15 Amps or 20?

Most branch circuits for lighting will be 15 amps. Twenty-amp circuits normally are reserved for dedicated purposes. It’s perfectly acceptable to use a 20-amp circuit for lighting, but use it judiciously because it can handle, for example, four more 100-watt fixtures than a 15-amp circuit. Great, you say, that means less wiring to do—at least until the lights go out. Then it might not be so great. You’ll have that much less light to see by if an entire section of your house goes dark. Twenty-amp lighting circuits work well when you have a large cluster of lights such as in a kitchen/ hallway combination where you might have as many as 10 150-watt recessed fixtures. You also should consider a 20-amp circuit for your home office computer and peripherals. Check the rating of your copier, which could need its own circuit.

Power Everywhere

The whole point of a modern electrical system, aside from safety, is to have power, fixtures, and devices where you want them. You’re only reading this chapter if you have an outdated system or if you’re building your own home or addition. Newer houses rarely need circuits added unless they are being physically expanded or you’re adding more power to an area such as an unfinished basement, a garage, or outdoors. Don’t underestimate your needs. If you’ve got the time, install all the receptacles a circuit can handle. You’re already tearing up the walls, why find out later that the one wall on which you didn’t install a device was where you could really use one? Use the current code as a guide whenever practical for lighting and receptacle requirements. The only time you must follow it is during a major remodel when all the walls are open in an existing room and you’re running new wiring or when you’re adding on.

Write Up a Plan

It’s always a great temptation, at least if you’re a guy, to dive into a project and improvise as you go. That’s okay for standup comedy (at least when it works), but why add to your electrical labors when you don’t need to? A pad of paper and a pen or pencil are still useful tools (even in the computer age) for visualizing your wiring. They can make the job easier and can save you some time by pointing out shortcuts and problems ahead of time. You might discover, for example, that a switch-controlled receptacle will provide light in a dormer bedroom more easily than trying to install a ceiling light. You also might need a plan to get a permit, although not every building department requires one for electrical work. A plan will give you an accurate count of fixtures, devices, circuit breakers, and electrical boxes needed for the job as well as an approximate measure of needed cable. You don’t want to go running back to a supplier because you’re short two receptacles.

Adding New Circuits

In some respects, doing a major rewiring job is easier than doing intermittent alterations. For one thing, you don’t have to mess with tying into much of your old wiring because you’ll be replacing it. Instead of updating the critical areas such as the kitchen and bathroom and just living with the inherent remaining limitations of the old system, you’ll have upgrades everywhere. In other words, you’ll be up to code (or mostly up to code) and be done with it.
Once your new service panel is installed (a job for an electrician), adding circuits is something most homeowners can do themselves. Even if you simply plan out and install the cable, you’ll be saving a big part of an electrician’s fees. Getting cable from the service panel to the device is the time-consuming part of the job. If nothing else, in a culture where we are increasingly disassociated from physical work, wiring your house can be a source of great pride and accomplishment. As with any alteration to your electrical system, you must have permits and pass an inspection. Some business consultants believe that a messy desk is the sign of an inspired, creative mind, but this isn’t so with wiring. Freudian analysts might have a field day with electrical inspectors’ obsession with neatness, but that’s what they want to see, so don’t disappoint them. Finally, plan your time. You don’t have to do the entire house at once. You can do some of the work alone, but some is best done with two people involved. Check your calendars and pencil in—or punch into your personal digital assistant—a day that works for two of you.

What’s This Going to Cost?

According to Today’s Homeowner magazine, the national average cost for upgrading an electrical service to a three-wire, grounded, 200-amp service is $2,264. For a little over $2,000, you get a safe, updated system and maybe a break on your insurance. If an electrician does the job, it will be done quickly and will be up to code. The electrician is responsible for meeting the code requirements. You’ll have some clout because you won’t (or shouldn’t) be paying the final bill until the system has been inspected and passed by your local building department.
This chapter pointed out at least the major steps and considerations you’ll face when upgrading your electrical service. This is well worth contracting out to an electrician, and I recommend that you do so, even if your local code allows you to install it yourself.

Subpanel Considerations

The most logical locations for a subpanel in a remodeled house include …
➤ In a new addition.
➤ In a garage workshop.
➤ Near an attic converted to finished space.
A small subpanel can hold as few as two single-pole breakers, and a large one can hold up to 42. If the appearance of a larger panel isn’t an issue for you, go ahead and install the larger panel so you’ll have it available for future use.

Subpanel Alternatives

Before installing a subpanel, consider its necessity. Certainly, it’s a convenience in the event of a tripped breaker, but is it worth the expense of purchasing a second panel (albeit a smaller one than your main panel)? The convenience factor aside, what you’re really comparing is the difference in cost between running individual circuits all the way back to the main panel and running a feeder cable to the subpanel, the cost and installation of the subpanel, and the cost of running the branch circuits from the subpanel. Some subpanels are installed because there aren’t any breaker slots remaining in the service panel, even though the panel has the amperage to carry more circuits. In this case, your existing breakers can be replaced with a smaller version of a standard single-pole breaker. These go by different names, including …
➤ Slimline breaker.
➤ Peanut breaker.
➤ Mini breaker.
➤ Tandem breaker.
These breakers are half the thickness of a standard breaker, which enables you to fit two of them into a single breaker slot. Others have two breakers on one single-polesize breaker.