How Much Does an Electrical Plan Cost? Price Comparison 2026
Which services determine the price of a Belgian electrical plan and how to compare quotations with a transparent, editable calculation model.
Short answer: Belgium has no official flat rate
There is no official Belgian tariff for producing a single-line diagram and a situation plan. A defensible quotation depends on the agreed work: are reliable survey data already available, must the circuits be traced on site, is the commission limited to drawing, and are calculations, remedial work, professional review or the statutory inspection included? A national “market range” without a named sample, date, region and VAT basis would create false precision.
The useful comparison is not “software fee versus electrician invoice” but the same result with the same scope. PlanElec currently has no product fee during Early Access. Your own time, measurements, materials, physical work, professional assistance and an inspection by an authorised inspection body remain separate.
Which documents does the official guidance require?
The Belgian FPS Economy states that a domestic inspection requires at least the single-line diagrams, situation plans and, when available, the connection’s EAN code. The single-line diagram records conductors, installation method, residual-current and overcurrent protection, switches, boxes, socket outlets, lighting points, fixed equipment and sources. The situation plan shows where the corresponding items are located. Both form part of the installation file together with inspection reports. The official federal domestic-inspection guidance and AREI/RGIE Book 1 version 06 are the primary sources used here; this English article summarises the official national-language material.
The trigger determines the detail:
- New installation: diagrams, the situation plan and inspection before commissioning belong to the project.
- Important modification or extension: the change and its effect on the unmodified installation must be documented and inspected. Adding a circuit is an official example.
- Non-important modification: a short, dated and signed description may suffice, while the situation plan must continue to show the current state.
- Sale of a dwelling unit: the prescribed inspection takes place and the available installation file is handed over. A traceability sketch is not automatically a full regulatory diagram.
- Periodic inspection or connection upgrade: the precise trigger determines the applicable documentation.
Define the scope before comparing a price
A quotation becomes comparable only when each item is explicit.
| Work item | Question to put in writing |
|---|---|
| Existing-condition survey | Will rooms, outlets, fixed equipment, cable routes and boards be surveyed, or will the client provide verified data? |
| Circuit tracing | Are assignments known, or must a competent person identify them by safe switching, inspection and measurement? |
| Single-line diagram | Are protection characteristics, conductor data, installation methods, sources and fixed equipment included? |
| Situation plan | Is there a usable floor plan and will every reference match the diagram? |
| Engineering checks | Are conductor sizing, fault level, selectivity or voltage-drop checks actually included? |
| Professional review | Will an electrical professional verify technical plausibility, or is the service drawing only? |
| Remedial work | Does the quotation include changes to the board, wiring or equipment? |
| Statutory inspection | Is the authorised inspection body’s fee included or contracted separately? |
| Revisions | How many evidence-based correction rounds are included? |
| VAT and travel | Is the amount inclusive of VAT, travel and a possible return visit? |
An editable model instead of invented market prices
Enter values from an actual quotation or your own time assessment. The formula is a decision aid, not a price promise:
scenario total = survey + drawing + professional review + remedial work + inspection + travel + own time
You can make personal effort visible through:
valued own time = recorded hours × personal comparison value per hour
That comparison value is not an invoice and not a Belgian hourly-rate statistic. It prevents a weekend of work from disappearing as “free”. Conversely, a professional fixed fee should not be labelled expensive if it includes site tracing, measurement, technical responsibility and revisions.
Scenario A: verified data already exist
The board is clearly labelled, circuit assignments have been checked, a usable floor plan exists and protection-device data are readable. Most work can focus on data entry, consistency checking and drawing. PlanElec can hold the shared project model, floor plan, topology and PDF output, while an electrician performs a targeted technical review.
Scenario B: an older installation without dependable records
If conductor sections, installation methods and circuit assignments are unknown, drawing is only the final step. A competent person must first establish the actual condition safely. Unqualified people should not open enclosures or carry out electrical measurements. In this case the survey may represent more work than producing the diagrams, and software does not remove that work.
Scenario C: renovation with unresolved design choices
New circuits, PV, a battery, an EV charging point, a heat pump or board changes require design decisions before documentation. A diagram records those decisions; it does not make them. Ask for survey, design, manufacturer requirements, distribution-system-operator conditions, installation and inspection as separate items.
Scenario D: a property sale with a deadline
A deadline does not prove a standard rush surcharge. Request a written offer with delivery date, prerequisites and revision process. Establish who commissions the inspection and which earlier reports belong to the installation file. A quickly drawn plan that does not match the installation does not solve the documentation problem.
What PlanElec contributes today — and what it does not
In the current development and pilot state, PlanElec combines the floor plan, electrical topology and distribution-board planning in one project. It centrally exports the single-line diagram and situation plan as PDFs. The software-assisted AREI self-check covers only supported rules that can be decided from recorded data and exposes missing information. The detailed manufacturer-neutral material list and configurable working dossier are pilot features, not an order-ready bill of materials or an official inspection report. Quotation creation and payment processing are not active.
| Item | Status on 29 August 2026 |
|---|---|
| PlanElec product fee | currently EUR 0 |
| Active checkout | none |
| Paid B2B pilot | planned; terms not published |
| Professional electrical review | separate service when required |
| Official inspection | separate service from an authorised inspection body |
“EUR 0 product fee” does not establish a fixed total saving. A user with complete, verified project data has a different workload from one who needs an unknown installation surveyed.
How to request comparable quotations
- Describe the building, connection, number of boards and known circuits.
- List special sources and loads such as PV, battery storage, EV charging and heat pumps.
- Provide existing plans and inspection reports without guessing unknown values.
- Request separate items for survey, drawing, engineering review, installation and inspection.
- Ask about VAT, travel, delivery format and included revision rounds.
- Compare responsibility and coverage, not only the total.
- After a change, update the actual state and retain the documents in the installation file.
Frequently asked questions
What information should I collect before requesting a quotation?
Start with information that is already available without unsafe intervention: address and connection type, number and location of boards, readable ratings of RCDs and breakers, circuit labels, the floor plan, earlier diagrams and inspection reports. Record fixed loads and sources separately, and mark every unknown as unknown. An invented conductor section may make a drawing look complete while making it technically less trustworthy. Photographs can help prepare a survey but do not replace measurement or the safe identification of concealed wiring.
Which services should not disappear inside a “plan price”?
Physical alterations, fault finding, measurement reports, engineering against manufacturer conditions and correcting an inspection finding are different from graphical documentation. Distribution-system-operator procedures for generation or storage are not automatically included either. When they are required, list them as separate deliverables with an owner and a date. This protects both parties: the client can see what is delivered, and the contractor does not appear to accept responsibility for unknown or uncommissioned work.
How should I handle changes after the first export?
Keep a traceable baseline, enter confirmed changes in the project and situation plan, and arrange technical review where the installation changed. Do not record only “kitchen changed”; identify the circuit, protective device, cable and points concerned. That turns the next revision into a bounded update instead of another complete survey.
May I draw the diagrams myself?
The official rules define content, identification and responsibility. The decisive point is that the documents correctly represent the actual installation and are submitted through the required inspection process. Drawing them yourself does not replace a safe survey or competent electrical work.
Does a PDF exported by PlanElec prove compliance?
No. The PDF documents the entered project data. The self-check is indicative and incomplete. Only an authorised inspection body decides through the official procedure whether the inspected installation meets the applicable requirements.
What is the main cost driver?
There is no universal one. Uncertainty in the existing installation and the agreed scope usually matter more than floor area alone. Verified inputs reduce survey effort; unknown wiring, several boards and planned technical changes increase it.
Is the inspection included in PlanElec?
No. PlanElec prepares project documents and an indicative self-check. It does not act as an inspection body, book the inspection as an included service or issue an official report.
Conclusion
A serious electrical-plan price is a project-specific quotation, not an unverified internet range. Separate survey, drawing, engineering review, installation and inspection; value your own time; and compare like with like. PlanElec can support structured documentation, but it does not guarantee savings, compliance or a positive inspection.