On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 20:22:38 -0400, "Mike Payne"
wrote:

I guess it's my job to disagree with most of the other posters. 15A
circuits let you work with 14 gauge wire. It is orders of magnitude easier
to wire outlets and lights with 14 rather than 12. I use 12 only for
workshops and kitchens where they might actually be needed. Most radios,
TV's , and computers use less power today than even a decade ago. When was
the last time you tripped a 15 A circuit breaker by overloading it?


I always use #14 for all lighting, and #12 for all outlets, and the
associated proper breaker. You dont need 20A for lights, except
possibly in industrial applications. Just keep the lights together,
in other words, dont mix lights and outlets, with the possible
exception of closets, where one might add an outlet for occasional use
to the lighting circuit, or maybe the same in an unfinished attic.

One reason that I learned from an electrician many years ago, was that
light bulbs occasionally short internally when they burn out. A 15A
breaker will trip faster, so those bulb incidents are less dramatic
and less chance of shattering the glass.

I just rewired a barn for a friend. He did not want to change the old
fuse box. He's retired from farming and dont have livestock anymore,
but his light fixtures were all nasty and corroded, and half of them
no longer worked. He also had an outlet that had gotten a bolt of
lightning and was all charred and being held together with electrical
tape. The lighting wires themselves were all still good because they
were #12 UF cable. The only problem was this was the UF without
ground. But at 30 to 40 feet off the floor, we decided that as long
as the lights were porcelain in plastic boxes, there was no real need
to a ground wire, as this wire was "grandfathered in". However, we
replaced all the wires for the outlets. Even though the lighting
wires were #12, I installed a 15A fuse. There are only five lights w/
100W bulbs. No sense using a 20A, and as I said earlier, if a bulb
shorts, it is less likely to shatter the glass. Particularly in a barn
where there is hay and stuff like that. (he still bales and sells
hay).