Lighting/Receptacle Circuits -Residential

[Npstewart]

Anyone have a rule of thumb method to figuring how many 20 or 15 A lighting & receptacle circuits you will need in a house?

Ie, if you have a 3,000 square foot house that would be 9000 watts total is it best to figure 1,000 watts on each circuit so you would have 9 circuits total?


Also, do you typically keep the lights/receptacles separate or give a circuit to each bedroom or 2? I know there is no right or wrong way I guess I am just looking for the smartest way.

Thanks

 

[LarryFine]

My preference is for separate lighting and receptacle circuits, for both real and perceived performance as much as anything. For example, it's common for all of the lights to be turned on when vacuuming; a sure breaker-tripper for single circuits.

I like putting the ceiling lighting and fans of bedrooms, closets, hallways, and baths on 15a lighting circuits, and the receptacles on 20a circuits. One of each can cover two or three bedrooms, and maybe one more of each for the master area.

I reason that lighting circuit loads are relatively fixed and predictable, and plug-in loads are the opposite. One 20a circuit can carry one heavy load and a few light ones, while a 15a circuit could be maxed out by the same load, allowing no overhead.

For specific loads or load groups, such as audio/video and home-theater equipment, and computer/office-equipment areas, I treat more like commercial loads, and supply dedicated circuits feeding one or more receptacle, depending on the equipment.

 

[Npstewart]

Thats about the track I am on. I dont see much residential these days and its hard to get off being in commercial mode.

Thanks!

 

[Little Bill]

My preference is for separate lighting and receptacle circuits, for both real and perceived performance as much as anything. For example, it's common for all of the lights to be turned on when vacuuming; a sure breaker-tripper for single circuits.

I like putting the ceiling lighting and fans of bedrooms, closets, hallways, and baths on 15a lighting circuits, and the receptacles on 20a circuits. One of each can cover two or three bedrooms, and maybe one more of each for the master area.

I reason that lighting circuit loads are relatively fixed and predictable, and plug-in loads are the opposite. One 20a circuit can carry one heavy load and a few light ones, while a 15a circuit could be maxed out by the same load, allowing no overhead.

For specific loads or load groups, such as audio/video and home-theater equipment, and computer/office-equipment areas, I treat more like commercial loads, and supply dedicated circuits feeding one or more receptacle, depending on the equipment.

Larry, How do you handle putting more than 1 bedroom on a circuit with the AFCI rule?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Larry, How do you handle putting more than 1 bedroom on a circuit with the AFCI rule?

2 bedrooms can be fed with one afci.

 

[Little Bill]

2 bedrooms can be fed with one afci.

He said he liked the lights separate from the receps. Would you put lights from more then 1 bedroom on 1 AFCI and the receps from more than 1 on another AFCI? Are you using the newer AFCI breakers that allow sharing neutrals? Or are you using 12-2-2 wire?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I usually do the bedroom lights along with the hall lights on one circuit. Then I run the two bedroom recep. on another. Master bedroom I generally will make a homerun for the receptacles.

 

[Electric-Light]

I treat more like commercial loads, and supply dedicated circuits feeding one or more receptacle, depending on the equipment.

Normal computers and office equipment shares circuit with other stuff just fine, though I like dedicated circuit for laser printer. The fuser cycling causes nuisance UPS trip, severe light flicker and depending on the circuit length, computer reboot.

 

[LarryFine]

He said he liked the lights separate from the receps. Would you put lights from more then 1 bedroom on 1 AFCI and the receps from more than 1 on another AFCI?

Absolutely. In fact, since we're still only required to AFCI-protect bedroom receptacle outlets in Va, receptacle-only circuits make even more sense.

Are you using the newer AFCI breakers that allow sharing neutrals? Or are you using 12-2-2 wire?

Neither. I stick to using 12-2 and 14-2 and 1p breakers for these reasons. I do like to use MWBC's where practical.

 

[Little Bill]

Absolutely. In fact, since we're still only required to AFCI-protect bedroom receptacle outlets in Va, receptacle-only circuits make even more sense.

Neither. I stick to using 12-2 and 14-2 and 1p breakers for these reasons. I do like to use MWBC's where practical.

In Tn. the state amended the newly adopted 08 to just keep the bedrooms on the AFCI and not all that the 08 lists. But it is still all outlets and not just receps. Are you saying that Va only requires the recep. outlets and not the lighting outlets? That would be nice if we did that too.
How do you connect the 2 rooms, j-box or feed from last outlet to the other room?