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BEFORE THE ARCHITECT – FINE HOME DESIGNING BACKGROUND –  DREAM HOME DESIGN ARTICLES

HOME ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT WIRING DESIGN DIAGRAM

By Before The Architect  Copyright 2002, 2003, 2007 Before The Architect

YOU MAY FREELY QUOTE THE AG WITH PROPER ATTRIBUTION

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INTRODUCTION

    This e-article is about one major matter of crucial interest – dream home electrical circuit wiring design and diagram

    Home electricity is a frequent hit on Before The Architect’s website.

    Electrical circuit wiring design in a dream home seems to some the willy-nilly running of high-voltage cables between wiring electric outlets in walls and ceilings. 

    Nothing to it. 

    Right? 

    A fine home builder recently mentioned to this dream home designer, “House interiors' home light?  We move from room to room and slap up some recessed cans."

    Right?

    Wrong, in the opinion of this dream home designer at Before The Architect. 

    Willy-nilly may be the home electrical circuit wiring design majority rule, but willy-nilly is not about safety in many senses, not about convenience, and not about durability.

    Let’s take a look at this dream home designer’s approach to electrical circuit wiring design in a fine home.
 

ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS WIRING
 
bulletElectrical circuit wiring from its electrical distribution panel board shall include 
bulletenergized conductor, or hot leg
bulletgrounding conductor (equipment bonding conductor, etc.) and
bulletgrounded conductor (neutral, common)
bulletwhich the grounded conductor
bulletrun throughout that electrical circuit wiring exclusively, that is, with respect to any other electrical circuit wiring
bulletnot be crossed-over to
bulletnot be interconnected with
bulletnot be otherwise shared by
bulletnot be split with
bulletno interconnection whatsoever between a grounded conductor and a grounding conductor in a electrical distribution panel board, sub panel, junction box, electrical device, etc.
bulletno interconnection whatsoever between grounded conductors
bulletregard to or distinction between types of cable
 
Comment:  Sorry for all those shall nots; however, this dream home designer needs to close loopholes.  Interconnecting grounded conductors is especially a condition seen in commercial and industrial  electrical wiring, along with several hot legs each relying on the same grounded conductor.  Tragic consequences can come calling from these so-called “dirty neutrals": AFCIs and GFCIs won’t work as designed with interconnected grounded conductors; loading up a grounded conductor with several energized conductors can overheat the grounded conductor.  
 

bulletElectrical circuit wiring load
bulletbe judged as to whether it is continuous, i.e., could reasonably operate without interruption for 3 hours or more and
bulletjudged continuous, then it shall be derated by 20% (, or the peak electrical load multiplied by 1.25) subsequent to all other deratings  
 
Comment:  Usually, any given home electrical load is not regarded as continuous.  Continuous electrical loads come into active play in commercial and industrial applications.  However, this dream home designer knows full well that some electrical loads in a fine home can operate frequently well beyond 3 hours continuously, e.g., some exterior home security home lighting system and some interior security lighting system light, entertainment centers, computer equipment, attic fans, etc.  It’s these electrical loads and those like ‘em that ought to be singled out for special attention when designing and rating an electrical circuit wiring in a home.  This dream home designer knows, for sure, that he’s in the minority on this one.  He’s unphased (a little electrical pun, there). 
 

bulletElectrical circuit wiring at a time shall be distinguished
bulletdedicated to home light electrical loads, which electrical loads shall be connected only to that electrical circuit wiring
bulletdedicated to non-light electrical loads, which electrical loads shall be connected only to that electrical circuit wiring and
bulletlight electrical circuit wiring and a non-light electrical circuit wiring shall not be interconnected, including as to grounded neutrals 
 
bulletEquipment and entertainment centers shall be supplied by dedicated electrical circuitry wiring at not greater than
bulletseparately boxed hard drives and a printer or
bulletprinters and boxed hard drive(s) per electrical circuit wiring and
bulletsized Universal Power Supply (a/k/a UPS) with surge protection shall be urged
 
Comment:  The dream home designer and residential electrical contractor should convey herewith their dedication to applying UPS units of quality between our pricey tools, our precious work and the irregular supply of electricity from our local electric utility. 

     A while back, Before The Architect figured out it lost 3 motherboards and 2 hard-drives to power dips and spikes, many so fast individually that there was no dimming of home light or loss of digital readout time.  Now, you can sense these extremely brief power blips listening to UPSes click on and off, sometimes in bursts. 

Comment:  Sooner or later this prescript will lurch into distinctions as between linear and nonlinear electrical loads – distinctions which in commercial and industrial applications can be life- and property-protective.  For matters of electrical load linearity, this dream home designer thinks that in virtually all applications in a residence, so long as a grounded neutral is pulled from the electrical distribution panel board (whereat it is securely fastened to its bar) separately for each and every electrical circuit wiring run, all should get along safely. 

bulletA kitchen or bar, each of the following electrical appliances shall be connected to an individual electrical circuit wiring at 120 volts, 20 amps (or manufacturer’s specification) with a 20 amp (or manufacturer’s specification) singleplex receptacle or hard-wired to a junction box
bulletor, if not a combined unit, then separately to a refrigerator and a freezer
bulletwine cooler
bulletcompactor
bulletchill drawer
bulletheating drawer
bulletcentral vacuum
bulletcompactor, etc.
 
bulletElectrical circuit wiring with 15 amp overcurrent protection shall have applied to it only 15 amp rated electrical devices 
 
bulletElectrical circuit wiring with 20 amp overcurrent protection shall have applied to it only 20 amp rated electrical devices 
Comment:  The National Electric Code slices and dices this electrical circuit wiring vs. receptacle wiring match-up sure enough to bunch the shorts of the most serious student.  The dream home designer’s in no mood to quibble.
 

bulletElectrical motor-driven or electrical heater-driven electrical loads shall be on individual electrical circuits wiring dedicated to that single electrical load and either hard-wired or singleplexed, e.g.
bulletwasher
bulletspace heater
bulletdryer
bulletkitchen appliance that’s built-in
bulletother appliance or heater that’s built-in or required by residents
bulletbathroom lavatory individually and
 
Comment:  This means, among others, no splits or branches to or from a microwave electrical circuit wiring. 
 

bulletTwo-pole electrical circuit wiring
bulletbe individual [new word for ‘dedicated’]
bulletbe applied only to a unique, two-pole electrical load
bulletnot be interconnected with any other electrical circuit wiring 
 
Comment:  This prescript must be followed absolutely.  Of note in a two-pole electrical circuit wiring to supply a motor, the grounded conductor regularly carries bits of electrical energy back to its seat on the electrical distribution panel board.  Interconnecting the grounded conductor in a two-pole cable or harness with other grounded conductors can be a lethal mistake. 
 

bulletGrounding neutral (often bare or with green insulation) shall be connected in parallel and not in series to each  electrical device, i.e., one grounding conductor to each electrical device wherein each grounding conductor is securely tied to the line’s grounding conductor
bulletan electric outlet wiring of ganged electric light switch controls and
bulletan electric outlet wiring of ganged electric receptacles, that is,
bulletelectrical device shall be pigtailed to its line 
 
bulletLess than 2-2 linear inch diameter solid, smooth, straight conduits
bulletextend from lowest level of a residence, including but not limited to a crawlspace or basement or on L1 on a slab-on-grade up to and into the attic of the residence
bulletbe located
bulletclosely as possible to the electrical distribution panel board
bulletaccessible to conduit interiors from the electrical distribution panel board on finish
bulletbe clearly identified at each terminus with bright coloring or other visually distinctive means
bulletserve as post-finish raceways for cable between levels 
bulletin not less than one
bulletin not less than one.
bulletbe temporarily sealed to air flow at each opening to abate flame spread between levels 
 
bulletAny electrical circuit wiring with more than one electrical device or electrical appliance or similar, cable connections shall be by pigtail in parallel, i.e., sequential electrical circuitry wiring shall be prohibited
 
bulletA bathroom, each lavatory shall have its own dedicated 120V/20A electrical circuit wiring for a GFCI-protected duplex receptacle 
 
bulletShall be no less than 2 utility receptacle electrical circuits wiring in a kitchen and bar (whether or not the bar is adult) 
 
bulletReceptacle electrical circuits wiring shall be dedicated 
 
bulletSmoke alarm electrical circuit wiring
bulletland separately to electrical circuit wiring breaker of an actively used home light electrical circuit wiring, which breaker shall be designated for a double tap or
bulletbe the first branch on that actively used home light electrical circuit wiring, before any switch light control electrical device connection 
 
bulletElectrical circuits wiring shall not serve the same receptacle electrical device. i.e., a receptacle shall not be split-wired
 
bulletCircuits wiring serving kitchen electrical loads shall serve only kitchen wiring electrical loads 
 
ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT WIRING DESIGNING DIAGRAM
 

bulletLook at a small chunk of a recent Electrical and Light Plans by Before The Architect
 
bulletIn plan view of a Masters Bath suite with electrical circuitry wiring drawn right on the plans set’s floor plans
Electrical Circuitry Wiring Design, Plan View

Key: CLO = closet; D = dimmer; G = ground fault interrupter; H = height; HR = (wiring) home run; L = lighted switch; lm = lumens; MIR = mirror; PS = pressure switch; S = single pole switch; S3 = three-way switch; S4 = four-way switch 
 
bulletHow several points of electrical circuitry wiring design guidance play out (along with points elsewhere herein under on receptacle designing and switch light control designing)
bulletcan reckon illumination levels in each space as between ambient and task site, remembering that all this is much further identified in a Light Schedule and Light Notes, again, elsewhere on this website
bulletone area of further limit to home light pros works and that’s the height and spread of lanterns in both HIS and HERS
bulletthe squared electrical circuit wiring lines as opposed to the looping, curvy style.  Imagine the mess all those curves would have made in this tight, complexly electrical circuited space.  Straight lines mean a lot herewith to convey meaning.
bullethow Before The Architect handles almost all aspects of luminaires after establishing electrical circuitry wiring siting, e.g.,  “TO SHOWER LIGHT AND FAN" and “TO HALL LIGHT."  House light pros are only proscribed by Before The Architect generally in two aspects of home light: illumination level and type.  The rest – luminaire choices, numbers, and sites are up to them; that their day job.
bulletshould be made of the dedicated receptacles to each of the lavatories which are symbolized by the HR designation, along with electric outlet wiring height over finish floor level.  HERS, you’ll recognize, gets 2 dedicated receptacles along her counter.  Missing in this version of the floor plans is designing of a seating area open below-counter in HERS.
bulletat all the dimmers
bulletat all the electrical lighted switches
bulletpressure electrical light switch controls are applied in each smaller closet.  So convenient – as long as you close the closet doors
bulletnote the many switch light controls throughout these spaces, in order to ensure convenient control of home light and appliances
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