ᐅ Electrical installation too expensive – oversized or just overpriced?

Hello everyone,

We received the quotation for the electrical installation, and I had to sit down first.

So far, everything has roughly matched the values found online (excavation, surveying, structural engineering, architect fees, etc.), but the electrical installation is about twice as expensive as what is generally indicated on the internet: €23,000, while we had planned for €10,000–12,000.

On closer inspection, we noticed that the quotation seems oversized and appears to cover all possible contingencies. The final billing is based on actual usage, so I would like to get your opinion on how over-dimensioned it really is. The prices include installation.

A few items can be deducted or reduced considerably. (For example, I do not need 17 temperature controllers with displays at €100 each), which would save about €1,000 right away. Also, a network cabinet with a patch panel listed at €400 can be found for about half that price. Having 110 sockets plus 10 Schuko sockets also seems excessive to me.

There are also elements included that I have not seen elsewhere: all installations (kitchen, heating, garage), roller shutter control and connection, ventilation installation, mailbox with intercom system. Still, I cannot get the total below €15,000, let alone €10,000.

Here are my top 10 items – is this very oversized? Or am I unlikely to save much? Especially the cable lengths are about double what I see online.

Room temperature controller €104.12, 17 pcs, €1,770.04
Sheathed cable 5*1.5 mm², €1.83 per meter, 700 m, €1,281.00
Socket outlet Jung AS520, €9.25, 110 pcs, €1,017.50
Meter cabinet €856.34, 1 pc, €856.34
Sheathed cable 3*1.5 mm², €1.41 per meter, 600 m, €846.00
Mailbox system with intercom €568.49, 1 pc, €568.49
Electronic transformer €29.43, 14 pcs, €412.02
Silicone protective cap €26.10, 14 pcs, €365.40
FR bathroom light €58.38, 6 pcs, €350.28
Residual current circuit breaker €68.26, 5 pcs, €341.30
Roller shutter: programming €338.71, 1 pc, €338.71

In my opinion, the prices are not overpriced now.
In my switch system, the original heating controller already costs 65€ without installation, plus a cover.

I don’t think 110 power outlets are too many. In a typical room, you can easily have around 10 outlets. And in the kitchen, there are usually far more.

Yes, I think the prices are reasonable. This is also a bid with multiple electricians.

The thermostat is the Jung Room Temperature Controller Standard TR D A 231 – which I find oversized, as well as the length of the cables, which are at most half as long online for a single-family home. Here I found the pure material costs for a single-family house, which I used to compare our results. (Pure numbers (meters, quantity, etc.) without installation) xxx://dein-Elektriker-Info.de/kosten-Elektroinstallation/

By the way, we have 140 sqm (1507 sq ft) plus a basement.

@Koempy :
So, you think that with certain standards, costs of around 20,000+ can already add up for a "normal" single-family home?

Is this breakdown roughly correct? (Net)
Main supply line and grounding 326.02
Main lines and general installation 9,503.60
Main distribution panel 1,745.30
Conduits, ducts, and lighting 4,147.92
Intercom and doorbell system 1,156.24
Antenna system and data cabinet 2,049.86

17 room thermostats = 17 rooms = big house?!
That’s quickly €20,000 gone. Especially when you include nice little extras like an intercom at the mailbox, extensive LAN cabling, ceiling and staircase spotlights, etc.

Our bids from the tender all came in around 18,000–22,000 EUR (approximately 19,000–23,700 USD), so we decided to do it ourselves.

That way, with a much larger scope, we’re at just under half that cost...

Running 700 meters (approximately 2,300 feet) of cable is not a problem — we already have about 700 meters (2,300 feet) in place, but the upper floor isn’t wired yet. However, it’s certainly not 700 meters (2,300 feet) of 5-core 1.5 mm² (about 16 AWG) cable — you rarely need that much.

We also ran a lot of cable through the basement and ground floor during the shell construction phase, over the concrete floors — this avoids large cable bundles lying on the floor later.

I also removed all temperature controllers, didn’t even pre-wire them — that obviously saves a lot. Something that can also get expensive: interconnected smoke detectors...

But I would say this is fine for an official inquiry — don’t always get confused by prices on those websites, many factors come into play.

derelvis schrieb:
Yes, I think the prices are reasonable. It's a tender involving several electricians.
[..]

By the way, we have 140 m² (1507 sq ft) plus a basement.

@Koempy :
So you think that with certain standards, costs of 20,000+ can easily add up for a "typical" single-family house?

Certainly possible – for a somewhat smaller house (timber frame construction, which makes installing the electrical system easier) we ended up with just under €17,000 – but we did save on trendier features like home automation or recessed lighting, and aimed for a more comfortable setup. A talking mailbox wouldn’t have fit the character of the house anyway.
After installing lamps and such, the 20,000€ mark can be reached quite quickly...

Best regards,
I.