Electrical prices 2026 (labour): points, sockets, consumer units, LEDs

One electrical point – a socket, a switch or a lighting point – costs €32.21 for labour. Replacing a consumer unit (fuse board) with up to eight circuit breakers costs €143.16 for labour, and fitting a switch or socket €7.00 for labour. For 20 points in the rooms and hallway of a one-bedroom apartment, plus a new consumer unit, the labour comes to €787.36.

On top of that come the chases in the walls and making good after them – how much depends on the walls. Materials are not included in any of the prices here: the cables, conduit, back boxes, switches, sockets, consumer unit, circuit breakers and light fittings are priced separately. Prices are as of October 2026 and may change; the current ones are in our price list.

Labour prices item by item

The table lists the main items for electrical services from our price list, under their price-list names, translated into English. The ‘Electrical’ group has no items with materials included – everything is labour only.

‘Disconnecting and capping off the power supply’ is the preparation before demolition work: the power to the work area is switched off and the ends of the wires are made safe.

What counts as a ‘point’

A point is any place a cable runs to: a socket, a switch, a lighting point on the ceiling or wall, or a connection for an appliance – oven, hob, water heater, air conditioner. A room with three sockets, a switch and a ceiling light has five points.

Points are wired in circuits. A circuit is a line from the consumer unit with its own circuit breaker – for example, for the lighting or for the sockets in part of the home. In a new installation, high-power appliances – oven, hob, water heater, air conditioner – get dedicated circuits. The number of circuits determines how large a consumer unit you need.

Each point is charged individually at €32.21 for labour, while the chase that brings the cable to it is priced separately, by the linear metre. Moving an existing point costs the same as a new one – also €32.21 for labour.

That is why the positions of sockets and lights are decided before the cables are pulled, based on where the furniture and appliances will go. A socket that later ends up behind the wardrobe gets paid for twice – through the move, the new chase and making good the wall.

Chases in brick and in concrete

A chase is the groove cut into the wall to take the conduit with the cable; once the conduit is laid, the chase is filled in. A metre of chase in brick costs €6.98 for labour, and in concrete €12.00 for labour, because concrete is slower to cut and produces more dust. For every 10 metres of chase, that comes to €69.80 for labour in brick and €120.00 for labour in concrete.

In concrete, a back box – the box in the wall that holds the switch or socket – also has to be cut out: ‘Cutting out and recessing a back box in concrete’ costs €12.00 for labour per box.

In panel blocks, the load-bearing walls and ceiling slabs are not weakened with chases. There, the cables run in the floor screed, along the partition walls or above a suspended ceiling. That is why the cable routes are agreed at the site visit – they determine how many metres of chase there will be, and in what material.

When to replace the consumer unit

‘Replacing a consumer unit, up to 8 fuses’ costs €143.16 for labour. ‘Up to 8 fuses’ means a consumer unit with up to eight circuit breakers – ‘fuses’, as they are often called in everyday speech. For a larger consumer unit, the price is given in the quote, and the consumer unit itself and the breakers count as materials.

A consumer unit usually needs replacing when:

• it still has fuses rather than circuit breakers (MCBs);
• it has no RCD (residual current device);
• it gets hot, smells of burning or has darkened parts – in that case, do not wait for the renovation;
• high-power appliances share a circuit, or you are adding a new one – an air conditioner, for example – and there is no room in the consumer unit for a separate circuit;
• you are replacing the whole installation.

The two kinds of protection in a consumer unit do different jobs. A circuit breaker protects the cable against overload and short circuits. An RCD protects people: it trips when current leaks where it should not – through damaged insulation, through water or through a person. Neither replaces the other.

If the consumer unit is old but the wiring is staying for now, replacing the unit is a sensible first step. We explain when it is time for the whole installation in our article on rewiring an old apartment, and how we choose and connect the consumer unit on the consumer unit installation page.

Example: a one-bedroom apartment with 20 points

The example uses 20 points – as many as in the budget for a 60 m² one-bedroom apartment on our apartment renovation page: the rooms and the hallway, without the bathroom and the kitchen. To these we add a new consumer unit.

This is the labour for the points and the consumer unit, not for all the electrical work. On top of it come:

• the chases in the walls – depending on the type of walls and the length of the cable runs;
• making good the walls after chasing;
• removing the old switches, sockets and light fittings, if there are any – €5.37 for labour per item;
• installing the light fittings and any LED lighting;
• materials.

The kitchen and bathroom have points of their own. In the sample budgets on our website, a 10 m² kitchen has 8 points (8 × €32.21 = €257.68 for labour), and a 4 m² bathroom has 4 points (4 × €32.21 = €128.84 for labour).

The price list has no ‘per apartment’ price for a complete rewire: two apartments of the same size can have very different numbers of points and circuits. That price is given in the quote after the site visit, and how the work itself is done is described on the electrical rewiring page.

How to count your points

Go through your home room by room and count:

• sockets – by the beds, the desk, the TV and the kitchen worktop;
• switches – one for each light or group of lights, usually by the doors;
• lights – one lighting point for each light fitting on the ceiling and walls;
• appliances – oven, hob, cooker hood, fridge, dishwasher, washing machine, water heater, air conditioner.

Multiply the total by €32.21 and you have the labour for the points. Then add the consumer unit and the chases.

Switches, sockets and lighting

The second fix comes last: after skim coating and painting, the switches, sockets and light fittings are fitted at the finished points.

Fitting a switch or socket costs €7.00 for labour per item – you need this, for example, in a new-build home where the cables already reach the back boxes but there are no switches or sockets yet. ‘Removing/refitting switches and sockets’ (€11.00 for labour per item) is for when the existing ones are taken off and put back after painting, or replaced with new ones.

Installing a light fitting – a chandelier, a ceiling light or a wall light – costs €21.47 for labour per fitting. The water heater switch is a separate item: €26.84 for labour, the same as fitting a bathroom extractor fan.

LED strip and downlights

LED lighting is priced in two parts – wiring and fitting. Labour for a metre of LED strip is €8.05 for the wiring and €13.42 for the fitting – €21.47 in total. Labour for one downlight is €8.05 plus €10.74 – €18.79 in total.

Downlights and concealed LED strip usually go in a suspended ceiling – as in the attic room with a curved ceiling and in the living room in the photo below. The ceiling is a separate job: the types of ceiling and their labour costs are covered in our article on suspended ceilings with LED lighting.

Safety and warranty

Wiring mistakes and missing protection cannot be seen from the outside. That is why a few things are never skipped in electrical work:

• the installation is put in and connected by qualified electricians;
• the work is done with the power switched off;
• every circuit has a circuit breaker matched to its cable, and the consumer unit has RCD protection – most important where electricity is close to water: in the bathroom and the kitchen;
• after installation, and before the system is switched on, the insulation, the protective devices and the earthing are checked.

Our warranty on the electrical installation is 72 months, in writing. The products themselves – switches, sockets, light fittings – are covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.

Frequently asked questions

What is a ‘point’?

Any place a cable runs to: a socket, a switch, a lighting point or a connection for an appliance. In our price list, one point is €32.21 for labour, and the chase to it is priced separately.

How many points does an apartment have?

There is no standard number – it depends on the rooms, the furniture and the appliances. As a guide: in the example above, the rooms and hallway of a one-bedroom apartment have 20 points, and the kitchen and bathroom add their own. The exact number is confirmed at the site visit.

When should the consumer unit be replaced?

When it still has fuses, when it has no RCD, when it gets hot or smells of burning, and when the whole installation is being replaced. Labour for a consumer unit with up to eight circuit breakers is €143.16.

Are the cables and sockets included?

No. All items in the ‘Electrical’ group of our price list are for labour only. Cables, conduit, back boxes, switches, sockets, the consumer unit and light fittings are priced separately.

Can it be done without chasing?

Partly. The cable can run in plastic trunking along the wall – no dust, but it is visible – or above a suspended ceiling. With a complete rewire, the walls are usually opened up, which is why it is done together with the renovation, before skim coating.

If you are planning a renovation or suspect that your consumer unit needs replacing, book a site visit. The site visit is free, and the quote is in writing – with the points, the chases and the labour price set out line by line. We work in Sofia and within about 80 km of it, as well as in Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv, Pleven and Blagoevgrad.