New Home Electrical Checklist
Wiring is buried in walls, so mistakes are expensive to fix later. Planning the electrical layout of a new Tricity home before the plaster goes on saves money and regret. This checklist takes you from circuit and distribution board planning through point counts per room, safety devices and outdoor points, to the future-proofing that pays off in five years.
What should a new home electrical checklist cover?
Plan circuits and the distribution board first, count points room by room, get earthing and a 30mA RCCB right, add outdoor and wet-area points, future-proof with spare conduit and label every MCB.
01Plan circuits and the distribution board first
Everything starts at the distribution board. Group your loads into logical circuits: separate lighting circuits, general socket circuits, and dedicated circuits for each heavy appliance, ACs, geysers, kitchen, pump. Each circuit gets its own MCB sized to the cable, and the board should include a 30mA RCCB covering socket and wet-area circuits, plus a surge protection device.
Splitting loads across several circuits is not just tidy; it means one tripped circuit does not black out the whole floor, and a fault is easy to isolate. Keep lighting on its own MCBs so a socket fault never leaves you in the dark. On a three-phase supply, balance heavy loads such as ACs and the geyser across the three phases so no single line is overloaded.
Size the board with spare ways from the start; a board that is full on day one leaves no room for an EV charger or extra AC later. A board with four to six free ways costs little more now and saves breaking into a finished wall in a few years.
02Count points room by room
Walk through the plan and count light points, fan points, 6 A sockets for small appliances and 16 A sockets for heavy ones. Under-counting sockets is the most common regret, people end up living with extension boards trailing across the floor. The table below gives a sensible starting count per room for an Indian home; adjust for how you actually live.
Think about furniture placement so sockets land where the bed, TV, study desk and kitchen appliances will actually sit, not where a symmetrical drawing suggests. Add a bedside socket each side of the bed for phone charging, a cluster behind the TV, and plenty of counter-height points in the kitchen for the mixer, microwave, toaster and induction hob that all live there.
Set switchboard heights sensibly too: general switches around waist to shoulder height, kitchen counter sockets above the platform, and at least one convenient point near the entrance for a vacuum cleaner or seasonal appliance. It costs nothing at the planning stage and saves years of workarounds.
03Get safety and earthing right
Insist on a proper earth pit and earth continuity to every socket and metal-bodied appliance. Confirm the RCCB is a genuine 30mA type and test its trip button on handover. Use FR or FRLS copper wire to IS 694 throughout, with sizes matched to load: typically 1.0 or 1.5 sq mm for lighting, 2.5 sq mm for general and geyser sockets, and 4 sq mm for heavy AC or pump runs.
Prefer FRLS or HFFR insulation, which resists flame spread and emits less toxic smoke if a fire ever starts, a worthwhile upgrade for a home you will live in for decades. Insist on copper, never aluminium, for internal wiring, and do not let a contractor undersize cable to save a few hundred rupees on a long AC run.
Match MCB curves to the load type: B curve for lighting and general use, C curve for motor and inductive loads such as ACs and pumps that draw a heavy starting surge. Fitting a B curve where a C curve belongs causes nuisance tripping every time the motor kicks in, while the wrong direction leaves a circuit under-protected.
04Do not forget outdoor and wet-area points
Plan points for the balcony, terrace, gate, garden and any outdoor unit locations before wiring is closed. Outdoor points need a suitable IP rating, IP44 for splash zones and IP65 for anything exposed to rain, and should sit on the RCCB. Provide for AC outdoor units, a doorbell, gate light and an exhaust in each bathroom.
In the Tricity monsoon, poorly sealed outdoor points are a frequent source of tripping and corrosion, so specify weatherproof enclosures upfront.
05Future-proof with conduit, CCTV and an inverter circuit
The cheapest time to run spare capacity is now. Lay extra empty conduit between floors and to key rooms so future cables, network, CCTV, speaker, can be pulled without breaking walls. Pre-wire CCTV points at the gate and main entries, and plan a separate inverter or backup circuit that feeds essential lights, fans and a few sockets so the whole house does not go dark in a cut.
Reserve a spare way in the board and a conduit route for a future EV charger; it is far cheaper to provide for it now than to chase a cable later.
06Label everything clearly
Before handover, insist that every MCB in the board is clearly labelled with the circuit it controls. An unlabelled board turns every future repair into guesswork and risks someone working on a live circuit. Ask for a simple as-built drawing showing conduit routes and point positions.
Photograph the open walls before plastering; those photos of pipe and cable runs are priceless the day someone needs to drill a hole without hitting a live cable.
Suggested electrical points per room (adjust to your needs)
| Room | Light points | Fan points | 6 A sockets | 16 A sockets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master bedroom | 2 to 3 | 1 | 4 to 6 | 1 to 2 (AC) |
| Living room | 3 to 5 | 1 to 2 | 6 to 8 | 1 to 2 (AC/TV) |
| Kitchen | 2 to 3 | 1 (exhaust) | 4 to 6 | 2 to 3 (appliances) |
| Bathroom | 1 to 2 | 1 (exhaust) | 1 | 1 (geyser) |
| Balcony/outdoor | 1 to 2 | 0 | 1 to 2 | 1 (AC unit) |
Step by step
- Plan circuits and the DB. Split loads into lighting, general socket and dedicated appliance circuits, each on its own MCB, with a 30mA RCCB and surge protection in a board that has spare ways.
- Count points per room. Walk the plan and tally light, fan, 6 A and 16 A socket points against real furniture positions, erring on the side of more sockets.
- Specify wire and earthing. Use FR copper to IS 694 sized to load, insist on a proper earth pit and earth continuity to every point, and test the RCCB on handover.
- Add outdoor and wet-area points. Plan balcony, terrace, gate and bathroom points with the right IP rating on the RCCB, using weatherproof enclosures.
- Future-proof the installation. Lay spare conduit between floors, pre-wire CCTV, provide an inverter backup circuit and reserve capacity for an EV charger.
- Label and document. Label every MCB, get an as-built drawing and photograph the open walls before plastering.
Frequently asked questions
What should a new home electrical checklist cover?
Plan circuits and the distribution board first, count points room by room, get earthing and a 30mA RCCB right, add outdoor and wet-area points, future-proof with spare conduit and label every MCB.
How many sockets should each room have?
As a rule of thumb, a bedroom needs 4 to 6 general sockets, a living room 6 to 8, and a kitchen 4 to 6 plus dedicated 16 A points for heavy appliances. Err towards more.
What wire sizes should a new home use?
Per IS 694, typically 1.0 to 1.5 sq mm for lighting, 2.5 sq mm for general and geyser sockets, and 4 sq mm for heavy AC or pump circuits, all in FR copper.
Why lay spare conduit during construction?
Empty conduit lets you pull future cables for network, CCTV or speakers without breaking walls. It is the cheapest future-proofing you can buy.
Why label the distribution board?
So future repairs are safe and quick. An unlabelled board means guessing which MCB controls what and risking work on a live circuit.
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