As beautiful as Christmas lights are, they can cause a trip in the breaker or an outage if you overload the breaker. On average, a 15 amp breaker can run a one 1K light each without blowing or about — watts. The only issue with relying on this formula is that it is advisable to only load a breaker up to 80 percent of its capacity.
Overloading a 15 amp breaker can lead to very dangerous situations. It is best to have a certified, trusted electrician to assist with any electrical work. If you have a 15 amp breaker, or a 20 amp breaker, there is not a specific number of lights and outlets that can go on it. Outlets requiring similar demand in a room share a circuit.
Grouping lights in your home allow wiring on a separate circuit just as contractors group electrical outlets together. Homebuilders will use different gauge wires depending on the circuit. The lighting circuit uses a gauge electrical wire , a lighter gauge wire than that used for electrical outlets. Circuits rated for a Amp breaker will generally use a 12 to gauge copper, a thicker copper wire. Drawing too much current or amperage through a wire will cause the wire to heat up.
The thinner the wire, the quicker the wire will heat up when too much current flows through the cable. Most local wiring codes follow the general guidelines of the National Electrical Code or NEC, with a few minor variances. This requirement means that on a Amp circuit breaker, you cannot exceed Amps flowing through the circuit at any one time. There is no formal restriction on the number of light fittings that you can have on a Amp circuit. Still, if all those lights are operational simultaneously and the current exceeds Amps, you will violate the wiring code.
As we have already indicated, the number of lights you can put on a Amp circuit depends on the wattage of the lights you use in the light fixtures. The lights rating is in the unit of Watts, while the rating for circuit breakers is Amps. You must convert the Watts of the lights to the same unit of measure as the circuit breaker to establish your limits for the circuit.
You can quickly establish this limit via a basic equation because the light wattage combines voltage and amperage. In most homes, the voltage used is Volts, but you must substitute your voltage where Volts is used in the equation if your home is different. To reverse the formula to get the Amps, use the following formula. In the case of 15 amps, we recommend a maximum of 8 outlets. During our home inspections , while we do not count the specific number of outlets in any given room, we will ensure the amperage per room is appropriate.
For example, a kitchen should have more than a 15amp breaker. Learn about preventing power surges or how many outlets can you put on a 20 amp circuit. Hello, I want to install 7 volts elect plugs in my basement. Does the same rules apply as a bedroom? Thanks Lloyd. In short yes. However, you should always check with your local building code and hire a professional when necessary. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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