Suffolk County Electrician Blog
Latest news & articles
Dedicated Circuits in A House, How Many Is Enough?
Does your house have enough dedicated circuits?
Does your house need more dedicated circuits? Have you noticed when your daughter turns on the hair dryer. The circuit breaker trips or you blow a fuse. This is your house electrical system, giving you a warning signal. That circuit is dangerously overloaded.
Modern technology keeps providing us with more electrical devices. That is both convenient and time-saving. Computers, laptops, and charges for all our electrical time saving devices. The home electrical system which may have been installed years ago, and is struggling to handle all these new gadgets.
If you don’t have the appropriate dedicated circuit, an appliance may draw more current than the circuit can handle. As a result the appliance cannot work to its efficiency expectations. This may cause the wiring to overheat thus tripping the breaker or fuse. Safety standards established by the national electric code recommend all fixed appliances have their own dedicated circuit.
How Many Dedicated Circuits Do we Need?
The number of dedicated electrical circuits required in your home will depend on the heavy-duty appliances that it services. If you replace the gas stove with electrical unit. That new self-cleaning oven requires a dedicated circuit to work properly. A similar situation occurs if you were to replace a gas dryer with an electrical unit. In order to reach the temperatures required to dry the clothes in an efficient manner. That electrical dryer requires a dedicated circuit.
Avoid A Dangerous Condition
If your house has fewer dedicated circuits than it needs. This can cause your wiring to overheat and the insulation around the wire to break down or melt. Once the insulating barrier around the wire has melted. The current is no longer safe, and can ignite flammable materials within the wall leading to an electrical fire.
Sure Sign That The Circuit is Overloaded
- The breaker continually trips every time two appliances kick on at the same time.
- Another most common sign is the dimming of lights in the house. The refrigerator goes on and the lights in the kitchen dim for that split second.
- This is an indication that the refrigerator is not on a dedicated circuit and should be. There are many examples of this light dimming situation occurs in your home.It’s just another indication that your home is slowly outgrowing its electrical service panel and may need to be upgraded.
An overloaded circuit can be a danger that will continually trip circuit breakers or blows fuses. This may eventually cause a fire. These safety hazards can only need to be addressed once. Fixing these issues before they turn into a major problem. Will give you peace of mind. Knowing that your home is electrically safe for your family.
Many home appliances and machines in your kitchen, laundry room, home gym and garage require individual circuits.
The following appliances should have dedicated circuits:
Air conditioner,
Clothes dryer,
Clothes washer,
Dishwasher
Electric car
Electric stove
Electric water heater
Freezer (chest and upright)
Garbage disposal unit
Heat pump
Hot tub
Refrigerator
Sauna
Sump pumps device
… And many more electrical appliances
Is there any problem if you have fewer circuits to accommodate all the appliances?
The good news is that there’s no need to worry, if you contact us in time. A licensed and experienced electrician can install any number of new circuits for you.
It is common that older homes here on Long Island are not built for these new high demand electrical conveniences.
If you’re experiencing any of these telltale signs that we have discussed in this article and want to get them resolved quickly and efficiently. Just call us and we will analyze your needs and let you know whether or not you need to add some more circuits to keep your family safe.
Remodeling is the perfect time to add dedicated circuits in a house. When you are remodeling your kitchen which is already a major expense that you planned for the addition of a new major appliance will require an upgrade in your electric in the kitchen. Speak to a licensed and insured Suffolk County electrician before the remodeling begins. So that any new service that is required can be installed easily. Working with your new kitchen designer will make for a more efficient kitchen renovation in the long run.
Only A Licensed Electrician Can Do the Work
Installing a new circuit must be performed by a licensed and insured electrician. You want any new work done in your home to be inspected by the insurance underwriters of New York. Proper installation of electrical wiring is no place to be cutting corners.
Installing a new circuit is a complex task and should only be performed by a licensed, skilled electrician. We are fully licensed and we offer:
- 24 Hour Emergency Service
- Free Estimates and Warranty
- Job cleanup
- Satisfaction Guarantee Quality Workmanship
- Up Front Pricing
- Free Home Inspection
- Friendly, Courteous and Dependable Service
Repairing or replacing your appliance circuits will help you to avoid unnecessary downtime and is more economical than replacing your existing appliance.
For proper installation of separate circuits for all your major household appliances, call us at (631) 908-6700