It is unlikely that all of that will be happy on a single 15A line, especially if your new HDTV sucks power. OTOH, it may be possible, with an ammeter, to find out what all those things draw.
That said, running 2-3 new 20A lines from the breaker box is probably a great idea. (Why not? I did it.)
As for surge protection, that depends on what you want. The best protection is, honestly, installed at the breaker box by the electrician at the same time as he adds the new lines. It may not look as sexy as a stack of Panamax/APC boxes but it is a better investment.
Kal |
Kal is right. You can have a whole house surge protection unit installed by your electrician or possibly even by your power provider. Here in Cincinnati, Duke Energy offers whole house protection. I think it is installed outside the house at the meter.
After that, do whatever you want with the power deliver options. Certainly spreading the load across a two or more dedicate circuits would be a good idea.
TIC |
I went out and got myself 250 feet of 12/2 with ground Romex, (Or, should I use 10 gauge?) two triple outlet boxes, and 6 Hubble spec grade receptacles and covers. I have about a week until my breakers get here. I'm going to make 6 seperate runs of about 30 feet from the breaker box to each outlet. I will run each of the 6 bare ground wires individually to the ground bar. Each outlet will have it's own 20 amp breaker. Will running the ground wires this way give me a ground loop hum? It doesn't seem like it should, but this is the first time I've undertaken such a task, and I'm not really sure. Will this setup completely protect my equipment from interference (surges, sags, etc.) originating from inside my home? (like when the A/C kicks on) I then plan to go with the whole house surge protector route. Either from the power company, or I could pick one up on Ebay. What does everyone here recommend? Is my plan kosher, or is there something that I have missed? |
I ran the audio side of my home theater setup (2 Adcom 555ii amps for sub+center and Orion bass drivers in parallel (2.5 Ohm minimum impedance); 4 Adcom 555ii amps for Orion mid + tweeter; Lexicon processor; the usualy HTPC for DVD playback and analog scaling; Marantz 7C for 2-channel; etc.) off one 20A circuit.
Plus the can lights (6x75W flood lamps, 4x65 narrow).
While the peak current consumption can be pretty hefty (spec'd at 42A just for my amplifiers) without running big class A amps (or maybe really small sub-woofers where physics dictate horrible efficiency) there's no way you're going to get average levels high enough to cause problems during normal listening (90-95dBC average SPLs listening to rock music, reference level home theater with peaks to 105/115dB from full range and LFE channels respectively). |
Supermaz, You may want to first check to be sure your main service has any room left for more breakers. If its a 125amp you could hire an electrician to convert it to 220 |
I have room for more breakers. I checked that first. Mumbles, I'm not sure what you mean in you response, about it being 125 amp or 220. My father put the box in 20 years ago, and he says I can go up to 200 amps. (If you meant volts, There is a 220 line that runs to my garage) I'm guessing that's the top end of the current coming into the house, correct? I'm most worried about running the six dedicated lines, only to find that I still have a ground loop. I've been doing much research, (BRAIN... Um... FULL... CAN'T... FIT... MORE) but am still unable to find out how to wire these outlets, and avoid a ground loop. The way I picture it in my head, no matter what I hook the ground wires to, I will end up with a loop. Someone please explain this to me;) I think I will call an electrician to come in, and show me what to do, before I get to it. I am still waiting for my breakers, but I have all the other stuff I need. Your responses are appreciated. Thanks. |
sorry, your right, meant 200 amps. I have an older place with 125 amp box which had to be upgraded to 200 amp service for an addition. Think 200 amp is standard now for new contruction. Still ran out slots quickly. BTW hiring an electrician was well worth it. |
Check to make sure your ground loop isn't caused by the cable TV co-ax. If so, an inexpensive ground isolation transformer on the cable line will solve the problem. |
I would at least do 220 amps possibly 250 depending on the size of your house. The typical 3 bedroom home now needs 220. If your house is 4000 sq ft or more I would consider 250. Hire an electrician, you can't be too careful when dealing with juice and frying your equipment is no way to learn the trade. |
I was talking to my Father-in-Law who went to school to be an electrician. (I would have called him an electrician, but he didn't finish the trainig) Anyway, He said that I should install my six receptacles and run the hot lead and the neutral lead into the existing breaker box, and run the ground wires to my incoming copper water pipe. These six outlet ground wires would be the only grounds connected to the water pipe, totally seperate from the grounding rods used for the rest of the house's wiring. As a side benefit, the distance from the receptacles to the water pipe is only about 10 or 12 feet, as opposed to about 35 feet to the breaker box. From what I understand, the ground wires can act as an antennae, picking up all kinds of interference, and the shorter, the better. What do you guys think? Thanks for your input. (I'm learning;) |
I would recommend hiring an electrician also, one who is experienced and knows your local codes. Wiring is not a hobby. I would also recommend a dedicated earth ground as ground loops are often caused by a difference in ground potential. |
