How much electrical power does a villa with a pool and air-con need on the Costa del Sol?

It is the question that comes up when the panel trips with the oven, the air-con and the pool all running — or when you see the bill. Contracted power (those kW on the invoice) needs sizing, and for that it helps to understand what it actually depends on.

Why power isn’t the sum of everything

The common mistake is to add up the power of every appliance in the house. It doesn’t work that way: you never switch them all on at once. What contracted power must cover is the simultaneous peak — the appliances that genuinely coincide at a busy moment.

That is why a big villa doesn’t need enormous power, just enough for its real peak. Oversizing means paying a higher standing charge every month for nothing; undersizing means the ICP (the limiter) trips exactly when you need it most.

A villa’s big loads

These set the peak (values are indicative):

Appliance	Indicative load
Induction hob	3.5 – 7 kW
Oven	2 – 3 kW
Air-con (per unit)	1 – 3 kW
Pool pump	0.5 – 1.5 kW
Air-source heat pump	2 – 5 kW
EV charger (wallbox)	3.7 – 7.4 kW

So how much should you contract?

As a reference, a villa with a pool and air-con usually sits in the indicative range of 5.75–9.2 kW (standardised power steps). It climbs toward 11–14 kW with a heated pool, an air-source heat pump or a wallbox without load management running at peak.

Contracting too much is paid every month; contracting too little is paid every time the panel trips.

The exact number comes from a real load study of your home, not a generic table — which is why these are only references.

How to increase your contracted power (and when you need a new boletín)

You ask your electricity supplier, which processes it with the distributor. What to know before you ask:

• You need a new boletín if you ask for more than your installation allows. The boletín states the maximum authorised power; if the new figure exceeds it, the installation is upgraded and certified first (e-distribución, in Spanish).
• If your contract is more than 20 years old, the distributor inspects the installation before raising the power and, if it does not comply, requires it to be upgraded and a new boletín issued (Royal Decree 88/2026, art. 38.7). That is the only case where those 20 years count: a simple change of electricity account holder does not require it.
• Once a year only. At least twelve months must pass between two voluntary power changes (art. 38.1 and 38.3), so it pays to get the figure right rather than trial and error.
• There is a ceiling: you cannot be granted more power than the extension rights attached to your supply point allow (art. 38.3). If you need more, ask your supplier what extending them involves.
• Timing: the change must take effect within 72 hours, or within five working days if the distributor has to work on the connection (art. 38.6).
• Cost: your supplier quotes and bills it; it depends on how much you increase and whether your supply point already has rights for that power.

For a seasonal villa, the regulation also provides for temporary power changes (quarterly, monthly, daily or hourly), but their price has to be set by the CNMC — ask your supplier whether they already offer them (art. 38.5).

How we work it out at VARELUX

We run the villa’s load study, size the power to its real peak and, where useful, add load management so you don’t have to over-contract. That way you pay for what you use and the panel doesn’t trip.

See our electrical installations for villas or tell us about your case and we’ll work it out. We work across the Costa del Sol, from Marbella to Estepona. If you’re also renovating, read our guide on rewiring an old villa.