View Single Post
  #5   Report Post  
Posted to alt.energy.homepower,alt.home.repair
Tony Hwang Tony Hwang is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,586
Default 15 vs 20 amp circuits

mdb wrote:
I'm renovating my basement and have a pretty fundamental question about the
romex cable I'll be running throughout the space for lights and wall jacks.
I'm having my old Federal Pacific breaker panel (150 amps) replaced with a
new Cutler Hammer 200 amp box. Have hired an electrician to do that work for
me. But I wondered why I'd bother with 15 amp circuits (14-2 romex). Is
there a reason not to simply make all three of the circuits I'll be creating
for the new basement 20 amp circuits, using 12-2 romex? Or is there a
fire/shock hazard caused by using the higher amperage circuit breakers on
those standard circuits.

Also, does on GFI protect the entire circuit on which it is located or do I
need to install more? My basement, like so many, sometimes gets wet when the
outside drains are blocked.


Hi,
If you need for 20 Amp circuits for higher demand devices or whatever.
There is nothng wrong overdoing anything but economics. Copper price is
very high lately. Anything load on GFI breaker or outlet is all protected.