USB-C integration for overnight phone charging without a wall adaptor, specify combination outlets on the bedside.

Position for bed size: if the bed is a queen or king, the bedside outlets need to be at least 600–700mm either side of centre. A double point at the end of the wall behind a bedhead is useless if you cannot reach it.

Position for TV: if a TV is going on the wall or in an entertainment unit, specify an outlet at the correct height behind it and run conduit or a data bracket for HDMI and AV cables at the same time.

Outdoor power

Outdoor power is the one category that is most reliably forgotten in renovation scopes.

Garden and lawn equipment: a minimum of one outdoor double point at the back of the house and one at the front. Position at a height and location that allows a mower or hedge trimmer to reach the furthest corner of the lawn with a standard 25m lead. Do not put it behind a gate or under a deck where the lead has to go around obstacles.

Workshop and shed: a detached workshop or shed needs its own sub-circuit, not a long extension lead from the house. Size the circuit for the tools you plan to run — a 20A circuit for light workshop use, more if you are running larger machinery.

Outdoor entertaining: if you have a covered outdoor area, plan for outlets at the perimeter for string lights, heaters, and speakers. A single outlet at one end of a 6m pergola is not enough.

EV charging: even if you do not own an electric vehicle now, roughing in a 32A circuit to the garage during a renovation costs a fraction of what it costs to add later. The conduit route through the house structure is the expensive part — the outlet and circuit breaker are straightforward. Consider this as infrastructure, not as an immediate purchase.

Shared versus dedicated circuits

A shared circuit supplies multiple outlets and is the standard for general power in living areas, bedrooms, and most kitchen bench outlets. A dedicated circuit serves one appliance or one fixed location only.

You need a dedicated circuit for:

• Dishwasher
• Refrigerator (often overlooked — a fridge is a 24/7 load and if it trips the kitchen circuit, everything on that circuit goes with it)
• Induction or electric cooktop
• Oven
• Home office or media room (recommended, not always mandatory)
• Air conditioning units
• EV charger
• Any appliance the manufacturer specifies requires a dedicated circuit

A shared circuit for the dishwasher and bench outlets means that a circuit trip for an overloaded dishwasher takes the bench outlets with it. That is an inconvenience in daily use and a problem when you need the bench outlets during a power interruption investigation.

Pre-plasterboard versus post-plasterboard cost

The cost difference between adding an outlet during a renovation and adding one after plasterboard is substantial. Before plasterboard: the sparky runs cable through the open frame, fixes the back, and returns to install the cover later. It is fast. After plasterboard: cut the hole, feed cable blind through the cavity, patch plaster, sand, prime, paint. The electrical work is the same; the rectification work is not.

The rule of thumb: if you are questioning whether to add an outlet, add it. The incremental cost of an extra outlet during rough-in is low. The cost of adding it later is high and involves trades beyond electrical.

Future-proofing checklist

Before the electrician visits, work through this list for each space:

• Where does every screen, device, and appliance sit? Does each have a nearby outlet?
• Does any fixed appliance (dishwasher, fridge, rangehood, oven) have its own dedicated circuit?
• Is there outdoor power on each exterior face of the house that has a lawn or garden?
• Is there an outdoor entertaining area that needs power?
• Is there a dedicated office space with enough outlets and its own circuit?
• Is the EV charger circuit roughed in, even if not connected?
• Is there home battery storage in the future plan? If so, are the switchboard and wiring routes sized for it?

A half-hour conversation working through this list before the sparky visits produces a scope that reflects how you actually use your home. It is significantly more useful than discovering the omissions six months after the renovation is finished.

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If you are planning a renovation or new build and want to work through power point placement properly, get in touch via our power points page or see what our renovation electrical service covers.