The number of circuits in a meter cabinet depends on the size of the property and what is connected to it. A small apartment might manage with around five circuits, while a spacious holiday home with a kitchen, sauna or multiple bedrooms quickly needs double that. There is no fixed number: it is always customized based on what happens in the house.
A circuit is, put simply, a separate electrical circuit from your meter cabinet. Think of the kitchen on its own circuit, the washing machine on another, and the bedrooms together on yet another. If something trips somewhere, for example because a guest uses too many appliances at once, you often only notice it in that one part of the house and not everywhere.
What a circuit does exactly
In the meter cabinet there is a row of switches, usually black or grey, each with a name or number next to it such as "kitchen" or "circuit 3". Each switch monitors its own part of the wiring in the house and trips as soon as too much current flows through it. This prevents cables from overheating. Such a switch is called a circuit breaker, and the electrical circuit associated with it is called a circuit.
How many appliances can be on one circuit depends on how much current those appliances use together. An oven, a hairdryer and a kettle use relatively much, and that is why they are often on separate circuits. Lighting and small plugs for a lamp or charger use little and more often share a circuit with other low-power appliances.
Why the number varies per property
A building year often says more than the floor area. Older properties are sometimes still connected with fewer circuits than is now common, simply because there were fewer appliances to power back then. During renovations, a new kitchen or the arrival of a heat pump, the meter cabinet is often expanded with additional circuits.
The type of rental also plays a role. A tiny house with only basic facilities needs just a handful of circuits. A chalet with air conditioning, a hot tub or a separate charging point for your guest's car soon needs more circuits, and sometimes even a three-phase connection instead of one. A phase is, in short, one of the three "currents" used to power heavier installations; a light property usually has enough with one phase, a property with much heavy equipment benefits from three.
What this means if you rent to guests
If you are considering letting guests pay for their own consumption, it is helpful to know in advance how many circuits there are and which ones must always stay on, such as the refrigerator. With a system that measures and switches off per circuit, the number of circuits also determines how the installation is arranged and which parts you want to monitor separately, for example a separate charging point with its own rate.
An electrician can establish in a short visit exactly how many circuits there are, which circuit is connected to what and whether the layout still matches how the property is now being used. That is also the moment when he can assess whether the meter cabinet is ready for a module that measures consumption per circuit. Read more about how such a measurement works exactly in the explanation of how the measurement is made.
For those who want the exact specifications
An average circuit breaker is rated for 16 amperes, heavy circuits for example for a kitchen block or a charging point sometimes for 20 or 25 amperes. With a three-phase connection the installation deliberately distributes the circuits across the three phases so that the load remains evenly distributed. The exact layout is shown on the diagram that the electrician usually leaves in or near the meter cabinet.
Are you unsure whether your meter cabinet is ready for rental with separate billing
Whether your distribution board is suitable for charging guests per group or per kWh depends on the number of groups, the phase configuration, and which group supplies the refrigerator and essential services. By answering a few questions, you can get an initial indication of this without any obligation via the decision aid that maps your situation in a few questions. More background on distribution boards, groups, and what an electrician does in this context can be found compiled in the knowledge base.
If you have a concrete question about your own distribution board or what a per-group module can measure after reading, also take a look at frequently asked questions or do the free quick-scan to see where you stand in a few minutes.