A crucial part of your home renovation plan is to figure out the placement of your residential electrical outlets. The outlets in a room are the most visible sign of electricity in a home, and it’s important that you include them in the right places to make using the room convenient without over-using the system. The right electrical renovation plan can increase your new rooms looks as well as it functionality. Professional electrical remodeling services will know local codes and rules when it comes to numbers and types of outlets used in each room of the house. You can generally add outlets where necessary; it’s simply the matter of using the right type of outlet in most areas. Assess each room in your house that’s undergoing the home renovation before building an electrical plan with your contractor.
The Furniture Layout
Although homeowners like to move their furniture from time to time, most rooms have a signature piece that the room is built around. In the bedroom it’s the bed, of course, but in the living room it may be a sofa, an entertainment center, or a matching set of chairs. Always take this signature piece into account when determining where to place electrical outlets. Do you commonly place lamps around this piece? If so, you’ll need outlets on the wall or in the floor next to the furniture. If you have a large set of shelves to anchor the room, you’ll need to make sure these shelves don’t block any planned outlets or switches. It’s simpler if there’s only one obvious place for a piece of furniture to go, but take into account the most common placement you can find.
Lighting Sources
What are the lighting sources planned for the room? A kitchen will need central lighting over any eating areas available, plus dedicated task lighting over counters, work spaces, and stoves. In a living room, you’ll need outlets for ambient lighting for the room in general, plus reading lamps next to cozy chairs and task lighting for crafts or study areas, if needed. You’ll need wiring for any ceiling light you have planned as well as basic outlets planned for around the room.
Powered Items
Your residential electrical plan depends not just on where the outlets should go in reference to your furniture placement, it also depends on how much power you’re likely to need for each room in the house. Kitchens and laundry rooms need heavy duty outlets for large appliances, plus a number of conveniently placed regular outlets for counter top appliances such as microwave ovens and coffee makers. More power is needed in modern living rooms, which should be a concern for anyone considering a home renovation. Today’s living room is likely to contain a large screen television, a stereo system, a gaming system, and possibly a computer or two. Compared to decades ago when many houses were built, this takes up an enormous amount of power.
Special Events
If you normally decorate in a large way for holidays and special events, extra outlets should be part of your plan, but in number and in placement throughout the house. If you typically have a holiday tree in front of the living room window, install extra outlets on that wall or floor to account for the strings of lights you’ll be adding to the tree. If you have massive parties during football season in one room of the house, make sure extra outlets for plugging in warming trays, slow cookers, and portable fridges are a part of your residential electrical plan. Traditions are important. It’s also important to take these traditions into account when drawing up the electrical plan for your home remodel.
Recent Comments