Electricians are an indisputably crucial trade, able to complete a vast number of jobs in your home to enable day-to-day living. It can seem like finding a reputable and reliable tradesperson can be tricky with so many rogue traders around without qualifications carrying a very real threat if they perform below-standard work in your home.
The search for a qualified electrician doesn’t have to be this way, however, and in this article, we’ll be looking at how you can find and hire a reputable electrician to complete household electrical work for you. In particular, we’ll be looking at how much it costs to hire an electrician, what affects the cost of hiring an electrician, how to save money when hiring an electrician, what’s involved in hiring an electrician and how to find and hire an electrician.
If you think your home’s wiring could do with an upgrade, or you have some light fittings to install that are beyond your remit, the help of a professional electrician is undoubtedly the way to go. Let’s get into it.
Topics
How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Electrician?
Firstly, let’s look at the hourly and daily rates of electricians.
| Electrician Rates | Estimated Labour Cost |
|---|---|
| Hourly Rate | £30 to £60 |
| Daily Rate | £240 to £480 |
| Emergency Call Out (per hour) | £50 to £80 |
The typical hourly rate for an electrician is between £30 to £60, depending on their qualification level and their location, with daily rates commonly being between £240 to £480. These costs are for pre-booked, planned call outs – for emergency call outs, the hourly rate can rise to anywhere between £50 to £80.
Now, let’s take a look at some common jobs and their estimated costs and time required to complete them.
| Job | Estimated Cost | Time Required |
|---|---|---|
| Replacing light fitting | £25 to £50 | 1 hour |
| Install dimmer switch | £30 to £55 | 1 hour |
| Replace existing exterior light | £30 to £110 | 1 to 2 hours |
| Install multiple light fixtures | £50 to £100 | 2 to 3 hours |
| PAT Testing | £50 to £150 | 3 to 8+ hours |
| Install external security light | £60 to £165 | 2 to 3 hours |
| Install light in loft | £70 to £150 | 2 to 3 hours |
| Install electric shower | £100 to £250 | 2 to 8 hours |
| Move an electric meter | £100 to £1,000 | 1 to 8 hours |
| Electrical Safety Report | £120 to £200 | 1 day |
| Install garden or landscape wiring | £120 to £450 | 4 to 8 hours |
| New mains switch consumer unit | £150 to £560 | 4 to 6 hours |
| Install fire alarm system | £200 to £600 | 1 to 2 days |
| Install electric driveway | £500 to £5,000 | 2 to 3 days |
| Install electric boiler | £1,400 to £6,500 | 1 to 2 days |
| Rewiring one bedroom house | £1,500 to £3,000 | 3 to 4 days |
To replace a light fitting, you’ll be looking at an estimated cost of between £20 to £50 depending on the complexity of the fitting and the existing wiring quality. This will usually take one hour, but bear in mind that for larger fittings requiring more than one person to lift and install, you can expect higher prices.
If you have multiple light fixtures you want to install in your home, they can take between two to three hours to complete – but this can rise if you have a significant number of fixtures to hang. This generally costs between £50 to £100.
You may want a dimmer switch installed to replace your existing standard light switch, and this can cost between £30 to £55, taking around an hour to complete.
Perhaps your loft doesn’t have any lighting solutions at the moment, and you want to make your time up there a little easier by adding a lightbulb or two. This will generally cost between £70 to £150 and take between two to three hours.
Looking at outdoor lighting now, to replace an existing exterior light for something modern and updated, you can expect fees of between £30 to £110, with the job taking one to two hours in total.
For homeowners without any external lighting already in place, asking your electrician to install an external security light can cost between £60 to £165, taking between two to three hours for installation.
Perhaps you want some garden or landscape wiring installed to power outdoor appliances. This can cost between £120 to £450, and take between four to eight hours to complete.
If you want your appliances PAT tested, your electrician can take care of this for you. Usually, there’s a price reduction per unit for the more items you need to check in one visit, with prices typically being between £50 to £150 for between three to eight hours of work.
Moving onto electrical bathroom items, if you want an electric shower installed in your home you can expect the job to take between two to eight hours, and will cost you between £100 to £250, depending on the complexity of the job and how long it takes in practice.
You may want to move your electrical meter to make it easier to access or to put it in a location that makes more sense. This is an expensive job, costing between £100 to £1,000 to complete, and taking between one to eight hours.
Similarly, you may want a new mains switch consumer unit, and this will take between four to six hours, costing between £150 to £560 in total.
To have a fire alarm system installed in your home, you can expect overall costs of between £200 to £600, with the job itself taking between one to two days, depending on the size of your home and number of floors, taking into consideration testing time once the alarms are fitted.
If you have an electric vehicle, it’s a good idea to get an electric point fitted on your driveway to allow you to charge the vehicle while not in use. This is a large job and can cost between £500 to £5,000 depending on the size, scope and complexity of the job, taking between two to three days.
For homes wanting a new electric boiler, you can expect costs of between £1,400 to £6,500, with a lead time of between one to two days.
Finally, if you wish to rewire a one-bedroomed house, you can expect costs of between £1,500 to £3,000, taking between three to four days to complete.
Click To Get QuotesWhat Affects the Cost of Hiring an Electrician?
Let’s take a look at how your electrician costs can be made higher – these are the key things to keep in mind if trying to keep your project as cost-effective as possible.
The Type of Electrical Job
As we can see from our comparison table above, the type of electrical job has an impact on the price you will pay for the electrician’s service. Something simple like having a dimmer switch installed can cost between £30 to £55, while something more complex like having your home rewired can cost over £3,000 (for a one-bedroomed house).
The Complexity of the Job
While on the surface, some jobs may seem simple and straightforward – such as taking out an old light fitting and replacing it with something new – the nuts and bolts of the job might be harder than anticipated.
This could be for several reasons, but the most common is old or bad wiring in your home, requiring your electrician to carry out more work than was originally planned to ensure your home is safe.
Similarly, if you are getting quotes for a light fitting change, but haven’t mentioned the size or weight of the fitting, you may run into a surprise when it takes more than one electrician to complete the work. It’s best to be upfront about the scope of your project when getting quotes to ensure both parties are well-informed about what’s to come.
Whether Or Not You Need an Emergency Call Out
While we can plan for most electrical jobs in our homes, such as wanting more lights installed or adding an electrical charging port to our driveway, some jobs come out of the blue and are wholly unexpected. These can’t be booked in advance, and unfortunately carry emergency call out fees, which are far higher than normal rates.
The typical hourly rate for an electrician is between £30 to £60, depending on their qualification level and their location, with daily rates commonly being between £240 to £480. These costs are for pre-booked, planned call outs – yet, for emergency call outs, the hourly rate can rise to anywhere between £50 to £80.
It’s impossible to foresee the future, but if you are aware of issues with your home’s electrics and have been ignoring them for a while – such as flickering lights or power surges – you should act on them as soon as you can to save money, but also to potentially save yourself from a lot of harm if left unresolved for long periods of time.
Ease of Access
If your property is hard to reach, you may end up paying more for the call out charge from an electrician. Similarly, if you have higher than average ceilings and want your light fittings replaced, you need to factor in additional height machinery to allow the electricians to reach your ceiling – all coming in at an extra cost.
Your Location
It’s no secret that your geographical location can affect the price you pay for the same service. In capitals, you will end up paying more than those in less-populated locations – electrician costs can reach almost £100 per hour in London compared to lower fees of between £30 to £60 elsewhere.
How Can I Save Money on Hiring an Electrician?
There’s no hard and fast way of saving money on your electrician’s work – and while qualified electricians may charge more, you’re paying for their experience and the certainty that the job will be carried out safely, so we wouldn’t suggest you ever cut corners in this aspect.
A good way of making sure you’re paying the right and most competitive price is by comparing quotes. You should aim to get between three to four quotes from different companies or single traders to first get the scope of prices, but secondly to compare what they offer for that price in contrast to the other traders.
This will ensure you’re paying a good price for the job, rather than a jumped up and inflated cost that some national companies might apply to their work as opposed to local, smaller traders.
Click To Get QuotesWhat’s Involved in Hiring an Electrician?
Depending on the type of job you’re having completed, you may need a slightly different electrician – for example, someone experienced in entire home rewiring would be more suitable for that type of job instead of someone who specialises in outdoor lighting.
In all instances, the hiring process will require you to tell the electrician what you want to do at your house, and any considerations they might want to consider (for example, if you might need your home rewiring if it’s particularly old).
Here are some of the most common jobs an electrician might undertake for you:
Full Re-Wire and Consumer Unit Replacement
Most electricians recommend that you re-wire your home fully every 20 to 25 years, especially if a homeowner is preparing a major decorating project, planning an extension, or considering putting their property on the market. Re-wiring a house takes time and it can be a little bit messy so having it done before making changes in your home will save you money and inconvenience.
Light Fitting (Including Outside Lights)
Inside your house, the cost of replacing a simple light fitting or installing a dimmer switch could be as low as £30 to £55. Installing downlights in a kitchen is more time consuming so, on average, most electricians charge in the region of £120 to £440 depending on how many lights you want.
For exterior lights, you could pay anywhere from £30 to £110 to replace an existing light, or between £60 and £165 to install a new PIR motion sensor light. If you need new wiring to supply the motion sensor light, the cost ranges from £70 to £200.
However, the price you end up paying will depend on whether the electrician supplies the light fittings, where the light switches will be located, and the length and complexity of the cable run from your mains supply to your light switch.
Fans
Damp air which is not allowed to escape from a property builds up over time making the appearance of mould in your home even more likely. Many homes have bathrooms either with no window or with a window which, when opened, does not provide a significant enough degree of ventilation to remove the damp air from the property.
Damp is not only unsightly – it’s a major health hazard, particularly for households containing very young and older family members. This is something that you need to get sorted out as quickly as you possibly can.
If you want to install a new extractor fan, the cost of fitting and connection to the mains will be between £250 and £475. To replace an existing extractor fan with a newer model, expect to pay between £125 and £225. Both prices quoted do not include the actual extractor fan unit itself.
Shower Fitting
Most electricians have the necessary experience and qualifications required to fit a shower into your bathrooms. Two particular types of service are generally offered:
- Getting the shower space ready for shower installation by the fitting of the electrics – £100 to £225
- The fitting of the shower, the plumbing in the shower, and the installation and connection of the electricity supply – £150 to £275 (the shower unit itself will be an additional cost).
Earth Bonding
Earthing and bonding new electrical installations protect you and your family from the dual threats of electrocution and fire caused by faulty appliances and equipment. Since 2008, earth bonding is now required on all electrical installations in rooms that contain or will contain a shower or a bath – those installations must also be protected by a residual current device.
Earthing allows electricity to flow safely to the ground and it’s this flow that allows a fuse or a circuit break to work. Bonding connects metallic water and gas pipes that come into your home to the earthing terminal – this prevents the occurrence of electric shocks.
The process of earth bonding to water and gas pipes costs between £150 and £250 – the job itself takes around three to seven hours to complete.
Smoke Alarm Fitting
There are two types of smoke alarms – battery-powered and mains powered. Battery-powered units are often cheaper and they’re easy to affix to ceilings in your home – however, batteries do have a lifespan and there is a risk, even though modern alarms warn homeowners that there is not much power left in a battery, replacing your batteries might just slip your mind.
To hire an electrician to supply and fit a mains-powered smoke alarm, you should expect to pay £80-£130 for the first alarm and £40-90 for each alarm thereafter.
How Do I Find and Hire an Electrician?
One of the best ways to find and hire an electrician is to seek out recommendations from friends, family and neighbours in the first instance to see if they’ve had similar work done recently at home, and crucially, if they’d recommend the person or company they had in to complete that work.
In instances where a word of mouth recommendation isn’t possible, and you want to ensure that the trader you have found is reliable and verified, it’s a good idea to consult these governing bodies:
Finally, to take the stress out of comparing lots of websites manually, you can use HouseholdQuotes to find a reputable trader and save up to 40% on your project’s fee by doing so.
Click To Get QuotesEnsuring the Professional Is the Right Fit
When it comes to electrical jobs, ensuring the tradesperson you select is competent and qualified is paramount. Electrical work is highly-skilled, and you don’t want to cut corners with an under-qualified, untrained individual doing below-par work for you which can put you and your home’s safety in jeopardy.
When finding your trader, it’s a good idea to take a look at their experience and qualifications to ensure they are fit to complete the kind of work you need them to do. For instance, you may see an electrician has completed relatively simple work such as changing a light fitting, but not a whole house rewire – and if it’s the latter you’re after, you’re better off continuing the search to find someone who matches the credentials of your job.
Within this, it’s a good idea to also check out the trader’s references and any photos or videos of past work to make sure their claims live up to their actual standard. As a means of checking their viability, it’s also a good idea to double-check they have insurance in place and are a member of electrical associations to further verify their professional standing.
Once you are happy with your selection, you should settle on a written quote before the work begins to ensure there are no nasty price hike surprises when it comes to settling the bill.
Final Checklist
If you’re ready to get your home rewired or to have some new light fittings installed, getting in a competent electrician is the way to go. Here’s our final checklist to make sure your project runs smoothly:
- Find a reputable trader using HouseholdQuotes and be sure to check credentials for reputable associations and qualifications
- Don’t cost-cut with under-qualified traders
- Group together electrical jobs so that you’re just paying for one call out instead of many if your budget allows
- Estimate the scope of your job and be honest with the trader so they know what to expect upon arrival and can quote accurately
- Agree on a written quote before any physical work begins.
Click To Get QuotesFrequently Asked Questions
How Do I Know If I Need an Electrician?
- Rewiring
- Changing light fittings, switches and plug sockets
- Installing an electric boiler, electric shower, or external car charging point
- Changing the consumer unit or electrical meter
Can I Complete Electrical Jobs Myself?
How Much Does Rewiring Cost?E
The cost of rewiring your home can vary depending on the size of your home as well as the general condition of the old wiring, and if it requires your consumer unit or electricity meter to be updated at the same time, too.
A one-bedroom house can cost between £1,000 to £3,000 to be rewired, taking between three to four days to complete, while a larger home of five bedrooms can cost upwards of £7,500 to £12,000, taking between eight to ten days.
For full information on rewiring your home, take a look at our dedicated page.