Supplying a garden house with electricity has many advantages. You have various options. But how useful are these?
If you have a power supply in your own garden house, you can use the house even when it's dark outside, for example to socialize with friends. Maybe you would also like to operate a sauna in your own garden house and in such a case you are absolutely dependent on a stable and powerful power supply. Even if you would like to spend the night in the cottage, non-electric lighting alternatives such as candles pose high security risks.
In order to save costs and time, the installation of the power supply must be well planned. In this article, we offer tips for that.
Important Power Questions
How high will the expected power consumption be?
In order to be prepared for all possible cases, one should estimate very generously here. Since most laypeople still feel overwhelmed with an estimate, it can also be done by a specialist, for example an electrician.
Is a high-voltage connection required?
If you are planning a garden sauna or a fully equipped garden house with a kitchen, you will not be able to avoid such a connection.
Who carries out the installation?
If damage occurs due to improper installation, the insurance company will not pay a cent. Therefore, you should definitely have electrical installations carried out by a specialist. If you really want to do the installation yourself, you have another option. This consists of having the result of your efforts appraised by an expert and having the proper implementation certified.
What requirements does a power supply for the garden house have to meet?
In terms of humidity, the conditions in the garden are completely different from those in the house. All electrical installations that are carried out in the garden house must therefore have approval for damp rooms.
Electricity via underground cable - Use of the private power connection or the public oneMains
The easiest and cheapest way to provide electricity in the garden house is to connect it to the mains using an underground cable. Due to the numerous advantages, this variant is also used most frequently in practice. In this case, the garden house should not be too far away from the house.
» Reading tip: Laying power cables in the garden - step-by-step instructions
If the garden shed is to be connected to the public power grid because it is not on your own property, you must first apply for such a power connection, and you should first find out how high the costs for fuse boxes and electricity meters are and fees are.
Alternatives to underground cable
Solar Energy
The optimal solution for every environmentally conscious gardener who only wants to connect small devices in the garden house is a photovoltaic system. For example, this can be attached to the roof of the garden shed. If this option is not available, it is also possible to attach the system to the house facade. Another possibility: you set up the photovoltaic system freely. Excess power can be stored in a battery.
» Reading tip: Solar thermal or photovoltaic? Differences and uses (in the garden) explained
Own small wind turbine
Another green way to supply the garden house with electricity is a small system that uses wind power. This offers the advantage that you do not have to be a professional to set up a wind turbine. The disadvantage of this is, on the one hand, that a noise level is to be expected. On the other hand, the mast must be at least seven meters high.
The power of these systems is 0.05 to 2 kW. In this case, too, a battery that stores excess electricity makes sense. In terms of administrative effort, the installation of wind power is quite straightforward, since a simplified building application is sufficient in most cases.
Tip: A combination of solar and wind power also makes sense, and you can be sure that it is clean electricity.
Own power generator
Power generators provide multiple sockets so that numerous devices used in the garden shed can be connected to them. In order to minimize the noise level in the garden, when buying, you should make sure that it is a product that has both a catalyst and aadequate soundproofing.
An output of 3.5 watts is optimal for the power supply of a garden house. While mobile power generators generate electricity with a four-stroke petrol combustion engine, stationary generators run on a diesel engine. Environmentalists should note that this creates exhaust fumes.
Inverter generators deliver high quality power with less voltage fluctuations. They offer the advantage that they only generate as much electricity as is currently needed. This keeps the annoyance caused by noise and exhaust fumes within limits.
Tip: If you position the power generator at the back of the garden shed, the noise generated is usually not a problem.
How useful are these alternatives?
A large refrigerator in the garden house, which is operated with solar energy? You can forget that, because a solar system is only able to supply small devices with electricity. Even a small wind turbine or power generator will be overwhelmed by larger electrical devices that require more power.
Hot plates or circular saws are other devices that consume a lot of electricity. A high-voltage connection with 400 V and a fuse with 32 A is absolutely necessary if, for example, a garden shredder is to be connected. In any case, it makes sense to seek advice from an electrician on this question.
In a fully furnished garden house with a kitchen and all the trimmings, you won't get very far with the alternatives mentioned. However, if it is only a place where you want to spend quality time with your loved ones, the alternatives mentioned can make sense for you. However, you should always keep in mind the proportionality of the acquisition costs to the use.
Sometimes an extension cable is enough
In some cases, the garden shed is used so seldom that installing one of the power supplies mentioned above is not worth it. You might want to use the garden shed on a particularly sunny day to read the newspaper and listen to the radio. Or you would like to organize a garden party in winter, for example. Then you can provide the necessary power for heating, light and music in the garden house with an extension cable.
Apart from such exceptions, however, an extension cord is not suitable as a power source and certainly not continuously over a longer period of time. Because there is a risk that the cable may be snagged by a wild rabbit orbeing nibbled on by other animals that happen to run into the garden at night.