Essential Guidelines for Kitchen Socket Placement

kitchen sockets or outlets where do you put them how many do you have and what do you need to consider

[Music] during most kitchen renovations at some point you're going to be asked where

would you like to place your sockets i know this because it used to be me asking the question and while you may

not think too much about this there are a few important things to consider when deciding on the location of your sockets

so in this video i thought i'd go over some considerations and guidelines to help you make more informed decisions

about where to put your sockets in your kitchen and at the end of the video i've got some of my personal little tips when

it comes to kitchen design and sockets but before we start a real quick disclaimer this video is intended as

guidance only you should always check and confirm all electrics with a qualified electrician the rules and regs

will be different in every country so please check with a qualified electrician where you are i'm in the uk

so i'll be mostly talking about uk rules but i think the overall considerations and tips that i'm sharing are pretty

universal right let's get into it what height should my kitchen sockets be above my countertop though the standard

height of a kitchen countertop from floor to the top of the countertop is 910 millimeters the general rule is to

then set your sockets 150 millimeters above this measured from the countertop surface to the bottom of the socket so

when you add this all together it means that the standard height a kitchen socket should be installed at is one

thousand and sixty millimeters from the finished floor to the bottom of the socket however because there isn't

really a standard kitchen height this height will differ depending on the height of your kitchen cabinets and

plinth and the thickness of your work top these differences will mean that the finished height of your countertop will

be different and so the final height that you put your sockets at will also differ depending on it as well as the

varying finished countertop height you'll also want to consider what you're going to be doing on the wall behind

your countertop if you're tiling behind your countertop you could set the boxes for your sockets to the height that your

tiles are making it easier to tile this will mean fewer cuts for your tire and a socket that's placed in line with all of

your tiles making it look much nicer if you're having an upstand behind your countertop you'll need to take the

height of this into consideration as well you'll want to give yourself at least 100 millimeters clearance from the

top of the up stand to the bottom of the socket this prevents the flex from the plug bending up against the up stand and

putting strain on the cable which could damage it another consideration to be aware of is if your sockets are near any

light switches light switches should be installed at a maximum height of 1200 millimeters from the finished floor

level so keep that height in mind when you're positioning sockets that are nearby to light switches as you'll

likely want them to match in height which again just looks nicer what distance should a socket be from a hob

walls and regs are changing all the time but the latest guidance that i'm aware of from the iet's electrician's guide to

building regulations dictates that this should be at least 100 millimeters this is measured horizontally from the edge

of any socket to the edge of your hob or cooktop this gives a reasonable separation to help prevent any heat or

splashes from cooking interfering with the electrics 100 millimeters is the minimum distance but i always recommend

checking the installation manual of your hob or cooktop as some may require this distance to be greater in the past my

general rule was to allow 300 millimeters but as long as you check the appliance installation manual and it's

more than 100 millimeters or at least 100 millimeters you should be good having sockets near your hob can be

really helpful being able to plug in an immersion blender or have your food processor or any small appliance nearby

your hob can be really helpful and make your kitchen that bit more comfortable and functional so assuming you have a

safe distance to do so i'd always recommend having a socket near your hob what distance should a socket be from a

sink so the latest information from the same electrician's guide to building

regulations states that you should allow 300 millimeters from the edge of your sink or draining board area to the edge

of a socket this should be enough space between the socket and sink to prevent any splashes getting into your electrics

another good rule for kitchen sockets near sinks is that they need to be out of arm's reach when you're stood at the

sink the theory is that you shouldn't be able to reach and touch a socket while you're stood at the sink doing the

washing up where you're likely to have wet hands sensible right so having a standard countertop depth of about 600

millimeters and putting a socket 300 millimeters to the side of the sink will mean that it's out of arm's reach when

you're stood at the sink just be careful if you have a sink close to a corner and you're placing a socket on the adjacent

wall make sure you can't stand at that sink and touch that socket kitchen design top tips for sockets my first top

tip you can never have too many sockets if in doubt put another one in it's better to have that spare socket on the

wall than not enough you don't want to have multi plugs or extension leads everywhere or the frustration of having

to unplug and plug in your appliances every time you want to use a different one think about how many small

appliances that you own and use regularly that live on the counter top and think about where you're going to

put them in your kitchen obviously don't go mad and fill the wall with sockets but if you're thinking should we add

another one there then yes you should my next little tip is to get sockets with usb outlets this helps on space and to

be able to plug more things into your sockets so charging your phone or tablet doesn't take up one of the socket

outlets you could use the usbs for this i recommend to get these types of sockets at least in some area of your

kitchen that's likely going to be the charging zone my next tip is a bit of a personal thing and almost a pet peeve

and that's to get a nicer finished socket not just a plain white plastic one

you've spent all this money on a lovely new kitchen just get a nicer finished socket you know a brushed steel or brass

or a matte black whatever it is that matches the style of your kitchen it's only a small thing it really doesn't

cost that much in the grand scheme of your renovation and it's just a lovely finishing touch and finally don't forget

to put power on your kitchen island whether that's a pop-up socket of some description or having sockets cut into

your end panels make sure you've got power on your island i think in some countries this is actually regulation

but whether it is or not get some power on your island you won't regret it i had a few people request that i do a video

on this topic so i hope that this has helped and if you have any further questions or if there are any other

kitchen design topics that you'd like me to cover please leave a comment below i do try my best to read and reply to as

many as i can as always thank you so much for watching and i'll see you in the next one

you