Thank you both for your replies, between my electrician's visit today (I picked his brain for well over an hour) and the info. I'm getting from both of you, I'm learning a lot more than I've ever been aware. The biggest lesson I now understand is that a subpanel rated at a certain amperage (ie 125A) can have many more breakers on it, simply to dedicate the individual items, than the total of all the breaker amp ratings combined. This opens up considerably more flexibility regarding lights, A/C, dedicated audio lines, etc.
Gs5556: I will do the breaker designations as you described, namely 5x20A dedicated audio, [probably] a 20A for the A/c unit, and a 15A for the lighting. I also mentioned to my electrician that I was considering the possibility of adding a 1/2 sized refrigerator (like the ones in hotel rooms/college dorms) and he said I should put another 20A breaker dedicated for it alone... (I thought I'd mix it on the A/C line and he said the A/C should have its own circuit...) If I took this whole concept to the max, so to speak, does that mean I could conceivably add one more 20A breaker for "future potential" home theater items such as a surround sound receiver/amps, projector or big screen LCD TV, etc??? This is the time to ask right? No, I can't think of anything else...That would make a total of :
1x15A lights
1x20A A.C
5x20A dedicated audios
1x20A refrigerator
1x20A home theater
and thanks again for the kind words : I hope it does add value to the house!
Jea48: the house panel to garage distance is only about 40' in a straight line BUT I don't have the option of digging that trench for the cable straight due to trees and a patio in the way. My electrician recommended that I run the main (indoor type) wire from the house panel along inside my patio soffit for a distance of 65' until I get to the corner of the house where I can THEN run a junction box of sorts to another 45' of the heavy duty outdoor direct burial cable in an unobstructed trench to the sub-panel placement point. I am not looking forward to delving into a perfectly neat soffit to do this but I think I'm out of options. All cable will be copper.For a few $$$ more you'd recommend housing the direct burial cable in PVC? OK, can you estimate what I.D. PVC I will need? I don't know what size breaker he said he'd mount at the house panel... it won't take a 100A? He kept trying to talk me into exactly what Gs5556 advised: a 2 pole 60 amp breaker... maybe I should listen to the experts instead of carrying on like I think I know what I need....(but if I add the home theater and small refrig options as above is the 60A breaker still OK?)
As for grounding, I asked him if I could run a grounding bar (or two) from the grounding point on the sub panel (yes, I am looking at the Square D QO series... I think it's the
QO11224l125G which I initially picked out on-line). He said I could run 1 or 2 if I wanted, spaced 8' apart both on the same bare copper cable (did he say 8G or 6G???-I'll ask again...). I did not mention to him that I wanted to run Hubbel 5362 I/G's and run each ground wire individually back (to the sub-panel I assume??) using individual 10G solid copper wire for each and every terminal [and that's what's going to the grounding rods] [from the sub-panel]. I know it's labor intensive but from what I read on these forums it's supposed to be worth it and I was going to do all that wiring myself, then the entire job would be inspected by the town inspector (who my electrician notifies for me once he's checked all my work first). This is what I'm hoping... maybe he will let me run the Romex through the studs but won't let me make the actual connections? I'll find out later... right now it's "part 1: get the power to a sub-panel". Input/comments/help/corrections = highly encouraged! and thanks already for all your help fellas. Best regards...
Gs5556: I will do the breaker designations as you described, namely 5x20A dedicated audio, [probably] a 20A for the A/c unit, and a 15A for the lighting. I also mentioned to my electrician that I was considering the possibility of adding a 1/2 sized refrigerator (like the ones in hotel rooms/college dorms) and he said I should put another 20A breaker dedicated for it alone... (I thought I'd mix it on the A/C line and he said the A/C should have its own circuit...) If I took this whole concept to the max, so to speak, does that mean I could conceivably add one more 20A breaker for "future potential" home theater items such as a surround sound receiver/amps, projector or big screen LCD TV, etc??? This is the time to ask right? No, I can't think of anything else...That would make a total of :
1x15A lights
1x20A A.C
5x20A dedicated audios
1x20A refrigerator
1x20A home theater
and thanks again for the kind words : I hope it does add value to the house!
Jea48: the house panel to garage distance is only about 40' in a straight line BUT I don't have the option of digging that trench for the cable straight due to trees and a patio in the way. My electrician recommended that I run the main (indoor type) wire from the house panel along inside my patio soffit for a distance of 65' until I get to the corner of the house where I can THEN run a junction box of sorts to another 45' of the heavy duty outdoor direct burial cable in an unobstructed trench to the sub-panel placement point. I am not looking forward to delving into a perfectly neat soffit to do this but I think I'm out of options. All cable will be copper.For a few $$$ more you'd recommend housing the direct burial cable in PVC? OK, can you estimate what I.D. PVC I will need? I don't know what size breaker he said he'd mount at the house panel... it won't take a 100A? He kept trying to talk me into exactly what Gs5556 advised: a 2 pole 60 amp breaker... maybe I should listen to the experts instead of carrying on like I think I know what I need....(but if I add the home theater and small refrig options as above is the 60A breaker still OK?)
As for grounding, I asked him if I could run a grounding bar (or two) from the grounding point on the sub panel (yes, I am looking at the Square D QO series... I think it's the
QO11224l125G which I initially picked out on-line). He said I could run 1 or 2 if I wanted, spaced 8' apart both on the same bare copper cable (did he say 8G or 6G???-I'll ask again...). I did not mention to him that I wanted to run Hubbel 5362 I/G's and run each ground wire individually back (to the sub-panel I assume??) using individual 10G solid copper wire for each and every terminal [and that's what's going to the grounding rods] [from the sub-panel]. I know it's labor intensive but from what I read on these forums it's supposed to be worth it and I was going to do all that wiring myself, then the entire job would be inspected by the town inspector (who my electrician notifies for me once he's checked all my work first). This is what I'm hoping... maybe he will let me run the Romex through the studs but won't let me make the actual connections? I'll find out later... right now it's "part 1: get the power to a sub-panel". Input/comments/help/corrections = highly encouraged! and thanks already for all your help fellas. Best regards...