ᐅ Who provides independent and professional electrical system design?

Hello,
I have my floor plan ready, and now I need to plan the installations. Besides DIY and “the electrician does it,” there must be specialized planning companies as well. Are there such companies for a typical single-family house? If so:

• What are the pros and cons of using a planning service like that?
• What is the typical cost range (single-family house without many extras)?
• Which companies can you recommend?

(The reason for my question is a service offer for “distribution planning for smart home control” that I came across today at voltus by chance. I will post similar questions regarding “water,” “heating,” and “ventilation” with other members.)

The Voltus distribution planning is more of a technical design within the KNX environment. It compiles the appropriate distribution components based on your specific requirements. However, it does not provide advice on the recommended placement of lights, outlets, or similar elements.

For a single-family home, I would therefore recommend a lighting designer. There are some great options beyond the standard ceiling outlet in the center of the room. Unfortunately, high-quality lighting can often be quite costly.

I have not personally used such a service.

AllThumbs schrieb:

The Voltus distribution planning is more of a technical design within the KNX environment.

Understood. That was just the reason for my posts. So, the question is: "Does the installer handle this, or do you have it planned independently?"

AllThumbs schrieb:

For a single-family home, I would find a lighting designer the most sensible option.

So that would be someone different from the electrician? Okay. Do you have any idea how that process works and what costs I should expect? A quick Google search gives me everything from “online lighting designer for free” to impressive lighting installations in event venues...

You already have the answer in your question 😉. The electrical planning is done by the electrical planner (yes, that role exists).
Billing is usually according to HOAI, but it is often negotiable if there is available capacity (which currently there isn’t much).

Then you can have the rest handled by the MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) planner, who often communicates with or even directly commissions the electrical planner.

Some electrical planners also bring an IT specialist on board if the IT infrastructure needs to be custom-designed 😳. Hopefully, everyone communicates with the interior designer (architect) and the lighting planner. Some even talk directly with the client 😱

i_b_n_a_n schrieb:

The electrical planning is done by the electrical planner (yes, that exists)

Thanks for the tip. I just googled "electrical planner in my area." The pure planners seem to target a different group (starting with upscale single-family homes), but there were also some local electricians listed. I went ahead and contacted one to ask about an independent, paid planning service. Let’s see if they respond.

What kind of professional input are you actually looking for from an electrical planner? What should they assist with? Choosing a suitable smart home system? Lighting? Or simply "where is the best place to install how many power outlets"?

For a single-family house, I find it hard to imagine much beyond smart home and lighting under "electrical planning." Did you come across Voltus because you want to install KNX? In that case, a system integrator would probably be the more appropriate contact.