What electrics does a garden-room golf simulator need?

In summary

A garden-room simulator needs a proper supply from the house: usually a new circuit, run underground in armoured cable, with RCD-protected sockets in the room. In England a new circuit is notifiable building work under Part P, so use an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who certifies it for you. This page explains what to ask for. It isn't legal or electrical advice, and the design is your electrician's job.

What the simulator needs

The simulator itself is modest: a projector, a PC or the Garmin R50, the launch monitor's charger, and perhaps speakers and lighting. In a garden room the bigger loads are heating and a dehumidifier. A fan heater is typically 2kW to 3kW on its label, which is most of what one 13A socket can supply. Tell the electrician everything you plan to plug in, heater included, so they can size the circuit.

Plan the sockets with the layout. Most rooms want one near the projector, one by the PC and one at the hitting position, plus one for a heater or dehumidifier. Uneekor says that if its adapter doesn't fit the outlet, you should have a proper socket fitted by a qualified electrician, which is a fair rule for all the kit. The cabling guide covers where the leads go.

The rules: Part P in England

Part P of the Building Regulations covers electrical safety in homes. The government's Approved Document P says it applies to installations "in outbuildings such as sheds, detached garages and domestic greenhouses", and in gardens, where the electricity comes from the house.

Small outbuildings are often exempt from Building Regulations. The Planning Portal says they won't normally apply under 15 square metres, or between 15 and 30 square metres if there's no sleeping accommodation and the building is at least a metre from the boundary or built substantially of non-combustible materials. But Approved Document P is clear that garages and sheds that share their electricity with a dwelling "are not exempt from Part P" and must comply.

What is notifiable

Notifiable means building control must be told. In England that's:

• the installation of a new circuit;
• the replacement of a consumer unit (the fuse box);
• any addition or alteration to existing circuits in a special location, meaning near a bath or shower, or a room with a swimming pool or sauna heater.

A new circuit from your house consumer unit to the garden room is therefore notifiable. Approved Document P gives a close example: connecting a garage door to an existing isolator isn't notifiable, but installing a new circuit to that isolator is. Work that isn't notifiable must still be designed, installed, tested and certificated to BS 7671, the UK wiring regulations.

How notification works

Approved Document P gives three routes:

1. A registered competent person, meaning an electrician in a government-authorised scheme, self-certifies the work. This is the usual route.
2. A registered third-party certifier inspects and certifies it.
3. You or your installer tell building control before work starts, and they inspect it.

With a registered electrician, you should get a BS 7671 Electrical Installation Certificate for the job, and a Building Regulations compliance certificate. Gov.uk says the competent person scheme certificate comes within 8 weeks of completion. Keep both: you'll be asked for them when you sell the house. Find a registered electrician on the Electrical Competent Person Register, which gov.uk links to.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

• Wales has its own Part P, which is wider: outdoor work is notifiable even without a new circuit.
• Scotland has no Part P. Work comes under the building standards system, through an approved certifier or the local authority.
• Northern Ireland has no statutory requirements for domestic electrical work, according to Electrical Safety First. A registered electrician and a BS 7671 certificate are still the safe way to do it.

The supply: what to ask the electrician about

• A dedicated circuit. Usually from the house consumer unit, often feeding a small consumer unit in the garden room with its own sockets and lighting circuits.
• Buried armoured cable. The wiring regulations want a buried cable to have earthed armour or a metal sheath, or to run in a conduit or duct that protects it as well. Steel wire armoured (SWA) cable is the usual choice. The IET recommends at least 0.5m deep, and 1.0m in cultivated ground, with warning tape or cable covers above it. Ask for the route to be drawn on the certificate so nobody digs into it later.
• RCD protection. An RCD (residual current device) cuts the power in a fraction of a second if current leaks to earth, for example through a person. BS 7671 calls for 30mA RCD protection on socket-outlets rated up to 32A, and Electrical Safety First says to use an RCD with all outdoor electrical equipment.
• Cable size. Over a long garden run the voltage drops, so the electrician may specify a thicker cable than the load alone suggests. That calculation is theirs.
• Data. If the Wi-Fi won't reach, ask whether a network cable can go in the same trench, in its own duct.

BS 7671 was updated in April 2026 (Amendment 4), and the older editions are withdrawn on 15 October 2026, so your electrician will be working to the current edition.

What not to do

• Don't run a permanent supply on an extension lead or cable reel down the garden. Electrical Safety First says outdoor leads must be weather-resistant and used with an RCD. A lead is a temporary fix, not a supply for a room you'll use all year.
• Don't plug one extension lead into another.
• Don't do the new circuit yourself unless you notify building control first and have it inspected.