Consumer unit and rewire costs in Ireland 2026

01Prices vary: read this first

There’s no official price list for electrical work in Ireland. One of the guides used here says so plainly: there is no official national electrician price list, so every property needs to be assessed. What there is, is price guides published by electricians and trade directories. This guide takes five Irish guides published or updated in 2026, puts their figures side by side, and gives each job as a range from the lowest figure to the highest.

Use the ranges to sense-check a price, not to set one. Each range names the guides it comes from, and each guide’s publish date is in the sources list.

How we read the sources:

• Ranges run from the lowest figure to the highest that the guides give for the job.
• A “+” means a source left the top end open, for bigger or harder jobs.
• VAT isn’t always included. Two guides, both from electricians, say their prices include VAT: Gorman Electrical’s rewire prices include VAT at 13.5%, and J Cowman Electrical’s swap price includes VAT. The others don’t say. Electrical installation work is generally at 13.5% (see our VAT guide).
• Dublin costs more. Gorman Electrical’s figures are Dublin prices, and they sit at the top of most ranges.

02Consumer unit (fuse board) upgrade

The bottom of the range is a straight swap: a new board in the same place, on sound wiring. J Cowman Electrical says that covers the board, the protective devices, the labour, full testing and a Safe Electric completion certificate, usually in half a day to a day on site.

The price climbs when it isn’t a straight swap. The same guide names the usual reasons: earthing or main bonding that needs bringing up to standard, a board in an awkward spot, or faults on old circuits that a modern board shows up. Trade Source IRE says its figure depends on the existing installation, testing and remedial work.

03When a board needs upgrading

A working board isn’t illegal just because it’s old. J Cowman Electrical’s guide says there’s no law that says you must rip out a working board just because it’s old, and lists the points where an upgrade becomes necessary:

• A new circuit or a big change. An EV charger, an electric shower, a heat pump or an extension must meet IS 10101, the national wiring rules, which means RCD protection. If the old board can’t give it, it’s upgraded as part of the job.
• A failed inspection. A periodic inspection report that codes the board as needing urgent attention or improvement.
• Selling, a mortgage or insurance. A buyer’s surveyor or an insurer may ask for proof of a compliant installation.

The commonest sign of an old board is rewireable fuses: carriers with a strip of fuse wire across them. The same guide says those boards pre-date RCD protection entirely, so there’s no automatic protection against shock. If you’re quoting an EV charger or a shower, check the board on the day you price the job, and price any board work then, not halfway through.

04Full house rewire

A full rewire usually means replacing the old fixed wiring throughout, new circuits, a new consumer unit where needed, and the agreed sockets, switches and lights, then inspecting, testing and certifying the installation. Gorman Electrical’s Dublin figures include a new consumer unit, smoke alarms and the completion certificate for each size of house.

Larger homes go higher still: HomePros.ie gives €15,000 to €22,000+ for five bedrooms or more, and Gorman Electrical €19,000 to €25,000+ for a large detached house in Dublin.

05How the sources compare

The spread is clearest on the most common job, a three-bed house:

Gorman Electrical puts the rise in prices down to copper costs, labour shortages, and updated wiring standards, and says a quote far below its figures should be checked for VAT, certification and a full replacement of every circuit.

06What moves the price

The guides list the same things:

• The number of points. Sockets, switches, lights and circuits. HomePros.ie suggests asking every electrician to price the same socket count, lighting plan and consumer unit, so quotes can be compared.
• Empty or lived in. An empty house is faster to rewire. Gorman Electrical says a vacant property is always cheaper to rewire than an occupied one.
• Making good. Plastering and painting after cables are chased into walls is often extra. Gorman Electrical lists making good plasterwork and painting as not included.
• The building. Wall construction, attic access, floors, extensions and old alterations.
• Extras. Smart controls, EV charger preparation, data cabling, alarms and outdoor power.
• Where the job is. Dublin prices sit at the top of the ranges.

07Living in the house during a rewire

Many rewires happen with the family still at home. Trade Source IRE explains that a “live” rewire means a live-in or occupied rewire, not working on live cables: the electrician works room by room so power can be safely restored at agreed stages. The household should still expect periods without power, dust, chased walls and lifted floors.

It takes longer, too. Gorman Electrical’s typical Dublin timings, from two to three days for a one-bed apartment to six to eight days for a four-bed detached, assume an empty house; living in the property adds 30–50%, because each area has to be safe and usable at the end of every day. Before you quote an occupied rewire, agree the order of rooms, when the power will be off, and who clears and covers what.

08The certificate the law requires

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities says homeowners should always use a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC) to carry out electrical work in your home. It is the law. RECs are regulated through the Safe Electric scheme, which checks that they work to national standards, have the technical ability for the work and are insured.

When an REC does work in a home, they must give the customer a Completion Certificate, which shows the work is safe and up to standard. A customer can complain to Safe Electric if they don’t get one. If you’re an electrician, put the certificate on your quote as part of the price, so it’s clear the customer is paying for certified work.

09Pricing your own jobs

If you’re an electrician, the ranges show where the market is; your quote shows what the customer gets. A quote that wins at the top of a range lists what the range leaves out: the number of circuits and points, the consumer unit and its protection, smoke alarms, testing and the certificate, and whether making good is included. Say clearly whether your price includes VAT. Our guide on how to write a quote that gets accepted covers the rest, and for bigger jobs, how much deposit to ask for.

10What QuotePaid does for you

QuotePaid comes with starter electrical jobs, from sockets, light points and smoke alarms to a consumer unit upgrade, a rewire per bedroom and a full rewire, and you set your own price for each. Build a quote by tapping the jobs or by saying them, and QuotePaid fills in the lines from your price list; it never makes up a price. It works out the VAT, at 13.5% for the job or 23% when materials are over two-thirds, or leaves it off if you’re not registered, and sends the quote to your customer as a link they can accept on their phone.