You’re getting a gorgeous Radiata Garden Room installed, or maybe you’ve gone big and chosen a beautiful Blackstone Garden Room. Your delivery date is in place, your base is ready and you’re counting down the days until you can enjoy your new space.
Then you discover that installing mains electricity might not be possible. Your garden room dreams come screeching to a halt. While this situation is extremely rare, it can leave you feeling pretty deflated and unsure what to do next.
The good news is that this doesn’t mean your garden room project is over. There are some good alternatives to mains electricity, which we’ll discuss in this blog post, that allow you to use your garden room the way you originally planned.
Why might I not be able to get electricity installed in my garden room?
In most cases, installing electricity in a garden room is straightforward. However, there are occasional circumstances where it becomes complicated or impractical.
For example, we recently worked with a customer whose garden sat across a public road from their house. To run the armoured cable from the house to the garden room would mean closing the public road. To do this would disturb neighbours, and mean the project would need planning permission. Understandably this wasn’t practical for the customer, so getting mains electricity installed wasn’t an option.
Other situations that would be a barrier to installing mains electricity in a garden room include very poor site access, a long distance between the house and garden room, or high trenching costs.
Even though this is an uncommon situation, when it does happen, there are some good alternatives to consider instead.
What actually uses electricity in a Garden Room?
It’s easy to underestimate how much we rely on electricity until it’s not there. If you’re using your garden room as a home office, you’ll need sockets to power a laptop and monitor, somewhere to charge your phone, and potentially a WiFi router.
Another important factor is lighting. While our garden rooms benefit from plenty of natural daylight, you’ll still need lighting for the evenings.
The element of a garden room that uses the most electricity, though, is heating. Both our Radiata and Blackstone Garden Rooms are fully lined and insulated, but it’s still Scotland. If you plan to use the room in the winter, you’ll almost definitely want some kind of heating.
You might also want to plug in smaller appliances like a kettle, coffee machine or speaker.
Depending on how you plan to use your garden room, an alternative supply of electricity may be essential, or it may be something you can work around.
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How much electricity does a garden room use?
Before choosing what sort of electricity setup is right for you, it’s good to know how much electricity a garden room will actually need.
For light use, such as running LED lighting, a laptop, monitor and WiFi for an 8 hour workday, electricity consumption will be relatively low – around 500 – 1000 watts.
Heating is where usage increases significantly. A small oil-filled heater is usually rated between 1kW and 2kW. If used for four hours, that could mean consuming between 4kW – 8kW. Infrared heaters tend to be lower in power, being rated at around 300 watts – 1000 watts, meaning four hours of consumption would use up between 1.2kW – 4kW.
As you can see, heating dramatically increases the amount of electricity required to run a garden room. Understanding this is important when choosing the right mains electric alternative.
Are portable power stations a good alternative to mains electricity?
A portable power station is essentially a large rechargeable battery unit. You charge it inside your house and then take it out to the garden room to power devices.
For smaller garden rooms like a Radiata, a portable power station in the 700 – 1000Wh range can power a light electrical setup, and typically costs between £300 – £700. For a bigger garden room like a Blackstone, a larger capacity is needed – around 1000Wh – 2000Wh which costs between £700 – £1,500.
However, the portable power station has its limitations in terms of heating. Because heaters operate at such a high wattage, they will likely drain a battery like this quickly. Even a relatively large portable power station will still be depleted after a couple of hours of running heating.
This makes the portable power station a practical choice for light electrical use, but only when heating isn’t a priority.
Is solar power a good alternative to mains electricity?
Without mains electricity you can use an off-grid solar system which consists of solar panels, battery storage and an inverter. The panels sit on top of your garden room and generate electricity from daylight. Electricity is then stored in batteries for later use.
Solar panels can support low-energy demands like LED lighting and powering small devices, but it’s important to choose low usage devices so that electricity isn’t used at a faster rate than it’s generated.
Solar panels come at a high initial cost, so might not suit everyone’s budget. For an off-grid kit with a 800Wh – 1.1kWh capacity, prices range from around £1,400 – £2,800.
One of the downsides of solar panels, especially in Scotland, is that their power generation drops significantly in winter due to lack of daylight. This means you need to reduce your consumption, or rely on backup charging.
Solar panels can be a viable option for powering a garden room, but they are unlikely to produce enough electricity to run heating. And if you’re considering solar power, it’s always best to speak with your supplier to ensure the system you choose will meet your expectations.
How can I heat my garden room without mains electricity?
Since electric heating places a heavy demand on portable power stations and solar systems, alternative heating approaches are a good route.
If you want to heat your garden room effectively without mains electricity, a wood burning stove is a great option. Stoves provide strong, consistent heat and are popular among our customers for creating a cosy atmosphere and keeping running costs relatively low.
The main drawback of a wood burning stove is the high initial cost, with models ranging from £500 – £1,500, and overall costs being even higher when taking into account installation fees. That being said, a wood burning stove is a reliable heating option where mains electricity isn’t suitable.
A more budget-friendly approach is to focus on heating yourself rather than the entire room. Heated seat pads, blankets or small battery-powered heaters use significantly less power than oil-filled or infrared heaters. This is a more manageable heating option that won’t drain portable power stations or solar panels.
Further Reading: What’s the best way to heat a garden room?
Can I use my Garden Room without electricity?
Yes, you absolutely can. During summer months, natural sunlight will warm the room through the double-glazing, making it perfectly comfortable for daytime use.
For lighting, battery-powered LED lights or battery-powered fairy lights can be put up. And for entertainment, phones and smaller devices can be charged using portable chargers.
If you only want to use your garden room occasionally – maybe as somewhere to relax or socialise – then not having a full electrical setup will work for you.
What if I can’t get electricity installed in a Garden Room?
Now you know that even if you can’t install mains electricity in your garden room, it’s not a major setback. You can still have the garden room that you imagined. By knowing how you want to use your space you can choose an alternative setup that fits your needs.
For light use, a portable power station or solar system can power essentials like lighting and device charging.
If heating is your main concern, exploring options such as a wood burning stove – or focusing on heating yourself rather than the entire room – can make year-round use practical and comfortable, even without mains electricity.
To talk through your options with one of our expert Sales Team members, book a Consultation. They’ll guide you through what’s possible and help you choose the best solution for your specific garden room setup.
