Most new-build electrical mistakes are made on paper, long before anyone picks up a tool. Get the planning right and you'll have a home that works for the way you actually live — and won't need expensive retrofits in five years.
Here's the checklist we walk every Whangarei and Kerikeri client through during early planning.
1. Engage Your Electrician Early
Before consent is the ideal time. Decisions about conduit routes, switchboard sizing, and external lighting are dramatically cheaper to design in than retrofit.
If your builder hasn't already nominated an electrician, choose your own. You want someone you trust and who'll spend the time with you on the plan.
2. Switchboard: Size for the Future
A new-build switchboard should comfortably handle:
- All current circuits (lights, power, oven, hot water)
- A heat pump or two (or a ducted system)
- An EV charger circuit (even if you don't have an EV yet)
- A future solar inverter
- A future battery
- Spare circuits for additions
This is the single best place to spend an extra few hundred dollars at build time. A bigger board with spare slots is trivial to add to later; a too-small board means another full upgrade in a few years.
3. EV-Ready Provisions
Even if you don't have an EV today, install:
- A dedicated 32A circuit (or capacity for one) terminating at your future charging location
- Conduit from the switchboard if cable runs are difficult later
- Outlet or junction box mounted, ready for a future wallbox
This is genuinely cheap during the build, painful and expensive afterwards.
4. Solar and Battery Provisions
If solar is on your medium-term roadmap:
- Reserve a slot on the switchboard for a solar circuit
- Install conduit from the roof/inverter location to the board
- Discuss battery space with your builder (typically near the board, well-ventilated)
5. Lighting Plan
Don't leave lighting to be sorted by the sparky on the day. Plan room-by-room:
- Downlights: layout for even coverage, fire-rated IC-F fittings
- Pendants: pre-wire ceiling rose locations even if you choose fittings later
- Task lighting: under-cabinet kitchen lights, vanity lights, wardrobe lights
- Feature lighting: wall lights, recessed shelf lighting, picture lights
- Dimming: every living and bedroom circuit on LED-compatible dimmers
- Switching: think about how you'll move through the house. Multi-way switches at every entry, dim from bed, etc.
6. Outdoor Lighting
Often forgotten until move-in day. Plan for:
- Front door and street number lighting
- Driveway and parking area
- Side access paths
- Deck/patio/outdoor entertaining
- PIR security lighting around the perimeter
- Outdoor power points (weatherproof)
7. Data Cabling
Wi-Fi is great but wired CAT6 is still the gold standard for reliability. Run CAT6 to:
- TVs (avoid streaming Wi-Fi congestion)
- Office desks
- Ceiling-mounted Wi-Fi access points (one per floor minimum, more for large homes)
- Game consoles
- Future home server / NAS location
Terminate them all in a small patch panel near the switchboard or in a network cabinet.
8. TV and AV
- TV aerial point in living room(s) and master bedroom
- Sky/Freeview cabling if using a satellite
- HDMI conduits behind the TV wall to a media cabinet (lets you swap cables in the future without ripping the wall open)
9. Smoke Alarms
For a new build, hard-wired 230V interconnected photoelectric alarms with battery backup are standard. Plan placement within 3m of every bedroom and at least one per level.
10. Smart Home
Decide your level of ambition before wiring:
- Basic: smart bulbs and plug-in switches — no special wiring needed
- Mid: smart wall switches (need neutral wire at every switch — easy to do during a new build, hard to retrofit)
- Advanced: full home automation with KNX, Loxone, etc. — needs comprehensive planning
If you might want smart wall switches one day, just specify neutral wires at every switch position during the build. It's a tiny cost.
11. Outdoor Power and Garden Provisions
- Outlets at the BBQ/entertaining area
- Power and water to a future spa/pool location
- Garden lighting transformer location
- Garage/shed sub-main if detached
- EV charger location (covered above)
12. Budget Realistically
Full new-build electrical scope for a typical Whangarei or Kerikeri home usually runs $18,000–$35,000+ depending on size, complexity, and provisions. Going cheap here is a false economy — this is the system you'll live with for 30+ years.
Get a Real Plan
We sit down with new-build clients at plan stage to walk through every room, every outdoor space, and every future scenario. You leave with a scope you understand and a fixed-price quote.
Talk to us about your new build or call 09 407 6468.