Take any luxury home on the Gold Coast and its elements will be immediately obvious: the stone work, the timber joinery, the glass. And there won’t be any mention of the underlying infrastructure that allows all of that to happen – the electrical system which operates behind the scenes. It is the electrical infrastructure of the luxury market that increasingly makes the difference between a photo-worthy house and one that really lives comfortably and between an easily appraised property and one that will be repriced in due diligence.
Buyers’ Requirements Have Evolved
Whereas a decade ago, due diligence in the purchase of a premium property included structural and pest reports only, now many buyers’ agents order electrical assessments in the Gold Coast market. This is simply because it is extremely expensive to retrofit an already existing multi-million-dollar home. If an inspection report highlights the absence of provisions for EV charging, the undersized switchboard, poor circuit separation and inadequate home automation or single phase supply of power to a clearly three-phase property, then the correction will cost six figures once the marble, stone benchtops and imported finishes get in the way of installation of the cables.
This is why it pays off to involve an electrician in the design process rather than leaving him for the final fit-off. Electrical load calculation for a home which includes a pool plant room, ducted climate control throughout the house, wine cellar, outdoor kitchen and a three-car garage equipped with dual EV chargers cannot possibly resemble the usual load calculation in a regular project. Owners building in the region tend to go to reliable electrician Gold Coast with the kind of track record who can offer their services at the concept stage precisely because of such design stage involvement.
The reasons are economic. While pulling the cable while the walls are still open does not add much to the cost of the project, doing this after handing the property over to the owner will be quite expensive because it will mean plastering, painting, scaffolding, disruptions and weeks of delay.
Read more: Smart Home Electrical Systems: What Homeowners Need to Know
No Wealth Is Not a Protection from Non-compliance
Queensland cannot accept any non-compliance regardless of the budget size. The installation of electricity should be performed by the licensed contractor while the electricity works aspect of the construction and building operation is regulated by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission that manages the public register of the licenses and sets the minimum standards for the defective building works. The compliance history has become the selling proposition for the prestige builder as the certificates of test, the documentation about safety switches for each circuit, the switchboard schedule and pictures become the part of the premium listing data room along with the architectural plans and the pool compliance certificate.
Why Does It Matter for the Resale
The logic of the resale is simple enough. The prestige buyer that invests eight-figure amount of money in the purchase applies the same due diligence approach to his residential transaction as in business deal using the advice of professional lawyers. If there are any gaps in the documentation related to the electrical compliance – it means the risk that means price discount. The full set of the documentation tells about the proper maintenance and the care of the system by the company that treats its systems seriously – and this means everything else invisible.
What Is the Future for the Premium Homes
Three electrical aspects prevail at the top end of the real estate market at the Gold Coast right now.
The house energy architecture. The roof-top solar panels are the must-have equipment in this price range. The main feature is the battery storage combined with intelligent load management that ensures the operation of the refrigeration, the pool filtration, the security and communication services in spite of the outages in the region which takes storm season very seriously. The best systems are built as a single unit with the backup circuits chosen rather than discovered at the first instance of outage.
The lighting design as an art. The layered, zoned, tunable lighting that is able to operate according to the scenes rather than switches. Well done lighting uses the separate control wiring with the controllers and drivers installed in a way allowing their service. As a retrofit solution it becomes a compromised solution with every ceiling penetration.
The provisions for the future expansion. Three-phase power, switchboards with the spare capacity and conduits run to the pool area, gatehouse, pontoon and everywhere on the property where the power and the data lines will be installed someday. No regrets about excessive capacity of the conduits, many homeowners regret their lack when the sauna, the boat lift or the second EV become a reality.
Five Questions to Ask before Starting the High-End Project
The owner does not need to become an electrical engineer himself but he should ask these five questions before starting the project. Is the power supply going to be enough for the final design of the house including the future loads? Does the switchboard allow spare ways for the future development? Are the automation, audio and security systems connected through the dedicated circuits and cable routes? What documentation will you get at the end of the process? Are all the contractors who will be involved in the project licensed and insured to perform the electrical works?
The experienced electrical contractor will answer these five questions without any hesitation. The hesitation itself is the answer.
The Bottom Line for the Owners and the Developers
The electrical work is one of the few trades in the construction of luxury property when the quality is invisible and visible only by its absence – the dimmer that never buzzes, the outdoor system that never trips, the switchboard that easily accepts the additional circuit decades after the commissioning. Work with the licensed electricians and require the documentation. Treat your electrical plan as serious as the floor plan.
