Please Comment on Circuit Panel Layout (1 Viewer)

[Brent_N]

I am about to make the final connections to the circuit panel in my basement which includes a home theater setup.

I have planned for a single, dedicated 20 amp circuit for my RPTV, reciever, sub, etc. In addition, I plan to reconfigure the panel so all dimmers, motors, and fluorescent lights are all on the opposite phase.

Any comments on this configuration?

Thanks

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Looks good to me.

 

[Bobby C]

There are those who would advocate a dedicated line for the amp, separate from the RPTV & other components, though I think it is overkill (unless you have a really high end, power hungry amp). This looks good, similar to what I'm doing.

On the topic of dimmers, I recall hearing at sometime that dimmer switches (at least cheap ones) can have an adverse effect on audio components. Any feedback there? As I recall there are those who think that this idea is hooey, those who would never use dimmers and those who suggest higher quality dimmers than the inexpensive HD type.

 

[Rich Kraus]

another thought, might want to re arrange so all the HT related breakers are on the same phase (same side of the breaker pannel) i believe this helps reduce hums also....

 

[Brent_N]

That is exactly what I have shown. In a typical circuit panel, I believe when the breakers are installed, even rows attach to one phase and odd rows attach to the other (not side to side).

In the image shown, all the "dirty" circuits (i.e., those containing dimmers, fluorescent lights, motors, etc.) are on one phase (white) and the "clean" circuits (including my HT equipment) are on the other phase (yellow).

Is this the right approach?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Absolutely!

 

[Bobby C]

Wow - great info! Didn't know about this phase stuff. I'm doing some re-wiring (will hire an electrician), I'll make sure to separate the 2. By motors, I imagine that would include things like furnaces, refrigerators, humidifiers, etc.

 

[Stephen Weller]

Overkill to the point of being a luxury. I don't mean that as a negative. [rant]I'll *never* understand why home builders scrimp on a few bucks for extra breakers and copper wire.[/rant] Nickels and dimes compared to the overall cost of a home. At a minimum, there should be a breaker for each room. Things are better these days due to building electrical codes.

Which brings me to questions:

Is this to replace your main panel? Or is this a pony or sub-panel off your main? And, of course, this *HAS* been inspected by a licensed pro. Right? Required permits (if any) applied for, obtained, and filed?

I only bring this up because, (God forbid) if anything *should* go wrong, it's a VERY good feeling to know you'll have no problems with your insurance.

 

[marc_manny]

You may know this, but make sure you upgrade the wire were you are putting 20 Amps. 12 gauge for 20 Amps and 14 guage for 15 Amps. Most houses have 14 Gauge wire through out. I had to replace all the wiring in my house because of this. I had 200 Amp service and they only had ten 15 amp circuits.

Turn on one wall A/C unit and 2 rooms would flicker.

Marc

 

[Brent_N]

Yes, I used 14 gauge for 15A circuits and 12 guage for 20A circuits.

 

[Eddie L]

Hey Brent, nice layout but I guess I'm still kinda confused. My breaker panel numbers start at the top left and number down that left side 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, down to the bottom then start again at the top right and number down that right side 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and on down to 40. I guess what I'm confused about is the odd/even thing. I'm assuming I would put all dimmers on say the right OR left side and all component/subwoofer/projector breakers on the opposite side. Right?
Thanks,
Ed

 

[Roy Brooks]

The phasing on a panel is done side by side not top row one phase bottom row another phase. Look at a circuit that uses 220 volt like AC the breakers will be side by side so each breaker of the double breaker is on a different phase. Looks like the setup is good to me. I also like how the high currentdraw breakers are on the opposite end of the panel from the HT stuff.

 

[Eddie L]

Roy, now you say side by side but Brent and Wayne, above, agree not side by side but even/odd. Now I'm way confused. My 220 double pole breaker for my dryer isn't side by side, but one on top the other. So again I ask: Would I put all dimmers on say the right OR left side and all component/subwoofer/projector breakers on the opposite side. OR......say for instance put components on top left bar, then skip one down and then put dimmers on say the third bar but on the same left side?
Thanks, again.
Ed

 

[Roy Brooks]

Put the components on say the left side then put the dimmers on the next breaker below. This will put the components on one phase and dimmers on the other . Sorry to confuse you it all depends on the panel layout, wether the panel is vertically mounted as in the diagram in the post or mounted horizontally. Where is the main breaker on your panel? In the diagram you can see that the A/C breaker is side by side and the dryer breaker is also side by side. This is so the breakers would be on each phase and will trip together if there is a problem.

 

[Eddie L]

Thanks for explaining Roy. My breakers run vertically, so there's a left and a right side to put them in. This is what I thought Brent had pictured but just showing the odd numbers for the breakers confused me, since mine run 1-20 on the left and 21-40 on the right side. When I'm looking at the diagram the AC breakers as are the Dryer and Range, seem to be one on top the other as is my dryer, not side by side. To me saying side by side would be in the diagram #1 Dryer and then to the right of that the Range. My main breakers are in a separate panel. So now say I'm running just on the left side of my panel top to bottom. #1 could be components, next down #2 could be dimmers, next down #3 could be my projector then next down #4 could be more dimmers?
Thanks again!
Idiot Ed