Having owned numerous homes I always do at least three on the wall where the master bed goes one in the middle then each side of the bed gets one. I also put one in the broom closet, above the counter in the walk in pantry and several across the laundry room counter. In the living room two floor plugs as I usually float our furniture.

Floor outlets! And also if you have stairs than on the staircase somewhere, so helpful for plugging in garland!

If you have a stretch of counter in the kitchen where you're likely to charge phones and tablets, be sure to put in a USB outlet in place of a regular outlet.

(you can get 2 outlets + 2 USBs too...)

Also consider places that are likely to have a ton of things plugged in -- near the TV location, in the office, etc. Having, say, six outlets is better than loading up surge suppressors!

If you like to put up Christmas lights on your house, be sure to put an outdoor outlet in a good location -- but have the on/off switch inside the house!

if doing a tile backsplash in the kitchen, have the outlets placed vertically up high, or low, so they aren't smack dab in the middle. Have under cabinet lighting done at the same time.

if having furniture in the middle of a room, you may want to consider some floor outlets for table lamps and such.

A higher up outlet is handy where you might plug in a cordless vac. For some reason, there is an outlet behind the kitchen table about 2' off the ground. Seemed odd at first, but it's handy for working at the kitchen table with the computer plugged in! And for plugging in the hot tray on Christmas when we use the kitchen table for serving or holding.

Do you ever, ever iron? Think about where you will iron, and have an outlet at a convenient height.

Consider one by the mantle, if you ever do lights at holidays. Also by the stairs, if you ever do lights on the railing.

In the bathrooms, check how your blow dryer plugs in, and have the outlets oriented accordingly.

Install the outlets horizontally, not vertically.

Inside closets for keeping things like Roombas or cordless vacs out of sight while charging. Enough outlets in bathrooms for electric toothbrushes, hair dryer, space heater, & cleaning appliances (like a vac or steam mop). (Have seen some of these installed inside bathroom drawers in some photos.) Like someone else mentioned, extra outlets near beds for all the things that are kept nearby to charge on nightstands like smart watches, phones, Kindles or iPads in addition to reading lamps, etc. Extra outlets behind wherever the tv stands/media centers will be as well as office/computer zones for routers, media players, sound systems, printers, shredders, backup power supplies, etc. Don’t forget outlets in the garage & plenty of outlets spaced accordingly outside the house too for plugging in things like Shopvacs, tools, fans/heaters, or fun things like string lights.

Agree with these placements -- WITH A FEW NOTES IN ALL CAPS:

- outlet in my pantry, along the longest wall

- Nearly every window in my house has an outlet underneath it ... hidden behind drapery.

- at least three on the wall where the master bed

- one in the broom closet -- ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A STICK VAC ... AND A LOW OUTLET, IF YOU HAVE A ROOMBA

- Also consider places that are likely to have a ton of things plugged in -- near the TV location, in the office, etc. Having, say, six outlets is better than loading up surge suppressors!

- If you like to put up Christmas lights on your house, be sure to put an outdoor outlet in a good location -- ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE FRONT DOOR, AND DON'T FORGET A SWITCH NEAR THE STAIRCASE ... AND ONE ABOVE THE MANTLE

- In the bathrooms, check how your blow dryer plugs in, and have the outlets oriented accordingly. -- CONSIDER HIDDEN PLUGS FOR RECHARGEABLE RAZORS OR TOOTHBRUSHES

Disagree with these placements -- AGAIN, WITH COMMENTS:

- be sure to put in a USB outlet in place of a regular outlet -- LOOK INTO THESE WIRELESS CHARGERS ... SO MUCH BETTER THAN USBs, and they cost about $15

- Do you ever, ever iron? -- NO, NOT IN YEARS.

Other thoughts:

- Both sides of a kitchen island

- If you plan a pop-up shelf for your KitchenAid mixer, inside that cabinet

- Near the ceiling of the bathroom, if you want to string decorative lights as a night light

- Behind the toilet, if you think you want a washlet

- Near the tub for a TV ... yeah, really ... for my sports-obsessed hubby

- Under the sink, if you intend to have a garbage disposal

- Easy-to-access outlets at your desk and your nightstand ... hotels are doing this right

- Where do you anticipate leaving your laptop (or tablet) to charge?

- In the garage, if you expect to have an electric car

- In the right spot for a lighted grandfather clock or china hutch

- Next to the breaker box, which will allow you to keep a flashlight plugged in next to it

- Outside on your deck or patio

In the garage anyway, for the shop vac, tools, etc.

ah, tools. Do you or anyone use rechargeable power tools? Where will you store them, and charge the battery?

Btw, isn't this done in the design process, not with the builder?

Have you worked with an interior designer or decorator yet? They will also help you decide where to put outlets.

Do you have musicians in the house? Will they need additional outlets?

"- Near the tub for a TV ... yeah, really ... for my sports-obsessed hubby"

Only if the TV is securely mounted to the wall and out of the reach zone.

Consider height as well. Put your switches lower, and wall outlets higher than "standard". Easily reachable from a seated position. That is part of making Universal Design a major part of your home. Easy to do now. Expensive and impossible later.

I second "on both ends of the island."

If you plan to have any motorized window treatments, an outlet near the top or bottom side of the windows will be necessary.

Have your electrical installed in the kitchen so there are no outlets destroying the appearance of your tile backslash. Consider hidden angled plugmold instead.

There are medicine cabinets now that have built in outlets for charging toothbrushes etc. to keep that stuff off the counters.

Consider an electrical hook up for a lighted makeup mirror

Think about outdoor outlets for landscape lighting or security systems.

The problem with under cabinet outlets in the kitchen is that the cord is then more visible as it hangs down. They are also harder to use (plug in and out).

Master closet and pantry are 2 that are not required by code but very helpful.

Interesting that Live Wire Oak wants the outlets up higher than standard and almost everyone else wants them lower for aesthetics. I would look at what you use outlets for and make decisions based on that.

We have a central vac so don't use a plug in vac. Nearly everything else is plugged in once and never unplugged. Lamps, TVs etc.

Just to counter one thing - motorized curtains have battery options. So you don't have to have a plug there. Also with curtains, the cord can just run behind the curtain - you have to hide the motor anyway. That being said, outlets near the motor are helpful. But don't be wrong on location.... I had them loop the wire and not put an outlet until I install the curtains.

Outlets for wall TV's.

I had a higher outlet installed in every room because there may come a time when it is difficult to reach an outlet - even if on a temporary basis. Mine are just part of the switch plate so there isn't any particular aesthetic issue as they blend.

Obviously outlets are needed for any kind of wall unit or drawer that will house electric equipment. I had a rollout installed to hide my printer and it has an outlet. I also had appropriate cables run where I will be hanging my televisions so I don't have to look cables running across the room.

My bathroom pullout for hair dryers etc. has an outlet. The tall linen closet has an outlet for whatever I might want to plug in there.

Where I am there only needs to be 1 outlet per car in the garage for code which isn't enough so check that with him.

The electrician on our build asked where we wanted the outlet for our freezer and we picked a spot. After we moved in I realized he had also put it on a separate breaker from the rest of the garage. We've only been in the house 15 months but it's already come in handy.

Don't forget that if you plan to have an electric car or buggy you need outlets in the garage...or wherever you park them.

It's a joke. Sorta...

Don't neglect the garage. Outlets every 4' on the walls, 48" from the floor. For plugging in a snowblower, trickle charger for the lawnmower, the leaf blower, power tools, spare refrigerator, freezer, vacuuming out the car, etc. On the ceiling for garage door openers. Don't forget outlets on the exterior of the house...high ones for Xmas lighting and some at 4' height for the leaf blower, etc.

Also plan for properly lighting the garage.

For an electric car, also take into account the length of the charging cord. Our garage has a suitable outlet for faster charging, but the cord can’t reach that far. So make sure the outlet is close enough to the car’s charge port.

I would say that the need for every 4 foot in a garage is an individual need.

I have to say, I didn't realize there were electric snowblowers.

I would suggest a garage based charging area.

Personally, a spare fridge or freezer in the garage is a sign of poor planning. And just generally a bad idea given how hot garages can be.

I would also do charging for EVs. 240V with decent gauge wire. I can say with high certainty that an EV will be parked in your garage in the lifetime of your house.

I like a mixture of low level and counter height outlets in the basement. It is so much more convenient to plug in tools used occasionally above the level of the work surface. Also, pay attention to circuit placement if you expect to have a heavily used area. I had great hopes for eventually having a sewing iron and steam press so arranged to have different circuits on the two adjacent walls. Unfortunately, we reallocated space and my husband now gets that space for his electronics.

I have a small nook where my sewing equipment is set up and there is a wall outlet which is also controlled by the light switch. It is very convenient to turn off my work lights when I turn off the overhead.

I have a detached garage and had the electrician run an extra circuit for possible workbench expansion. We ended up using that circuit for adding power and lights to my gardening shed

Another one to consider is a good docking spot for a robotic mower, if you plan to go that route. Ideally somewhere somewhat covered & hidden where it can charge out of direct sun, yet still return to base easily. Plus spots in the garage to charge the batteries for electric weed eaters, leaf blowers, etc. should you choose to go all electric.

I love the outlet inside my medicine cabinet for recharging my toothbrush and the one above the door in the master bath. I use that one for a wall mounted fan that I can run while drying my hair. I’d suggest have more than the number required by code.

I know this is not an outlet, but if I was building from scratch, I would upgrade to automatic closet light switches. Essentially, it is like a fridge door switch for doors and extremely handy. Our previous house had them and that is one feature I would love to have here.

following...

If we are discussing electrical conveniences in general, I would add that I love the motion detector lights in the bathroom. They are required by Code and I thought it would be weird but it's really great to not have to deal with turning a light on and off. Not all the lights are on motion detector and the only downside is if I forget to manually turn them on, they will turn off if.I take a long leisurely shower - which is actually okay since my bathroom then is more twilight and isn't pitch-black anyway.

@Mrs Pete, since you mentioned the wireless chargers, have a look at these:

OP, I'm sure you've already met with your builder but just wanted to add: make sure you have enough in the bathroom that you get ready in. The bathroom in my old house had four double outlets (so I could plug in eight different things at once if I wanted) and the master bathroom at my current house has one double outlet, so I can only plug in two things at once. It.is.awful.

Placement is important also. The location of the outlet in my current bathroom is higher up on the wall to the right of the vanity, just a mere inch or two away from the wall-mounted towel ring. It's a GFCI but they're not fool-proof and can fail, so it's a dumb design (obviously this can be remedied with relocating the towel ring but that's the best location for the towel ring, therefore, dumb design). The other issue is that all of my hair appliances have long cords so they get hooked on the corner of the vanity/drawers or the knobs themselves. This is not only incredibly annoying when doing my hair to hit a 'stop' where I can't move my appliance or rotate it because it's hooked on something, but it's also a safety issue when I have to look away from an incredibly hot appliance that's right next to my head in order to unhook the cord so I can get the appliance out of my hair! Just some food for thought.

Great comments, and helpful for feedback for someone who draws electrical plans on every project for 20 years. I also put one in the water closet and powder room for phone charging multi-taskers.

Derek Hurd

Gravitas, Inc.

112 E 33rd St.

Garden City, ID 83714

208.367.1184

www.gravitaslc.com

"...Where to place outlets..."

Where you need them and will use them. Think about what that means to you in your house the way you live.