Does a Bedroom Require a Dedicated Circuit? - Using the 3VA Rule To Calculate Anticipated Loads

[@dwoodog]

Awesome video. Only time you can have issues with combining the room outlets (and I've had this problem) is room A is running a 1500 watt room heater, Room B sister is running her hair dryer. Bingo.....breaker keeps tripping.

[@armymobilityofficer9099]

I love your enthusiasm. Many new panels have so many potential breakers that it is not an issue. I do not think I would do the junction box - unless the panel was small. BUT if I was re-wiring the entire house, I would make sure my panel could handle everything.

[@10p6]

When I did construction, I always had a dedicated circuit for each bedroom, and a separate circuit for the lights. These days especially in WA state where I am, in winter it is too easy for someone to overload a circuit with electric heaters when it gets cold.

[@Hogster202]

You R the best . I just bought a house to flip and am gutting it and currently replacing all the wiring including the Service. Been binge watching your vid's the last few days. You communicate really well.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Glad I'm able to be a small part of your project! What part of the country are you in?

[@Hogster202]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom Texas pandandle

[@zam200864]

Another well explained and easily understood vid, keep up the great work

[@islandboy447]

Benjamin, you're the man! I'm an Electrician myself but I enjoy watching your videos buddy, I really like to see how other Electricians would wire things up. You my man do such amazing work. I appreciate your vids buddy. Keep up with the good work.

[@tww1981]

Ok , Island Boy you say you are a electrition then here is a couple of questions : 1) does copper coated steel wire exist ? 2) does UF cable without ground exist ?

[@quincyfellows2636]

Thank you bro. I’ve been studying load calcs by using power point presentations so the info can be vague. You filled in all the blanks for me.

[@YPSupplyInc]

I don’t like to have junctions boxes, but sometimes it’s an option. Thank you for shearing, very well explained.

[@NoeMercado-d3d]

love your explanations, they are clear and to the point. You also cover what wire s and where they come from as you explain steps.

[@Progrocker70]

Very good advice. I keep fixed lighting and receptacles on separate circuits. Having the living room and family room receptacles on their own 20 amp circuit is also a good idea. Wiring the bedrooms like you stated is also good advice, makes it easy to separate each onto their own circuits if desired. While most of the time bedroom plug in loads are usually light, this may not always be the case. Everyone might use their bedrooms differently. many times a bedroom gets used as a home office, or as a hobby room and it might be desirable to have those receptacles on their own circuit.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Couldn't agree more! Home office or hobby room is a very good point. If it is wired so that you can have at least one dedicated circuit to that room then I think people would be good to go for almost anything. You never know when someone might want to turn their bedroom into a metal working shop though! (kidding) Thanks for sharing!

[@adamplummer2190]

I'm a.ecjanic but I'm also a computer hobbyist. I would hate for someone in another room to pop the breaker and crash my computer.

[@ValorHeroics]

Dude! I love your channel. Keep on Keepin' on my friend! I have learned a ton.

[@isaacandrews8763]

Dude. Great video, seriously. I’m saving this video for future reference. The idea of a jbox bringing rooms together for 1 home run, in my opinion, is brilliant. The math looks simple enough. Using 80% max is smart too.

[@heidicomfort8643]

And I think the drawing was very good. Thank you.

[@asaelreyes1775]

Damn! Excellent. You are one of the best channels on electricity.

[@etherealrose2139]

Separate lights also helps if you draw a heavy current close to the limit, say a space heater pulling near the max of the circuit, well the lights share the same circuit so you might get flickering. Throw in some fans and a TV and you might go lights out along with everything else because you opened the breaker.

[@luvlymissjolly]

OH NO! You just answered my question! I was wondering if this rule would take into consideration my kids...and I😅 We have those power strips with the 8 outlets in almost every outlet, and we have space heaters; mine I keep on year-round and now that I work from home, the breaker trips multiple times a day!..But I can't live without my space heater😭

[@bubbajones4522]

The NEC changed the code to account for LED lights. They are now allowing 16ga wire with 10 amp breakers. I'd never use them but it's now a thing if you can find them. If you're using 6 watt LED wafer lights on a 15 amp 14ga circuit, P=EI or Power = 120*15 amp breaker *.8 (80% load capacity) = 1440 watts or 240 wafer lights on one circuit. I for one will never use incandescent or florescent lighting again so I have no issue running two lighting circuits for a 2200 sq ft home.

[@andrewallen8764]

I needed this ... the Klein Link is really nice too !! Thank you

[@virbone7141]

Well explained with understandable diagrams, thanks making more knowledge on the subject

[@playnationtoday]

As AFCI breaker requirements have increased over the last couple of code cycles, and given the cost of AFCI breakers, there is incentive to "max out" your circuits to keep the cost of wiring a house within budget. Especially if you wire houses for a living and are in competition with other electricians for the work.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Valid point for sure.

[@Ramdodge582]

yeah, before this... bullshit... dedicated 20 for outlets per room and lighting on a different circuit. I hope the cost comes down on arc breakers because damm!

[@scottschuette74]

Do lighting circuits need to be on AFCI breakers? I totally agree to "max out" circuits. Another question is, is it cheaper to use 15A circuits so you can use 14awg wire compared to 20A?

[@1575murray]

@@scottschuette74 14awg wire is less expensive since less copper is required to make it. However the NEC requires 20 amp circuits in certain places especially kitchens where high wattage appliances are likely to be used. 20 amp receptacles are better quality and also more expensive.

[@lawoull.6581]

@Peter Evans ⚡watch his next video..

[@WeatherNut27]

Cool rule of thumb. Good video. With LEDs now even 15A would be fine for every room. Lol. I do all outlets in 12. Lights in 14. Even Fridges dont use much now. Crazy.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Yeah it's pretty amazing how efficient a lot of the new devices are! To your point refrigerators only use 100 watts or so and only while the compressor is running!

[@johnhaller5851]

Yeah, the incandescent bulbs in the Hollywood lights in the bathroom in the house I bought used much of the capacity of a 20A circuit. Not enough left for a space heater, I found. They will be changed out with LEDs before air conditioning season.

[@markfrye9178]

Benjamin, I like your idea of being voltage conservative. The builder of my home didn't follow that, so when I turn on the TV, the lights dim. I've since got rid of that tv, but clearly the electrical layout is sub-par.

[@warrenosborne1539]

You are going to absolutely call me an idiot. A school mate and I were both fresh out of college ee's, as well as being musicians. When I was designing our home, it being a Timberframe was a nightmare to wire as all circuits on exterior walls were outside, so we did all of the wiring. We put 4 separate circuits in the living room, to get ready for a full band to play here. None of the home runs are over 15 percent loaded. We used so much more wire than was needed, the electrical supply company must have loved us, and now as a retiree, I laugh at my greenhorn approach. Thanx for your instruction as how it is really supposed to be done. Needless to say, this is the first and last house that I ever wired.

[@stephenhardegree4143]

Great video and thorough explanation! perfect answer to my 700' addition. Thanks

[@yesreally623]

Ideally, I look at it in terms of what contemporary customers expect and their usage trends -- not what's required. In many cases, a bedroom nowadays has the high probability of having a desk/workstation and all comfort amenities nearby. Aiding the case, due to the pandemic, some folks work out of their bedroom! I sure see them video conferencing, bed behind them, and here on KZbin too. Should I have any say to the plans, making it dedicated is wildly optimal during rough in, and extremely cost effective.

[@JCWise-sf9ww]

I did the same thing where I use to live when we added a few more rooms to the house. Outlets on 20 amp breakers and lights on 15 amp breakers

[@matthewroot3939]

My only thing is if you get something like space heaters in each room for whatever reason then you'll overload the circuit.i have that issue myself with the weird way the wiring is. Run a heater in both bedrooms and the living room and pop.

[@Maine307]

i used the 1 room, 1 home run rule. ( each outlet no more than 9 feet apart, and no more than 7 outlets per run ) allowed me to isolate any issues. I also added in for future use, 2 bedrooms, with dedicate home runs,for any A/C or large appliances that might be needed in the future. the runs are not connected, and have blank wall plate. but, it is there, to save time and effort for any future calls. especially when using a portable generator in power outages. helps me to prioritize my comfort vs requirements. Also with the codes, requiring the new more expensive breakers, i just felt it might be more safe..it does have more cost, especially when the distance to the service panel is taken into account.

[@andrewallen8764]

Ben ...Please Do a video on Junction Boxes and "How to Wire Junction Boxes"

[@heroknaderi]

Very well explained. I appreciate it 👍 oh and another video I would like to see is doing a load calculation for sub panels whether it’s a workshop or barn or moving circuit breakers to the opposite side of the house from the main panel. Also a kitchen too. These are things I’m planning on doing and would appreciate your advice. Very amazing video 😎👍🙏🙏

[@donreinholz8121]

Very good suggestion on spreading out circuit loads and outlets vs overhead lighting circuits and type of wire to each also

[@dwoodog]

One thing I've also learned if your living in a colder climate is turning on a portable room heater really sucks up the wattage, which can trip breakers fast and become real annoying, so may wanna factor that in to the wiring.

[@jamesshomesolarmore2223]

Portable heater’s are a bad idea. I use mini splits for heating and they have their own breaker’s. Plus I like each room’s outlet’s wired separately.

[@willschultz5452]

I put every room on its own 20 amp circuits. Also a dedicated 20 amp circuit for a air conditioner in each bedroom. Dedicated 15 amp circuits for lighting

[@stevek6486]

One word - teenagers. A blowdryer can easily be 1500watt, add an iron, etc and 20A can get blown. If you have the walls open just spend the extra to dedicate a circuit to each bedroom - I also like lights on their own as suggested. Also in a living room, a dedicated circuit for a media center can be a good idea both for load (100” tv, speakers, etc add up fast) and to keep noise off of the line for sensitive electronics.

[@notsure7874]

That's why bathrooms get 2 circuits minimum.

[@chrisgonzales771]

Just remodeled my back room. Power coming in was on a 15amp breaker shared with both bathrooms, a light in a hallway, and the garage (maybe 2-3 outlets in the entire thing and I think maybe the kitchen or atleast one outlet, ran 3 20s a dedicated for the room itself. A dedicated for an AC and then a 20 amp going thru my walls outside to a weatherproof box which I’m later brining to my shed about 60ft away and also a 2 pole 50 for a welder cus why not

[@d.e.b.b5788]

NO. We have a window a/c in the bedroom, and when the compressor kicks in, the TV or computer shows that it does. Voltage spike after the compressor is running normally? I don't know. So the receptacle which the a/c plugs into, needs it's own line, no matter how much energy it's supposedly drawing.

[@csimet]

Great tips. One thing I seldom see addressed is length of the circuit in total (panel to farthest end device) and taking into account voltage drop issues at the far end. What is the longest acceptable length one can go before drop becomes a factor? I hear somewhere in the 3-4% range (3.6-4.8 volts) should not be exceeded on a 120V circuit.... somewhere in the 50-75 foot range.

[@jesue80dm7]

Thank you for all your videos,its so helpful,i really love the way you explain.

[@roynellnaj3014]

Always helpfull bro, keep it going!!!

[@jesusortiz6842]

You are a great instructor. Congratulación.

[@get_like_ryan3544]

to be honest, if you're going to have a home run from each room you might as well pay a few dollars extra and have them all on a dedicated breaker considering your wire is the bulk of the cost.

[@brianleishman1075]

The junction boxes might still make sense if you are short on spaces though, and are planning a panel upgrade with more spaces in the future

[@feyrband]

What I did was put the junction box(s) somewhat central to the new rooms and then ran just 1 home run there. If I want to separate these in the future I plan to just run another home run to that junction (or another could be installed nearby).

[@RingZero]

I have multiple bedrooms and when I built my house, this was my requirement- dedicated circuits for outlets, dedicated circuit for switches and lamps, and a dedicated 20amp wall receptacle (for heater etc) By doing for each bedroom, similar to bathrooms, kitchen , garage, I ended up have a 400amp panel. Do I use this much ? No... but this is what I wanted. I may have spent 3-4k more but worth it if I live here for 10-15 yrs

[@wizard3z868]

lol tht was always my plan if i ever get the chance i was thinking 400 amp but two 200 amp panels and maybe a 100 amp sub in the garage that extra dedicated plug was for a room ac under the center room window never thought of a space heater too

[@johndavies2949]

3va approach used for existing and remodel. For new use per square foot. For 20 amp circuits is 1 circuit for 500 SQ ft. or for 15 amp circuits it's 375 SQ ft.

[@johndavies2949]

This is for general purpose lighting and receptacles. So for instance 3 bedrooms in sq footage were to equal 40O sq feet you would need 2 - 15 amp circuits or 1-2O amp circuit. Ud go with the 2-15 amp circuits. Smaller wire,ore room in boxes,easier to fold back and work with, and in a bedroom not much load.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Yup!

[@dsmall31]

God damn, I appreciate you, dude. I just bought a house and need to do some electrical work. Your videos are by far the most detailed and informative. Thank you.

[@vince6829]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@Nanan00]

In the houses I used to design we always spec'd two 15a circuits per room so things like a gaming PC and a TV wouldn't overload that run. It was common to have 16-20 breakers for a house for lights and outlets and another 4 for HVAC, Well, washer/dryer, and water heater.

[@s.n.9485]

That seems excessive. I've never had an issue with one 20amp circuit per room. I know your cost are more with all the extra circuits needing arc fault protection.

[@jragadio]

If you’re going to take the time to do 4 home runs to a junction box, you might as well just bring them all the way to the panel board on individual feeder circuits with their own breaker unless you’re out of panel spaces

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

I totally agree! In cases where panel space or money for breakers is short though it may make sense just to tie them together in a junction box. That is what I have done previously at my personal residence and now I have the option of separating circuits should the need arise. Thanks for the comment!

[@jragadio]

Love all your videos Ben!

[@cward1954]

It is not required, but I wire bedrooms on a dedicated circuit. I do bathrooms the same way. Lighting from 2 to 3 rooms, I have put on a single breaker. Many, many times I have seen where 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms were on a single 20 amp breaker. Many electricians put everything on one circuit to save themselves time and money and it becomes an issue for the homeowner.

[@thomasmarable6818]

Bath had to have its own 20 amp circuit per NEC

[@daniejames2591]

Love the video and shirt. Keep them coming.

[@Lonestar101]

Thank you for the explaination!

[@drwhoeric]

According to the NEC, The maximum spacing between receptacles in general living areas is 12 feet, with no point along a wall being more than 6-feet from a receptacle. That being said, a typical 11 x 12 bedroom with a door and closet would have usually 5 or 6 receptacles in it. My understanding is NEC limits the number of receptacles to 12, though most limit a circuit to 10. Therefore a single circuit will cover two rooms.

[@BudaMac]

Keep up the good work!🔥🔥🔥

[@harriettedaisy2233]

I do not know if it would meet codes today. My father wired the house so that from the front of the house to the rear. Living room, dining room, den. The outside walls of the living room were on one circuit, the interior wall between the living room and dining room was on another, the interior wall between the dining room and den were on another circuit, the exterior walls in the den were on another circuit. [as well as dedicated outlets in the LR & Den to run window A/C units] The idea was that if a breaker popped there would still be working outlets in the room. The bedrooms were run with the same idea.

[@prodson8310]

Thank you for the great informational videos Ben. you’re doing a great job -you are a tremendous help to me I wish you all of God’s love and luck be well

[@RHEC1776]

I'm currently building my own home and I'm putting every room on it's own 20amp breaker. Every appliance has its own dedicated breaker. I'm running 12/2. I was taught never put more 12 items on a line. I took it future and never put more than 10 items on a line.

[@sku32956]

I did the same thing over built ya maybe but few pennies more ,for a system that should last many many years

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

That's a fool proof way to go! Costs a lot on AFCI breakers and panel space but you will almost never trip a breaker. Thank you for sharing your method!

[@RHEC1776]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom that's what I was aiming for. We lived in two new construction homes and both were built like shit. We have three daughters and you know how that goes. Damn blow dryers, curling irons & straighteners going all at once and the breakers were constantly tripping. I said enough is enough. The inspector was like you wired this I have a raceway in my attic space dead center with branches breaking off to the rooms. I had my nephew label each line every 5 feet 😂. As you can tell I have OCD 😂

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

@@RHEC1776 That's awesome!

[@RHEC1776]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom keep up the awesome work. Love your channel

[@HardHeadMilitary]

We wire lighting circuits, and each room gets its own receptacle circuit. We only use #12 wire.

[@victormalagon5172]

Thank you sir for sharing your knowledge

[@dirtdevil7bo]

Hey Ben, I understand your idea, but personally I would just balance my loads as best I can. Installing jboxes can make future troubleshooting messy and difficult.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Good point. Junction boxes often seem like they can indicate some kind of an issue existed there. It's worth marking on the jbox cover to help alert people in the future the purpose of the box. The other option is to just bring all of your wires into the panel and then combine them there. Only downside with that is that it takes up precious panel space and makes it harder to avoid the rat's nest look. :)

[@wizard3z868]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom also make decent plans for any possibility of future trouble shooting and new owners

[@rupe53]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom ... one point to mention here is the building inspector's opinion. A good percentage of these guys want *0* (zero) splices inside a panel so the alternative is a few boxes or a tray for external splices. Use of a sharpie marker at this stage will save MANY problems down the road. Tag everything while it's fresh in your mind and you would not have to figure it out later on a trouble call.

[@outlet6989]

@@rupe53 Great idea on the marking. I label each cover plate with the number of the breaker. This can be done on either side of the plate. This helps me from turning circuits on and off to find the right one. That paper used to record where the power goes can age over time, making it hard to read. I also use a plastic labeling machine instead of writing with a pen or pencil.

[@im2yys4u81]

@@rupe53 "A good percentage of these guys want 0 (zero) splices inside a panel." When I did my panel swap I ended up with one splice on a neutral wire. The local EI tried to fail me on it, until I pulled out the NEC and pointed out that article 312.8 allows for it. That was good enough for him and he passed it.

[@camaro6810]

Hey Ben, really enjoy your videos, I've watched them all, all done well, clear and concise, filmed well and audio is good, thanks for that. Would you do a video on junction boxes, for instance, where to place them, how many splits you can do in the jbox, do you have to be able to access them and is there line loss if I bought a main run into the j box and split it 4x to go to different areas of the house assuming that my draw was still below 80% of the breaker etc. That kind of thing. I'm building a cabin in Wisconsin, its small, single story 24x30 so garage size and I wont be using tons of power but am building to code so I am doing everything right. Ideally I would over circuit everything but with the need for a AFCI on all 15-20 amp breakers Im trying to be smart about it, if they were $8 a piece like old breakers no problem but at $50 a pop it adds up, a guy will have $500 in breakers in his box so Im trying to be smart about how many circuits I have, enough but not more than needed and I think the best way to do that is with splits in a junction box to get to other areas of the house for lights etc. Thanks man! Keep up the good work, liked, subscribed, notified..Also if you get a chance I'd like to know more about bringing the main power from a pedestal with meter outside....into the house. I know there are three terminals out there and conduit is already in the ground, but do you have to continue the conduit in the house to the panel? or can you run it across floor trusses in the basement to the panel and only need conduit for the first 6" above the main electrical panel in the basement. I have 100 amp service and will bring the electrical into the basement from the panel/pedestal outside. I dont want to wire into the main pedestal outside myself, I'll hire someone for that but I'd like to see what it involves so I have a clue and know what to expect, how long it will take and if I need conduit the entire length of the basement or just 6" or so above the basement main breaker panel. Sorry for all the questions but sometimes guys are looking for ideas for content and this would be really helpful. Thanks again!

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Sounds like an awesome project! What part of Wisconsin are you in? I have friends and family in a few different areas and maybe, just maybe, you would be close enough that I could stop by and take a look! Either way though if you have any plans for this project you could email them to me at [e-mail] and I'd be happy to take a look! I'll also take note on the topics that you mentioned and will get them on the list! If I understood correctly you would have your meter mounted on the outside of the cabin and then from the meter you would have conduit that would lead to your main panel. I would highly recommend that you run continuous conduit from the meter to the panel since that line is not really protected by a circuit breaker unless you have another main disconnect panel outside. This cable should also be as short as possible because of the lack of overcurrent protection that I just mentioned. I usually see the meter mounted just on the outside of the house and then the panel is either directly on the other side of the wall in a garage/utility room and or there is a short jog down in conduit into the basement where panels are often located. I hope that helps just a bit! Shoot me an email with some more information if you want! Ben

[@rupe53]

Camaro 68 … You may want to pose that question to your local inspector as some get fussy after 3-4 wires under the same wire nut. Personally I have seen enough problems over the years with too many wires in a single splice. 4 wires and up seems to be where the issues are. 2-3 wires never has that problem.

[@camaro6810]

@@rupe53 thanks for the tip, so initial home run and maybe two splits max off that home run, so that would be 3 hots, 3 neutrals, 3 grounds with 14-2 wire...good to know, I dont think I would ever need more than two splits anyway. If these new breakers werent $50 a pop I'd make everything its own circuit but its only 1000sqft and trying to do it as economical as possible and still right. Surprising how many circuits you have even in a small one bedroom by the time you have your kitchen runs, appliances, WH, furnace, outlets, lights, stove etc etc....another question..my kitchen is very small, it'll only be probably 6ft of counter space...is there a time when you dont need the two circuits on the counter? I mean if you had a 4ft counter top would you still need two circuits worth of small appliance outlets per code? Seems sill to have two separate outlets on separate circuits on a 6ft counter, but if its code I've gotta do it.

[@camaro6810]

@@rupe53 also do you know anything about if I have to put the 2-2-2-4 main feeder line from the basement wall across the basement to the main panel in conduit? I had an electrician tell me it isnt needed to be in conduit but that seems weird to me to not have to protect that large power source running through floor joist from a nail or anything...its shielded in tough cover but still, if the box was right below where it enters the basement thats one thing but it comes in on the basement wall on the south wall and has to go 20ft to the NE corner of the basement.

[@rupe53]

@@camaro6810 … I know it's a small home with small counter space, but when you add up a toaster plus a coffee pot the circuit is maxed out. IOW, no room to use a microwave while the others are in use. Probably best to do it once rather than kick yourself later. I ran into that exact situation 35 years ago and wound up splitting the fridge circuit to pick up the extra when we first bought a microwave. Of course back then we didn't have any portable devices either so in hind sight I would have made all the counter outlets a double duplex. (4 outlets) These days if I have a counter full with coffee pot, toaster, mixer, blender, can opener, I have to unplug something to charge my phone or use a vacuum cleaner. You don't need more than 2 circuits but more outlets for convenience is a handy thing to have for only an extra few $$.

[@SHOGUNTE]

My apartment has both bedrooms, including the 2 wall sleeve air conditioners, on the same circuit WITH my living room AND kitchen. Summer sucks for doing really anything because using the provided air conditioners at the same time as trying to watch TV in the living room can trip my breakers.

[@Progrocker70]

That's sad only one circuit for everything. I had a home with 60 amp service and they put kitchen outlets on one, bedrooms, bath, hall and lights on another, living room and lights on another, and everything in the basement, garage and such on the last one.

[@civildk9077]

Bedroom lighting, should be 'required' to be separated from ALL OUTLETS. Trip a breaker once with ANYTHING (VACUUM) and you'll understand why (can't even find the stairs if upstairs to go down to the panel). Alternative example. 2 window ac units, when your whole house HVAC needs replacing. BAD TIMING FOR ANOTHER PROJECT! Mom says.. 'why not add a ceiling fan in each room?' Try doing that with no power in the outlets for even a work lamp. Time to buy more batteries or just go grab the solar lamp from the garden gnome? NOPE. Do it smart! Good video!

[@jjoejones1]

It may have already been brought to your attention, but it is not necessary to apply the ‘80-percent’ rule in performing your calculation. That value is only used when including ‘continuous’ loads in your calculation. A general purpose (convenience) circuit does not typically involve continuous loads as defined in the NEC. Conclusion…a 20-amp circuit may be used to its full rating…2,400 watts.

[@luvdady]

yeah when i rewired the house i used 14 gauge 15 amp circuits for the lights and 12 awg for the outlets , (back when copper was sky high) reasoning for the lights on a separate circuit as 99% of the time lights wont trip a breaker its the outlets. so this way you're not in the dark

[@wizard3z868]

doing the work yourself and supplying matts nothing wrong with spending the extra money above code is always better. code is just bare minimum D- 😉

[@luvdady]

@@wizard3z868 yeah within reason the extra $300 for wire alone plus i already had the breakers , cant justify the cost

[@Nick-bh1fy]

luvdady better that way isolated lighting and power circuits. And with led lighting u can easily run multiple room lights under one breaker no problem

[@luvdady]

@@Nick-bh1fy yeah led power consumption is insanely low. I'm doing an office shed 30 amp sub panel. Do 3 lights and a ceiling fan and then black plugs on the light circuits and then white plugs on the other circuit. That way I can always have lights and power, if the other side is off. 8)

[@Nick-bh1fy]

luvdady very smart idea

[@danjohnson3459]

180 per outlet VA as a guide. But in residential you can over shoot up to 30% . I do lighting and receptacles on separate circuits.

[@KevinCoop1]

Dan Johnson Is your comment based on some rule of thumb or what? It is not in the NEC.

[@danjohnson3459]

@@KevinCoop1 In industrial/commercial spaces, 180 Volt-Amperes (VA) is used when calculating receptacle loads. This value is often used as a guideline in residential applications as well. For example, given a 15 ampere 120 volt circuit, you could have 10 receptacles @ 180 VA. Article 220.14 (I) go be a plumber.

[@KevinCoop1]

Dan Johnson I agree with 180va or 1-1/2 amps per device(depends on NEC code year) for commercial and industrial for general purpose receptacles. Our company standard was 8 receptacles per 20amp circuit. I was asking how you got the 30%. You referenced 220.14(I) to push your point. You should also point out 220.14(J) which is specific to NEC requirements for dwelling units. I actually do not need a job as a plumber! I made enough money as a Electrical Design Engineer working for Electrical Contractors that money is not a problem in retirement. But thanks for the suggestion.

[@400080vikkash]

We used to do 3 rooms on a 15 amp feeding plugs and lights and never had problems ever.. But I like your idea.. Just a question, why don't you run all these hr into the panel and then splice them all onto one breaker. Because what it looks like you have a junction box for the splices and one 12 awg wire. The problem I have with that is ur limited to that one wire from the junction box that's carrying all that load and would need to fish another wire in if your breakers are overloaded and if you already had those hr in the panels you'd just split up wires and add another breaker. Seems like extra work to me you know? Panels technically are rated as a splice box. Plus you'll not have some extra junction box somewhere.

[@Real_Tech_Skills]

Almost 100% of the time I only use 12-gauge wire and 20-amp breakers for 120-volt circuits. This generally means I only have to stock one breaker size for new installations. I do use 14-gauge wire for smoke detector interlock feeds which requires a 15-amp breaker. I also run separate circuits for every bedroom, bathroom, most other general use areas and dedicated lighting only circuits. I tend to run 2 or more circuits for living rooms (or whichever room will be used for TV/music/gaming equipment).

[@Veritas-invenitur]

What an absolute waste of materials. I can completely understand doing this in your own house but i cannot see any builder paying for this.

[@Real_Tech_Skills]

FAR from being a waste of materials. About $20 difference for a roll of 12-2 romex versus 14-2 romex. Almost $0 difference in price between a 15 amp and 20 amp circuit breaker. I've never had a problem with a builder/home owner paying $20-$40 more for an entire "standard size" house wiring bid over the last 30 years.

[@Veritas-invenitur]

Thats alot of home runs and breakers man. I can understand having everything be 12/2 if the lights weren't on their own circuits but every room having 20amp receptacles and its own lighting circuit. If im reading you right your looking at a good 35% increase in materials. Maybe I'm just miss interpreting what your saying. By dedicated lighting circuit do you mean for each room or just that you put lighting on their own separate circuit. Atleast where i am no inspector will pass you if your lighting is on the same circuit as a receptacle.

[@thomasmarable6818]

I do what the customer wants and will to pay for above code, other then that its by code. The bottom line is I need to make money not doing it for free.

[@firebird77clonefirebird89]

When I wired my house, I used two breakers per room. One 15A for lights, one 20A for outlets. Separate breaker for the fridge, separate circuit for kitchen island. Yeah, overkill I know. And yet, I've NEVER had an electrical issue.

[@pedromanriquez9695]

Helfull your share

[@jamesshomesolarmore2223]

That’s a bit of overkill. But it is definitely going to work.

[@dillonyoung5502]

Can you use a 15 amp breaker for room outlets?

[@briansiebert8242]

I never have thought of applying the 3VA/ft rule per room. It is typically used to calculate whole house loads for panel sizing.

[@briansiebert8242]

I would keep in mind the power usage of individual rooms. Just one space heater pretty much maxes out a 20A circuit

[@TheRealGenSwat]

i have a closet next to my game room and in the back of the closet there's an access panel for storage 8 outlets on 12/2 and a 20 amp breaker, could I come off that out let and run 12/2 for 2 led lights to light closet and storage room using a 20 amp light switch?

[@frankstallcup8720]

120 X 20 = 2400 2400 divided 3VA = 600 You can put as many plugs as you want on a 20 amp circuit with in 600 square feet of living space Why is this aloud ? Because 75 percent of the receptacles never get used. The only thing you says that is good practice is receptacles on 20 amp circuits and lighting on 15 amp circuits Typically you could put all 4 rooms on one lighting circuit, the only time I would split is if each room has ceiling fans, I try to not have more than 2 ceiling fans on a light circuit, usually 14 to 18 openings with the LED bulb coming into play. Nowadays 3 to 5 lighting circuits will be enough for any house. 3500 square foot and smaller

[@lovera3878]

On new construction. Am I better off using 20 amp instead of 15amps. ?

[@salcastaneda443]

what size cable would you run from the panel to the lights or receptacles?

[@loganocchionero6621]

Where I live you have to put lighting on a 15A breaker, and wouldn't you only be using 15A receptacles in a bedroom/living room, and therefore a 15A breaker?

[@allisonarmstrong9111]

I would like to see a video wiring a room using home computer workstations for each occupant. Something like six computer monitors and two computers, five external hard drives, four powered USB expansions hubs on one wall. I don't think there is a connection between square footage of a room and the load of all the electronics commonly used now.

[@ivantorr]

Ben, does the code require 12-2 for outlets and 14-2 for lights or it doesn’t matter? And respectively 20 Amp for receptacles and 15 Amp for lights?

[@aihf3063]

Ben can you do a single room with walk in closet with ceiling fan and four can pls. Thx

[@saraswain1380]

I thoroughly enjoy your videos, they easy to follow, wish i has come across them 15 years ago. Know that you have a student in the Bahamas, much respect from the (242).

[@bartofilms]

I have a 700sq ft house with a conventional panel, but the rooms still have knob and tube wiring. It was inspected OK, but a vac and/or blender will sometimes pop the breakers when they should not. I don't understand how a. 5A vac can trip a 10A breaker when nothing else is on the circuit. Does this mean there may be undetected wiring problems? Cheers.

[@mattsomers519]

Can you explain the 3va/sqft rule? I’ve tried to determine how many receptacles or lights can be on a branch circuit before. For the receptacle question, I’ve seen that you can assume 1.5amps per receptacle and the circuit should only be loaded to 80% so that would allow you around 10-12 receptacles per circuit. Lights pretty much the same idea, but they generally draw less so you can have a lot more per circuit. Is the 3va/sqft basically just the consolidated version of this principle? Also are you a licensed electrician, and in what part of the country?

[@samuelt2072]

Good explanation

[@TodKarlson]

Breakers are relatively cheap, so just use a 15A (14awg) for each room's lighting & a 20A (12awg) for the receptacles.

[@MrKongatthegates]

If doing your own house maybe, not if you are bidding a job, minimum to code is cheaper

[@thomasmarable6818]

Not with all the afci breakers

[@dplj4428]

Is it better to have radiator furnace and water heater separate from lighting?

[@carsoncutler9096]

Wow this answers so many of my questions! Thanks for sharing. Also nice shirt #MERICA

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

HAHAHA! Oh yeah!

[@robertochavez8196]

Thanks so much for sharing that information!!!!!!

[@shintel1029]

What about Voltage drop off. I'm confused, with 12/2 wire on a 20amp breaker we are only allowed to run around 50ft before we hit the 3%. I'm assuming most residential runs are longer than 50ft. How are we allowed to do this?

[@jenko701]

Two things electricians rarely know , 1 why do they use Volt amps instead of watts and, 2 why is a true rms meter better . They are related.

[@KevinBenecke]

Here's another thing for you to consider. If you have central A/C, you could get away with wiring bedrooms together. If you are going to have to use window A/C units, it's best to wire each bedroom on it's own circuit if you plan to run an A/C in each bedroom. Especially if you need large capacity A/C units like 10,000 BTUs or more. You need to decide how the circuit in each room is going to be used and then wire things up accordingly. If your family likes to use things like electric blankets in the winter time, wire each bedroom on it's own circuit because things like electric blankets pull lots of electric. Better yet, wire your bedrooms separate if you have the room in your service panel to future proof yourself.

[@thomasmarable6818]

Nobody uses window units on new homes

[@KevinBenecke]

@@thomasmarable6818 That's because the newer homes are garbage and the walls would never hold them.

[@dwaynenero535]

Hey Ben I have a question that I will try to keep short (but unlikely, sorry) I bought a bidet toilet seat (AC 120V 60Hz 660W) and need to install a GFI to power it. I installed the GFI and powered it by pig tailing it into a 3 gang box in my attack. Inside the box was already 4 wires coming in. 2 wires were 14/2 w grn and 2 more rounded wires I think 14/3 with black, Red & white wires. The red to red & the black to black, so I left those alone and just took my one 14/2 and tied it in to one of the other 14/2s in the box. Black to black, white to white and of course the grounds were all together. I lightly twisted the wires (I know you don't do this) before adding the marrettes. I made sure they were snug and then I even tape them separately with electric tape just make sure. I tucked every thing back in the box neatly with plenty of room inside that 3 gang box. The GFI was working correctly and the bidet seat also worked perfectly ... Now ... the issue I have is when I turn on certain lights in my house after about 1 min. I notice a faint pulsing or I don't want to say flickering because the lights don't go out just slightly flick (almost like a very quick half blink) It does this each second for about 60 to 90 seconds. Then it stops. Sometimes occurring again after 7 or 8 mins. Something like this has happened over the past few years when my toaster oven is on the microwave light over the stove slightly pulsed the same way until I turned off the toaster oven. Anyway my question is do you know why this is happening? Is there not enough power in the circuit to carry what's on it? Should the bidet get it's on line straight to the panel or should the panel circuit that carry those lines be changes to a 20amp instead of a 15amp. Almost all my circuits in the panel are 15amp. Any ideas ? Sorry for the long message. I appreciate your help.

[@munsters2]

RE:Dwayne Nero. I'm not an electrician but I would re-check the connections in the bathroom box you tied into, especially the neutral wires. Also, in case you may have tugged on one of those 4 wires, I would try to trace each one back or forward to another box and check the connections there. If you have a bad (loose) filament in an incandescent bulb, it might cause pulsing. Does your microwave light still pulse? Is it on a different circuit than the bath? Is so, then it may be more of a problem in the main panel or outside. I would inspect the wires there, especially the neutrals. One other thing you might try replacing the breaker or swapping 2 breakers to see if the problem moves to the other circuit. If you have, or can borrow, a multimeter, you can check the voltage at the bath box, the microwave light and at the corresponding breakers to see if it is fluctuating. Also, test between the 2 hot legs and the neutral where they connect to the panel. Between hot and neutral, about 118-125V and from hot to hot, about 235-245V. Does it fluctuate? Test with main breaker on and off. One more thing; if the bidet was cheap Chinese crap from Amazon, I would also check for loose connections on it.

[@dwaynenero535]

@@munsters2 Thanks for the advice which I will keep and apply to any similar future issues. What I decided to do just to be on the safe side was to give that bathroom outlet it's own dedicated line straight to the box. The pulsing stopped completely and everything operates perfectly. I just thought the piggybacking was too much. So all good now thank you 😊

[@dungle-wh9td]

Thank you Sir!

[@steverosenbaum2469]

I prefer running 12/2/2 to the receptacles. I also prefer to alternate each circuit to every other receptacle. I don't like split outlets. I find them dangerous to the Craftsman. This configuration allows for having power available if 1 of the circuits trip as well as some built in load balance.

[@aaron74]

12/2/2 huh? Wow, that's pretty extreme. I suppose you could split the standard duplex receptacle and have the top one on one circuit, the bottom on the other circuit. This was common practice in Canadian kitchens before two 20A countertop receptacle circuits were required (that matched the US requirement).

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Wow Steve! That's very impressive. I'm not very familiar with 12/2/2 so I would just run a second 12/2 cable to help me keep it straight. So you use single receptacles instead of duplex and then alternate between circuits for every other receptacle?

[@steverosenbaum2469]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom I still would use duplex outlets. 1 box would be black circuit with the red circuit as the passthrough and the next box would be red circuit with the black circuit as the passthrough. If I used a single receptacle it would have to be rated at 20 amps. The exception in the code is multiple outlets on a single yoke may be 15 amps. By using this, my defacto derate factor is 25%. No worries about overloadsᕙ( • ‿ • )ᕗ

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Thanks for explaining that. Some might consider that to be overkill but wow is it cool! Might have to add that to the list of videos to make! Just have to make sure that you keep the neutrals separated too right? Then would you space the two breakers feeding the 12/2/2 apart so that they are both being fed from the same leg of power from the panel in order to avoid having 240 volts in your boxes?

[@steverosenbaum2469]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom What I like about 12/2/2 are the nuetrals have a corresponding stripe to match it's hot. No toning out to identify. This cable was well thought-out.

[@seifedinmengistu3327]

An apartment having Living and Bed room each (3mX2m), Kitchen and Bath room each (2mX2m), Corridor (4mX1m) and Balcony (2mX1m) is to be installed with the following loads: Ventilator (500W), Fridge (1kW), Stove (2kW), six 60W lamps, and five socket outlets. a)Calculate the sub-feeder cable size for this room if the average ambient temperature of the local area is taken as 35oC and five groups of circuits are running together in a conduit with it. The length of run is 15m and protection is by MCB. b)Choose the rating of the MCB and the branch circuits breakers. c)Locate the approximate area of location of each lamps and sockets. can you pleas do this for me ?

[@johndavies2949]

So going by sq footage in. 3 bedroom house, 1 master and two kids, I would run 1-15 amp circuit for the 2 kids and 1-15 amp circuit for the master. That's enough to cover 750 sq feet. That's almost 20x40 on the flat. That's a lot of area.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Obviously you can always be more conservative and run more circuits. It's just a starting point to go from.

[@gerhardschemel3565]

Always consider convenience and isolation doing breakers for general purposes. Now with LED lights15 amp for lighting is more then could be used.

[@josephheston9238]

You should have a dedicated circuit right near the window if you plan to run a window air conditioner.

[@brianjohns2865]

That's what I like to do as well. We have 2 rooms on the same circuit and use air conditioners. Sometimes when we have the TV, lights and everything going the air conditioners would cycle on and blow the breaker. Having the rooms on the same circuit isn't really a problem but it's best to keep air conditioners and even space heaters on separate breakers.

[@Rin-qj7zt]

Problem is who plans on that when paying for a house to be built? Honestly though maybe it would be good practice to have one dedicated circuit per bedroom in case the owners want to plug in something weird at some point. But like.. cost

[@notsure7874]

That kind of falls under his "dedicated appliances" exception.

[@garyenos2552]

Well I'm not sure if the codes are different in your area, but it is considered that each outlet is equivalent to 1.5 amps so in theory you shouldn't put more then 13 outlets on a 20 amp circuit, to be safe 12, this would be a safer way to explain it to the dyi person

[@thomasmarable6818]

There is no code in the NEC that limts the # of general outlets on a circuit in dwellings. Thats commercial wiring.

[@teardowniscool]

The only point that I’m going to bring is , that every receptacle outlet is 180 va code math is 20x120=2400/180 =13 .so in residential outlets are non continuous.

[@KevinCoop1]

Mario inocente You are correct if you are talking about other than dwellings. The 180va or 1-1/2 amps does not apply to dwelling units.

[@alexk7950]

very very helpful thank you.

[@IvanRossS]

Few days ago I find out that my entire bathroom with outlets and Lighting together on the same breaker with bathroom that also have Outlets. All on 15amp.. SMH. How is that possible? Is that wrong?. House was build in 1997. What would you say about that? Thank you

[@cedricpomerleau5586]

I guess they don't expect much stuff plugged in the bathroom. My whole apartment, except for the kitchen stuff, is only on two breakers. So yeah, the lighting and all the plugs of the living room, my room and the bathroom are on the same two breakers.

[@Eddy63]

Good vid Benji ...

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Thanks!

[@larryotoole933]

Hey Ben been watching your videos and they are very good information and helpful with the old house that I have been renovating keep them coming. Thanks Larry O'Toole

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

@@larryotoole933 Glad that I've been able to be of some assistance! Keep up the good work on your project! What area are you from?

[@larryotoole933]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom hey Ben thanks for the response I am from Harford county in Maryland

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

@@larryotoole933 Nice! That's a long way from Minnesota where I am located. Bet the weather is at least a little bit better over there though!

[@esam2017]

Thank you

[@danielpadlo2401]

awesome Information

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Glad it was helpful!

[@IGoProEVERYTHING]

I like to keep each room on its own circuit. Lights and receptacles on the same circuit (especially with todays LED technology). This makes it easy to flip one breaker and KNOW the room you are working on is dead. With that said wiring a kitchen or garage you want the lights separate for various and obvious reasons.

[@pwicketts]

This is great! Thank you!!

[@fariborzbashardoost1511]

Thanks.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

i did some rewiring in my house. they had half the kitchen, old and new living rooms, out door lights on deck and porch, plus porch and hall lights on 1 circuit. and 1 unused outlet in garage on 1 breaker. and 1 garage light on 1 breaker. i shuffled stuff around. master bed and bath lights and outlets they had on 1 circuit and 2 other bedrooms lights and outlets together. i left those alone. but like dude said.... if you can, each bedroom or room outlets on separate 20 amp per room. and all the lights on 1 15 or split between 2 15s depending how many rooms. thats way to go.