Renovation - no idea how to futureproof electrics

[PaddingtonBunny]

We are having an extension/renovation done – we will be moving out for a couple of months and everything is being stripped right back… I’ve been trying to think about what electrics we might want to install now to save retrofitting in the future. But I am a more than a bit lost and have no idea how to make sure that an electrician is making a good plan.

I know we should include charging sockets etc but beyond that I’m wondering what we should think about in terms of cabling etc. We are not a particularly techie family – no one particularly does gaming, and I have no urge to invest in a smart fridge or other clever devices, but given this is our opportunity to put the right cables in the right place I want to think through anything we might be thankful for later.

If anyone has any experience to share about what you would, or wouldn’t do again I would be super grateful. Thank you!

Pretty much everything "smart* now runs off WiFi. I don't think you need to worry about putting network cables in if that is what you mean.

Possibly if you have a large house, or one with thick walls you could get a couple of runs of cable put to places you might want to put a WiFi extender, but equally you can get WiFi extenders that run over your mains wiring, or just boost the WiFi signal from the air.

If you did ever want to put smart light switches in, it helps to have a neutral wire in the wall switch and have deeper boxes, so that might be worth mentioning.

Normally it would probably be wired neutral into the ceiling rose and the switch is just switched live.

We ran conduit from the fuse box to each floor of our house so that we could more easily add circuits or other wiring in the future. It was just some pvc pipe with each end duct taped over to stop crap getting inside it. We planned the ends to come out in cupboards and as our fuse box was in the basement it was quite easy.

Plenty of sockets.

Consider what you are going to use there. If it is high power stuff (cooker, shower or maybe a power outlet for the garden) then consider getting uprated cables.

Lighting is a biggie these days. A lot of people prefer to have more smaller lights rather than one big one. So getting cabling in place for these is useful because if you want to install lots of small wall mounted lights you will have to dig out the wallls for the cabling. Light switches at room entry.

I don't know about ethernet. I prefer to run ethernet to my tv because it is more reliable than the wi fi, but these days wi fi is pretty good so probably not 100% necessary.

Same with phone sockets - these days pretty much redundant. TV aerial still a possibility.

I've discovered that the main fuse from the distribution network operator is probably undersized so they are coming to change that (40 days wait).
Also getting a smart meter that can cope with solar generation (SMETS2 IIRC).
I presume you already have a residual current trip main board, if not, get one fitted.

All are relatively simple jobs, BUT there is always the danger that the new thing won't fit, they'll damage something whilst doing it. So maybe get it done before that area is decorated.

Do consider outside electrics, a garden room would need it's own fuse.

Also if you are on gas now - perhaps plan for a future which is electric only with the wiring? Gas boilers are supposed to be being 'phased out'.

Thank you all for your ideas. Conduit is a great plan and I’ll also look into if our existing smart meter can cope with solar, and make sure we think about the garden. We don’t have gas - we’re going to swap our oil for ASHP so that’s already in our thinking.
Thank you for being so helpful!

Double sockets in every corner of a room and a few in the hallway too. Might be useful to have one near the front door for Christmas lights. I also second the outside lights/ power thing. Very useful.

Neutral wire in switches, as others have said, plus plenty of cat6 network wiring where you might want network access

Our WiFi box is in a corner of the house and OH says it’s a stupid place, it should be in the centre of the house in or near the hall. We have spent £300 on WiFi extenders and get 1GB in the lounge corner and 50mbps upstairs (so, 1,000 vs 50). I would definitely think about that.

If you think you have enough plug sockets, add 25% more. Not just for you, for future buyers.

Smart thermostat? Hard wired camera doorbell? External lights or alarms that need to start inside?