Free Electrical Maintenance Budget Calculator
Plan your annual electrical maintenance budget for commercial or residential buildings. Covers EICRs, fire alarms, emergency lighting, and contingency.
This electrical maintenance budget calculator helps building managers, facilities managers, and landlords plan annual electrical maintenance spending. Enter your building type, size, age, and number of floors to get a detailed budget breakdown including EICR testing, fire alarm servicing, emergency lighting maintenance, and a recommended contingency fund. Older and larger buildings require significantly more budget.
Electrical Maintenance Budget Calculator results
Fill in the details and select Calculate to see your figures.
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Tradehand is the software your trade business runs on, with an assistant that answers every call and message, sends your quotes the same day and chases them until they land. The first £10,000 Tradehand collects for a business carries no Tradehand fee. After that, Tradehand earns 5% of collected invoice payments. No monthly fee, setup fee, card fee or contract.
Get startedHow to use the Electrical Maintenance Budget Calculator
- 1Select your building type. Offices, retail, and residential blocks have different requirements.
- 2Enter the total floor area of the building in square metres.
- 3Enter the building age. Older buildings need more maintenance and are more likely to need repairs.
- 4Set the number of floors, which affects emergency lighting and fire alarm costs.
- 5Review the budget breakdown and plan your annual maintenance spend accordingly.
How the Electrical Maintenance Budget Calculator works
There is a real budgeting rule of thumb for planned electrical maintenance: a rate per square metre per year, plus a percentage contingency for unplanned faults. It is a planning figure, not a precise quote.
- 500 m² office, 30 years old: 500 × £3/m² = £1,500 planned maintenance.
- Age factor for a 25–40 year building (×1.2): £1,500 × 1.2 = £1,800.
- Add Tradehand's working contingency of 15% (the mid-point of the 10-20% range) for unplanned faults: £1,800 × 1.15 ≈ £2,070 total for the year.
This is a planning rule of thumb, not a fixed price. Real spend depends on the systems present (fire alarm, emergency lighting) and their condition; amortise one-off items like a 5-yearly EICR across the years between tests. Statutory servicing (e.g. BS 5839 fire alarm visits) is a minimum, not an optional saving.
Typical UK benchmarks
| Small Commercial EICR (up to 10 circuits) | £250-£400 for a small office or retail unit, or £30-£50 per circuit (Commercial EICR cost guides, 2026) |
| Fire Alarm Service Contract (annual, 2 visits) | From around £245+VAT for a standard 2-visit annual contract, meeting BS 5839-1's minimum of 2 services a year (Quartz Empire Fire & Security cost guide, 2026) |
Disclaimer
This tool gives an estimate for general guidance only, based on typical UK figures and the details you enter. It is not a formal quote, survey, or professional advice. Always confirm with a qualified tradesperson before relying on any figure, as regional prices, site conditions, and current standards vary.
You do the job, Tradehand handles everything around it.
Your assistant sends the quotes, chases the invoices, books the work and keeps your customers updated. The first £10,000 Tradehand collects for a business carries no Tradehand fee. After that, Tradehand earns 5% of collected invoice payments. No monthly fee, setup fee, card fee or contract. One office hire costs about £25,000 a year, whether the invoices land or not.
Source: Office manager salary, National Careers Service
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