Before The Architect - Home Electrical Circuit Design Diagram

Circuit Designing

BEFORE THE ARCHITECT – HOME DESIGNING BACKGROUND – UNIQUE HOME DESIGN ARTICLES

HOME CIRCUIT 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 – home electrical circuit design and diagram

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

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

    Nothing to it.

    Right?

    A custom home builder recently mentioned to this home designer, “House interior lighting? We move from room to room and slap up some recessed cans."

    Right?

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

    Willy-nilly may be the home electrical circuit 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 home designer’s approach to electrical circuit design in a home.

ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS

Electrical circuit from its panelboard shall include

energized conductor, or hot leg

grounding conductor (equipment bonding conductor, etc.) and

grounded conductor (neutral, common)

which the grounded conductor

run throughout that electrical circuit exclusively, that is, with respect to any other electrical circuit

not be crossed-over to

not be interconnected with

not be otherwise shared by

not be split with

no interconnection whatsoever between a grounded conductor and a grounding conductor in a panelboard, subpanel, junction box, device, etc.

no interconnection whatsoever between grounded conductors

regard to or distinction between types of cable

Comment: Sorry for all those shall nots; however, this home designer needs to close loopholes. Interconnecting grounded conductors is especially a condition seen in commercial and industrial 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.

Electrical circuit load

be judged as to whether it is continuous, i.e., could reasonably operate without interruption for 3 hours or more and

judged continuous, then it shall be derated by 20% (, or the peak load multiplied by 1.25) subsequent to all other deratings

Comment: Usually, any given home electrical load is not regarded as continuous. Continuous loads come into active play in commercial and industrial applications. However, this home designer knows full well that some loads in a home can operate frequently well beyond 3 hours continuously, e.g., some exterior lighting and some interior lighting, entertainment centers, computer equipment, attic fans, etc. It’s these loads and those like ‘em that ought to be singled out for special attention when designing and rating an electrical circuit in a home. This home designer knows, for sure, that he’s in the minority on this one. He’s unphased (a little electrical pun, there).

Electrical circuit at a time shall be distinguished

dedicated to lighting loads, which loads shall be connected only to that electrical circuit

dedicated to non-lighting loads, which loads shall be connected only to that electrical circuit and

lighting electrical circuit and a non-lighting electrical circuit shall not be interconnected, including as to grounded neutrals

Equipment and entertainment centers shall be supplied by dedicated electrical circuitry at not greater than

separately boxed hard drives and a printer or

printers and boxed hard drive(s) per electrical circuit and

sized Universal Power Supply (a/k/a UPS) with surge protection shall be urged

Comment: The home designer and 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 lighting 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 loads – distinctions which in commercial and industrial applications can be life- and property-protective. For matters of load linearity, this home designer thinks that in virtually all applications in a residence, so long as a grounded neutral is pulled from the panelboard (whereat it is securely fastened to its bar) separately for each and every electrical circuit run, all should get along safely.

A kitchen or bar, each of the following electrical appliances shall be connected to an individual electrical circuit 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

or, if not a combined unit, then separately to a refrigerator and a freezer

wine cooler

compactor

chill drawer

heating drawer

central vacuum

compactor, etc.

Electrical circuit with 15 amp overcurrent protection shall have applied to it only 15 amp rated devices

Electrical circuit with 20 amp overcurrent protection shall have applied to it only 20 amp rated devices

Comment: The National Electric Code slices and dices this electrical circuit vs. receptacle match-up sure enough to bunch the shorts of the most serious student. The home designer’s in no mood to quibble.

Electrical motor-driven or electrical heater-driven loads shall be on individual electrical circuits dedicated to that single load and either hard-wired or singleplexed, e.g.

washer

space heater

dryer

kitchen appliance that’s built-in

other appliance or heater that’s built-in or required by residents

bathroom lavatory individually and

Comment: This means, among others, no splits or branches to or from a microwave electrical circuit.

Two-pole electrical circuit

be individual [new word for ‘dedicated’]

be applied only to a unique, two-pole load

not be interconnected with any other electrical circuit

Comment: This prescript must be followed absolutely. Of note in a two-pole electrical circuit to supply a motor, the grounded conductor regularly carries bits of electrical energy back to its seat on the panelboard. Interconnecting the grounded conductor in a two-pole cable or harness with other grounded conductors can be a lethal mistake.

Grounding neutral (often bare or with green insulation) shall be connected in parallel and not in series to each device, i.e., one grounding conductor to each device wherein each grounding conductor is securely tied to the line’s grounding conductor

an outlet of ganged switches and

an outlet of ganged receptacles, that is,

device shall be pigtailed to its line

Less than 2-2 linear inch diameter solid, smooth, straight conduits

extend 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

be located

closely as possible to the panelboard

accessible to conduit interior from the panelboard on finish

be clearly identified at each terminus with bright coloring or other visually distinctive means

serve as post-finish raceways for cable between levels

in not less than one

in not less than one.

be temporarily sealed to air flow at each opening to abate flame spread between levels

Any electrical circuit with more than one device or appliance or similar, cable connections shall be by pigtail in parallel, i.e., sequential electrical circuitry shall be prohibited

A bathroom, each lavatory shall have its own dedicated 120V/20A electrical circuit for a GFCI-protected duplex receptacle

Shall be no less than 2 utility receptacle electrical circuits in a kitchen and bar (whether or not the bar is adult)

Receptacle electrical circuits shall be dedicated

Smoke alarm electrical circuit

land separately to electrical circuit breaker of an actively used lighting electrical circuit, which breaker shall be designated for a double tap or

be the first branch on that actively used lighting electrical circuit, before any switch device connection

Electrical circuits shall not serve the same receptacle device. i.e., a receptacle shall not be split-wired

Circuits serving kitchen loads shall serve only kitchen loads

ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT DESIGNING DIAGRAM

Look at a small chunk of a recent Electrical and Lighting Plan by Before The Architect

In plan view of a Masters Bath suite with electrical circuitry drawn right on the plan set’s floor plan

Electrical Circuitry Designing, Plan View

Key: CLO = closet; D = dimmer; G = ground fault interrupter; H = height; HR = home run; L = lighted switch; lm = lumens; MIR = mirror; PS = pressure switch; S = single pole switch; S3 = three-way switch; S4 = four-way switch

How several points of electrical circuitry designing guidance play out (along with points elsewhere herein under on receptacle designing and switch designing)

can reckon illumination levels in each space as between ambient and task site, remembering that all this is much further identified in a Lighting Schedule and Lighting Notes, again, elsewhere on this website

one area of further limit to lighting pros works and that’s the height and spread of sconces in both HIS and HERS

the squared electrical circuit 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.

how Before The Architect handles almost all aspects of luminaires after establishing electrical circuitry siting, e.g., “TO SHOWER LIGHTING AND FAN" and “TO HALL LIGHTING." Lighting pros are only proscribed by Before The Architect generally in two aspects of lighting: illumination level and type. The rest – luminaire choices, numbers, and sites are up to them; that their day job.

should be made of the dedicated receptacles to each of the lavatories which are symbolized by the HR designation, along with outlet height over finish floor level. HERS, you’ll recognize, gets 2 dedicated receptacles along her counter. Missing in this version of the floor plan is designing of a seating area open below-counter in HERS.

at all the dimmers

at all the lighted switches

pressure switches are applied in each smaller closet. So convenient – as long as you close the closet doors

note the many switches throughout these spaces, in order to ensure convenient control of lighting and appliances

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	Look at a small chunk of a recent Electrical and Lighting Plan by Before The Architect
	In plan view of a Masters Bath suite with electrical circuitry drawn right on the plan set’s floor plan