Home Ownership (misc.consumers.house)

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Scott Smith
 
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Default New circuit breakers

Good morning.

I have recently purchased a home, and work from a home office. Right now
the "office" is a roughed-in room in the basement. In addition to sheetrock
and some cosmetic work, it needs electricity. I currently use several
computers, (2) laser printers, plus assorted peripherals. I need to power
these as well as room lighting and general use outlets.

I am comfortable with electrical wiring, and have done a fair amount over
the years. I have never added a breaker, but as I see it - as long as I
turn off the main breaker, avoid the supply lines, and properly size the
circuits, I should be fine. (The house is about 30 years old. Box is 200A.
I assume the electric service to be original.)

Q#1. Are my assumptions correct?
Q#2. How should I split the circuits?
Q#3. How do I go about sizing (amperage) the circuits?

Thanks!



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FC
 
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Scott Smith wrote:
(snip) I currently use several
computers, (2) laser printers, plus assorted peripherals. I need to power
these as well as room lighting and general use outlets.

(snip) I have never added a breaker, but as I see it - as long as I
turn off the main breaker, avoid the supply lines, and properly size the
circuits, I should be fine. (The house is about 30 years old. Box is 200A.
I assume the electric service to be original.)

Q#1. Are my assumptions correct?
Q#2. How should I split the circuits?
Q#3. How do I go about sizing (amperage) the circuits?

Thanks!

Q1. If you're far from the limit of your power supply then you're
probably fine.
Q2. It depends, if your house has anything close to modern electrical
panel then you can just plug in the circuit breaker (if there are empty
slots). Otherwise, I'd call in an electrician.
Q3. by the formula I=P/V, add all the peak wattage together then divide
it by 110 to get your amperage. Make sure you have some room to spare.

Usually there is only one circuit for the entire basement. I'd suggest
put your outlets on a different circuit and connect your lights on the
original circuit.

FC
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Scott Smith
 
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Thanks FC.

Is the rated wattage (listed on each device) the "peak wattage"?

I know the typical lights/outlets split. What I am wondering is whether
there is any logic to whether/how my *outlets* should be split. For
instance, one of my laser printers is 11A, and another is 7.8A. (Per the
markings on the device.) Should I divide outlets logically into 20A
groupings?

Thanks again








"FC" wrote in message
...
Scott Smith wrote:
(snip) I currently use several computers, (2) laser printers, plus
assorted peripherals. I need to power these as well as room lighting and
general use outlets.

(snip) I have never added a breaker, but as I see it - as long as I turn
off the main breaker, avoid the supply lines, and properly size the
circuits, I should be fine. (The house is about 30 years old. Box is
200A. I assume the electric service to be original.)

Q#1. Are my assumptions correct?
Q#2. How should I split the circuits?
Q#3. How do I go about sizing (amperage) the circuits?

Thanks!

Q1. If you're far from the limit of your power supply then you're probably
fine.
Q2. It depends, if your house has anything close to modern electrical
panel then you can just plug in the circuit breaker (if there are empty
slots). Otherwise, I'd call in an electrician.
Q3. by the formula I=P/V, add all the peak wattage together then divide it
by 110 to get your amperage. Make sure you have some room to spare.

Usually there is only one circuit for the entire basement. I'd suggest put
your outlets on a different circuit and connect your lights on the
original circuit.

FC



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Scott Smith wrote:

Is the rated wattage (listed on each device) the "peak wattage"?


Yes.

I know the typical lights/outlets split. What I am wondering is whether
there is any logic to whether/how my *outlets* should be split. For
instance, one of my laser printers is 11A, and another is 7.8A. (Per the
markings on the device.) Should I divide outlets logically into 20A
groupings?


Within reasonable limits, the more circuits the better. The rating on
your printers is going to be a maximum peak load. If possible, I would
have at least two circuits and have these two printers on separate ones.
You could should have no trouble also putting your computer and a couple
other things on either circuit with one of the printers. I would also
put the lights on a separate circuit of their own, but that's just me.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

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FC
 
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Scott Smith wrote:
Thanks FC.

Is the rated wattage (listed on each device) the "peak wattage"?


It supposed to be but I won't trust it fully so that's why you need some
spare room i.s.o. when both printer activated at the same time then your
circuit shuts down.

I know the typical lights/outlets split. What I am wondering is whether
there is any logic to whether/how my *outlets* should be split. For


No logic here, the only guiding principle is 1. capable of handling the
load and 2. your convince (i.e. how you're going to arrange your
basement office where equipments are going to be located.)

instance, one of my laser printers is 11A, and another is 7.8A. (Per the
markings on the device.) Should I divide outlets logically into 20A
groupings?


If your printer eats that much power it may not be a bad idea to have
more than one circuit to handle the load.

FC


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FC
 
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FC wrote:

No logic here, the only guiding principle is 1. capable of handling the
load and 2. your convince (i.e. how you're going to arrange your
basement office where equipments are going to be located.)

Should read "2. your convenience", I got what I deserved when I blindly
trusted the browser spell correction.

FC
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Christopher Green
 
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"Scott Smith" wrote in message ...
Thanks FC.

Is the rated wattage (listed on each device) the "peak wattage"?

I know the typical lights/outlets split. What I am wondering is whether
there is any logic to whether/how my *outlets* should be split. For
instance, one of my laser printers is 11A, and another is 7.8A. (Per the
markings on the device.) Should I divide outlets logically into 20A
groupings?

Thanks again


Laser printers draw a lot of power to keep the fuser hot; those
nameplate markings may be peak draw while the fuser is heating. If
both are out of standby at the same time, you're at 18.8A, close to
the capacity of a 20A circuit. If you arrange your work so that only
one is active, while the other is on standby, you have some headroom,
but keeping laser printers on their own circuit is usually a good idea
for interference reasons anyway.

--
Chris Green
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Charles Spitzer
 
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"Christopher Green" wrote in message
om...
"Scott Smith" wrote in message
...
Thanks FC.

Is the rated wattage (listed on each device) the "peak wattage"?

I know the typical lights/outlets split. What I am wondering is whether
there is any logic to whether/how my *outlets* should be split. For
instance, one of my laser printers is 11A, and another is 7.8A. (Per the
markings on the device.) Should I divide outlets logically into 20A
groupings?

Thanks again


Laser printers draw a lot of power to keep the fuser hot; those
nameplate markings may be peak draw while the fuser is heating. If
both are out of standby at the same time, you're at 18.8A, close to
the capacity of a 20A circuit. If you arrange your work so that only
one is active, while the other is on standby, you have some headroom,
but keeping laser printers on their own circuit is usually a good idea
for interference reasons anyway.

--
Chris Green


over. a breaker is supposed to be sized so that it shouldn't have more than
80% constant load.


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David W.
 
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"Scott Smith" wrote in
:

Thanks FC.

Is the rated wattage (listed on each device) the "peak wattage"?

I know the typical lights/outlets split. What I am wondering is
whether there is any logic to whether/how my *outlets* should be
split. For instance, one of my laser printers is 11A, and another is
7.8A. (Per the markings on the device.) Should I divide outlets
logically into 20A groupings?

Thanks again


Last time I built a home office,I used a separate 20Amp circuit on each
wall of the room, and the lights were on a different circuit shared with
other rooms. I was planning on having several computers and laser printers,
plus the usual plethora of other small devices. It was probably overkill,
but since I had the breaker space and installed it all at once, it was easy
to do, and could handle anything I could throw at it. I also installed two
duplex outlets in each box, since offices (at least mine) usually have a
lot of things to plug in.

Standard sizing for circuits feeding wall outlets is either 15A or 20A. In
commercial buildings (including offices), 20A is pretty standard. In
residential, for example, kitchen outlets above counter (for appliances)
are usually 20A. In most houses, if you run 12ga wire, the distances are
short enough that pretty much any circuit will handle 20A. Make sure you
get 20A rated outlets.

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Christopher Green
 
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On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 12:53:56 -0700, "Charles Spitzer"
wrote:


"Christopher Green" wrote in message
. com...
"Scott Smith" wrote in message
...
Thanks FC.

Is the rated wattage (listed on each device) the "peak wattage"?

I know the typical lights/outlets split. What I am wondering is whether
there is any logic to whether/how my *outlets* should be split. For
instance, one of my laser printers is 11A, and another is 7.8A. (Per the
markings on the device.) Should I divide outlets logically into 20A
groupings?

Thanks again


Laser printers draw a lot of power to keep the fuser hot; those
nameplate markings may be peak draw while the fuser is heating. If
both are out of standby at the same time, you're at 18.8A, close to
the capacity of a 20A circuit. If you arrange your work so that only
one is active, while the other is on standby, you have some headroom,
but keeping laser printers on their own circuit is usually a good idea
for interference reasons anyway.

--
Chris Green


over. a breaker is supposed to be sized so that it shouldn't have more than
80% constant load.


Laser printers aren't anything close to a constant load. That peak
current draw is for 10-second or so warmups (big old printers and
color lasers take longer). If both come out of standby at the same
time, though, you're at capacity; if there's a computer on the same
circuit, down it goes. Been there, done that.

--
Chris Green



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Jamie
 
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"David W." wrote in message
. ..
Standard sizing for circuits feeding wall outlets is either 15A or 20A. In
commercial buildings (including offices), 20A is pretty standard. In
residential, for example, kitchen outlets above counter (for appliances)
are usually 20A. In most houses, if you run 12ga wire, the distances are
short enough that pretty much any circuit will handle 20A. Make sure you
get 20A rated outlets.


Under NEC it's acceptable to use standard 15A outlets on 20A circuits unless
it's dedicated to a single outlet. 20A outlets are really for cases where
you intend to use an appliance that REQUIRES a 20A outlet, as you will
notice they have an extra notch for the special plugs.



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David W.
 
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"Jamie" wrote in
:

"David W." wrote in message
. ..
Standard sizing for circuits feeding wall outlets is either 15A or
20A. In commercial buildings (including offices), 20A is pretty
standard. In residential, for example, kitchen outlets above counter
(for appliances) are usually 20A. In most houses, if you run 12ga
wire, the distances are short enough that pretty much any circuit
will handle 20A. Make sure you get 20A rated outlets.


Under NEC it's acceptable to use standard 15A outlets on 20A circuits
unless it's dedicated to a single outlet. 20A outlets are really for
cases where you intend to use an appliance that REQUIRES a 20A outlet,
as you will notice they have an extra notch for the special plugs.


Thanks for the clarification.
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