Complete Office Refurbishment in Bristol: Electrical Planning Tips

At EMC Electrical Group, the electrical side of a full office refurbishment could cost around £10,000–£30,000 or more, depending on the size of the office, the number of circuits and the amount of new lighting, wiring and equipment required. Getting it planned early can save plenty of headaches later.

Think about the layout first

Before you start looking at light fittings and sockets, it's worth thinking about how the finished office is actually going to be used. Are you creating a large open-plan workspace? Will there be meeting rooms? Do people need screens for presentations? Where will desks, printers and other equipment be positioned?

All of these things affect the electrical installation. It's much easier to plan sockets, data points and lighting when you know where everything is going to go, rather than trying to work it out once the furniture has arrived. We recently worked on a project on Maudlin Street in Bristol involving two floors within a larger building. The space was being completely refurbished for new tenants, so there was a lot more involved than simply giving the existing office a fresh coat of paint.

The floors were being redesigned to create large open-plan working areas, along with smaller rooms for meetings and presentations. With a completely new layout, the electrical installation needed to be designed around how the new tenants planned to use the space. That meant new wiring, lighting, emergency lighting and all the other electrical requirements needed to bring the offices up to scratch.

It's a good example of why the electrical side needs to be part of the refurbishment plans from day one.

Get your office lighting right

Good lighting can make a huge difference in an office. Nobody wants to spend eight hours a day working under harsh or poorly positioned lights.

For an open-plan office, you'll want lighting that provides good coverage across the working areas without creating unnecessary glare on computer screens. Meeting rooms may need a slightly different approach, particularly if they're being used for presentations.

During a Complete office refurbishment in Bristol, it's also worth thinking about whether lighting needs to be controlled separately in different areas. There's little point having every light in a large office switched on when only one section is being used.

Don't forget emergency lighting

Emergency lighting is another important part of the electrical planning process for commercial premises.

Depending on the building and how it's being used, appropriate emergency lighting will need to be installed and tested to help people safely find their way out if the normal lighting fails. This is something that should be considered alongside the rest of the electrical design, rather than left until the end of the refurbishment.

Plan for technology too

Modern offices rely heavily on technology, so it's important to think beyond standard power sockets. Meeting rooms may need power and connections for presentation screens, while open-plan desks will need plenty of accessible power for computers, monitors and other equipment.

The Maudlin Street project included dedicated meeting spaces with screens for presentations, so these requirements needed to be considered as part of the overall electrical plan.

A little forward planning can make a big difference once everyone moves in.

Planning a complete office refurbishment in Bristol

A Complete office refurbishment in Bristol is a big project, but getting the electrical work planned properly can make the whole process much easier.

Whether you're taking on a single office or, like the Maudlin Street project, refurbishing multiple floors for new tenants, EMC Electrical Group can help you plan the electrical side around the way your business will actually use the space.

If you're planning a Complete office refurbishment in Bristol, contact EMC Electrical Group today by phone on 0117 422 7222 or via our contact form. We'd be happy to have a chat about your plans and give you an idea of what's involved.