How Much Wire Is Required for a 2BHK or 3BHK House?

Wire is the second-largest line on a house electrical bill and the easiest one to over-order. Contractors quote coils generously because leftover wire belongs to them, not to you. Here is how to work out the real number.

The method: count points, not square feet

Square footage is a poor predictor because a compact 3BHK and a spread-out 2BHK can need the same wire. Count circuits instead:

• Light and fan points — run on 1.0 or 1.5 sq mm.
• 5A/6A socket points — 1.5 sq mm.
• 16A power sockets — 2.5 sq mm.
• AC, geyser, oven — 4.0 sq mm.
• Meter to distribution board — 6.0 sq mm, occasionally 10.0.

Each point needs wire from the DB to the point and back, plus vertical drops, plus roughly 15% for bends, loops and wastage.

The quick estimate

A working rule for Bangalore homes: average run length per point is 9–14 metres of each conductor. Multiply points by run length, by the number of conductors (phase, neutral and earth — so three), then divide by 90 to get coils.

A 90m coil is the standard house-wire pack in India. Some brands also sell 180m and 300m coils, which cost less per metre and are worth it on larger houses.

Why 90m coils, and when to buy bigger

The 90m coil is the industry standard and the easiest size to verify, return and account for. If your house needs four or more coils of a single size, ask for 180m or 300m coils instead — the per-metre rate drops and there is less joint wastage. We explain the trade-off in our guide on why 90m coils are the safe default.

Three checks on the estimate you were given

1. Does the coil count roughly match the point count? If a 2BHK estimate shows 20 coils, ask which circuits need them.
2. Is 4.0 sq mm present at all? An estimate with no 4.0 sq mm means the ACs and geyser are being run on 2.5 — which is undersized for most installations.
3. Is earth wire quantity roughly equal to the phase wire? Every circuit needs an earth conductor; a low earth-wire number usually means earthing is being skipped on socket circuits.

Buy slightly short, top up later

Order about 90% of your estimate and top up once the electrician has actually pulled the first floor. Wire is available next day across Bangalore, so there is no reason to carry three spare coils — and unused coils have a way of leaving site.

Use the wire quantity calculator to run your own numbers, and the wire size calculator to confirm which size each circuit needs.

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