Powering a Garden Dome: The Electrics Guide

Start with what you already have

Most people want more from a dome than the included lighting: power for a heater, a laptop, a sound system, maybe a hot tub. Getting electricity there safely is straightforward, but it's firmly a job for a qualified electrician, so start by working out what you really need.

Every dome comes with a free Ambient LED lighting kit for soft evening light and atmosphere. For decorative extras, battery or solar lights add more without cabling, and if light and ambience are all you're after, they may be all the extra you need. Solar and battery power suit light loads such as lighting, charging a phone or laptop and running a small fan, but they won't run an electric heater for long. A fixed solar panel and battery system wired into the dome is still electrical installation work, so have it fitted by a qualified installer. For a heater, sockets, a proper sound or screen setup, or year-round working use, you'll want a mains supply.

Getting mains power to the dome: the safe way

Running electricity to a garden building is a controlled job with real safety and regulatory requirements, so this is the section to take seriously:

• Use a qualified, registered electrician. Electrical work supplying a garden building must meet the wiring regulations, and in England and Wales it also comes under Part P of the Building Regulations. A registered electrician will install it correctly and provide the proper certification. Rules differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the advice is the same. Don't run a permanent garden supply yourself with an extension lead or DIY cabling: it's unsafe and non-compliant.
• A dedicated supply, properly protected. The typical solution is a correctly rated cable, usually steel-wire armoured (SWA) cable suitable for outdoor or buried use, run from the house consumer unit (or a garden sub-board) to the dome, with appropriate RCD protection for safety.
• A small consumer unit in the dome. For anything beyond the basics, a compact consumer unit in the dome lets you run separate circuits (sockets, lighting, heating) safely and tidily.
• Outdoor-rated fittings. A dome sees more moisture and condensation than a room in the house, so use outdoor-rated, weatherproof sockets, switches and light fittings inside it, and proper weatherproof outdoor sockets for any power points outside.

Your electrician will assess the distance, the load you want to run and the route, and size everything accordingly.

What you can run

With a proper supply installed, a dome becomes as capable as any room:

• Sockets for laptops, lamps, chargers, a kettle, a TV or projector.
• Heating: a thermostatic electric heater, infrared panels or electric underfloor heating, with heaters kept well clear of the panels (see our guide to heating a garden dome).
• Lighting circuits to build on the included LED kit: task and accent lighting on their own switches and dimmers (see our lighting ideas).
• A hot tub: these have specific, often higher electrical requirements, so flag it to your electrician from the outset (our hot tub guide covers sizing and the base).
• Sound, screens and Wi-Fi for a media room, cinema or home office.

Plan it before you fit out

A little forethought saves rework:

• Decide your layout first. Know where the desk, seating, heater and screen will go, so sockets and switches land where you need them.
• Allow for the future. Running a slightly more capable supply now is cheaper than upgrading later, so think about what you might add.
• Position the consumer unit and sockets sensibly for the round shape, keeping them accessible but unobtrusive.
• Tell your electrician the full plan (heater, hot tub, media, lighting) so the supply is sized for the whole load, not just today's.

Safety, plainly

Electricity and the outdoors demand respect. The rules around it exist for good reason: correct cable, RCD protection, outdoor-rated fittings and a certified installation. Use a registered electrician, get the certification, and your dome is safely and compliantly powered for whatever you want to run. Like a wood burner, it's one part of fitting out a dome where professional help isn't optional.

Frequently asked questions