Planning kitchen electrics before you order new appliances

Which kitchen appliances need their own circuit

Anything that draws a lot of current on its own is a candidate for a dedicated circuit, meaning its own cable run back to the consumer unit rather than sharing a ring or spur with other sockets. In a Tallinn kitchen this usually means the induction hob, the built-in oven, and often the dishwasher, especially if the flat also has an electric water heater or underfloor heating on the same distribution board.

A fridge-freezer is generally fine on a shared circuit, but many people give it its own anyway so that a fault or trip elsewhere in the kitchen never cuts power to food in the freezer. A washing machine, if it lives in the kitchen rather than a bathroom or hallway, is worth treating the same way as the dishwasher.

The underlying question for each appliance is simple: what does it draw at full load, and what else is already on that circuit. This is exactly the calculation an electrician does before quoting, using the appliance's rated power rather than guesswork.

How many sockets you need and where to put them

Plan sockets before the units are ordered, not after, because socket height and position depend on where the worktop, hob and tall units end up. A socket behind a built-in oven or dishwasher needs to sit within the appliance's cable reach but clear of the appliance body once it is slid into place, which usually means slightly to the side rather than directly behind it.

Countertop sockets for kettles, toasters and small appliances are best spaced along the worktop rather than clustered in one corner, so no single extension lead ends up carrying everything. A run of two double sockets along a standard kitchen wall is a reasonable starting point, more if the kitchen is long or an island is involved.

Islands and peninsulas need their sockets planned early, since cabling has to reach them through the floor or a stub-up point before the flooring goes down. This is the kind of detail a kitchen installation job sorts out at the layout stage, well before cabinets arrive.

• Dedicated socket for the oven, positioned to the side, not directly behind it
• Dedicated socket for the dishwasher, low down, with the cable running clear of pipework
• Two double sockets along the main worktop run for small appliances
• A separate point for the island or peninsula, cabled before the floor goes down
• Extra socket near the fridge, at a height that does not sit behind the appliance once installed

Why an induction hob often needs its own line from the consumer unit

Induction hobs draw considerably more power than a standard socket circuit is designed for, particularly with four zones running or a boost function in use. This is why most induction hobs are wired directly to the consumer unit on their own circuit, sized to the hob's rated load, rather than plugged into an ordinary socket.

Older Soviet-era panel flats and 1930s wooden houses in areas like Kalamaja or Nõmme often have a consumer unit that was never designed with an induction hob in mind. Adding one may mean upgrading the circuit breaker for that line, and occasionally reviewing what else the board can carry, which is a job for a qualified electrician rather than a DIY swap.

If you are only replacing a gas or ceramic hob with induction on a like-for-like basis in a newer building, the existing circuit may already be adequate. The only way to know is to check the hob's rated power against what the current circuit and breaker are rated for.

The most common mistake: sorting electrics after the kitchen is ordered

By far the most common mistake is choosing the kitchen units and appliances first, then trying to fit the wiring around the finished plan. By that point the socket positions are fixed by the cabinet layout, the appliance cable lengths are already decided, and any change means chasing new routes into a wall that is about to be tiled.

The fix is to sequence the project the other way round: settle on which appliances you want, get their power ratings and rough dimensions, then have the electrical layout and circuits agreed before the kitchen units are ordered. It costs nothing to plan a socket position on paper; it costs a great deal to move one after the tiles are up.

This is also the point at which it is worth asking one company to look at kitchen installation and electrical work together, so the socket plan and the cabinet plan are drawn up against the same measurements rather than guessed twice.

What you can do yourself, and when to call an electrician

Working out how many sockets you want and roughly where is something any homeowner can plan on a printout of the kitchen layout, marking worktop runs, appliance positions and the fridge. Deciding which appliances need a dedicated circuit, in principle, is also something you can reason through once you know each appliance's rated power.

Anything past that point is electrician's work: running new cable, adding or changing breakers in the consumer unit, wiring a hob directly, or assessing whether an older board can take the extra load. Electrical work is charged from 49 € per hour, and a single new socket, if that is all a kitchen needs, is a job from 35 €.

If in doubt, describe the appliances and send a photo of the existing consumer unit before any cabinet is ordered. A short conversation at the planning stage is far cheaper than moving a socket once the kitchen is fitted.