Additional Circuit in Garage

[Little Bill]

Under the 2017 code, is there any rule prohibiting running a dedicated 15A circuit in a garage if the 20A requirement has been met?

 

[wwhitney]

No. Here's where the word "garage" appears in 2017 NEC Article 210 (excluding "appliance garage"):

210.8 on GFCIs
210.11(C)(4) which requires a 20A circuit that serves only garage receptacles (and outdoor receptacles)
210.52(G)(1) which requires a receptacle in each vehicle bay
210.70(A)(2) on lighting outlets

Cheers, Wayne

 

[augie47]

I agree. Once you meet the 210.11 rule for A 20 amp circuit, there is nothing prohibiting additional circuits of any amperage.
(The same can be stated on Laundry receptacles)

 

[Little Bill]

I was asked if a 15A dedicated circuit for a freezer could be added. Of course it would be GFCI protected. I couldn't find anything prohibiting it.
Thanks

 

[don_resqcapt19]

There was some confusion on the application of the language in 210.11(C)(4) in the 2020 code with some inspection authorities reading that section as prohibiting additional non-20 amp circuits. The following was added to the 2023 code to remove the confusion.

Additional branch circuits rated 15 amperes or greater shall be permitted to serve receptacle outlets other than those required by 210.52(G)(1).

 

[wwhitney]

There was some confusion on the application of the language in 210.11(C)(4) in the 2020 code with some inspection authorities reading that section as prohibiting additional non-20 amp circuits.

While clarification is certainly good, any such inspection authority was poorly versed in logical reading.

In fact, the wording of 210.11(C)(4) (for 2017, 2020, and 2023) does not require that the specified 20A circuit supply _all_ the garage receptacle outlets (or all the outlets required by 210.52(G)(1)). This is in contrast to 210.11(C)(1) which uses the word "all".

So if you have a two car garage, you can provide a 20A branch circuit to supply one of the required 210.52(G)(1) receptacles, and you can supply the other required 210.52(G)(1) any way you want.

Cheers, Wayne