Hello everyone,
My wooden house is nearly complete, and I want to handle the wiring myself. I will have the builder’s electrician show me where to run the cables, which beams I am allowed to drill through, etc., but the circuit breaker panel, outlets, and so on will be installed by the electrician.
The challenge starts already with sourcing the materials and choosing the cables.
- Expert 1 (architect and trained electrician): A 5x1.5mm² (with 13A breaker) feed line to each room, then from there 3x1.5mm² cable to lights and outlets. Reason: Less material, smaller breaker panel, less work.
- Expert 2 (master electrician): 3x2.5mm² cable to each room for outlets and 3x1.5mm² to each room for lighting. Outlets protected by a 16A breaker. His reason: If the outlet breaker trips, the lights remain on, and the outlets have a higher load capacity.
- Expert 3 (master electrician): For himself, he would choose expert 2’s option. He could live with expert 1’s option, but then with a 5x2.5mm² feed line and then 3x2.5mm² to outlets and 3x2.5mm² to lighting.
My goal is, of course, to save costs and reduce work. Since I plan to treat each room separately, it seems unlikely that a 1.5mm² line with a 13A breaker would be overloaded. You’d have to run a TV, 2000W vacuum cleaner, hairdryer, lights, and radio all at the same time in one room for something to happen, right? Seems unlikely, doesn’t it? My father used to combine several rooms on one circuit in his old house, and breakers only tripped every few years. Then you just go to the basement with a flashlight and reset the breaker... done!
Of course, major appliances have their own circuits, and the stove has a thicker cable, which is logical.
As a non-expert, I don’t see a need for multiple breakers/circuits in every room. But are there any professionals here who have a different opinion?
Regards,
Tito
My wooden house is nearly complete, and I want to handle the wiring myself. I will have the builder’s electrician show me where to run the cables, which beams I am allowed to drill through, etc., but the circuit breaker panel, outlets, and so on will be installed by the electrician.
The challenge starts already with sourcing the materials and choosing the cables.
- Expert 1 (architect and trained electrician): A 5x1.5mm² (with 13A breaker) feed line to each room, then from there 3x1.5mm² cable to lights and outlets. Reason: Less material, smaller breaker panel, less work.
- Expert 2 (master electrician): 3x2.5mm² cable to each room for outlets and 3x1.5mm² to each room for lighting. Outlets protected by a 16A breaker. His reason: If the outlet breaker trips, the lights remain on, and the outlets have a higher load capacity.
- Expert 3 (master electrician): For himself, he would choose expert 2’s option. He could live with expert 1’s option, but then with a 5x2.5mm² feed line and then 3x2.5mm² to outlets and 3x2.5mm² to lighting.
My goal is, of course, to save costs and reduce work. Since I plan to treat each room separately, it seems unlikely that a 1.5mm² line with a 13A breaker would be overloaded. You’d have to run a TV, 2000W vacuum cleaner, hairdryer, lights, and radio all at the same time in one room for something to happen, right? Seems unlikely, doesn’t it? My father used to combine several rooms on one circuit in his old house, and breakers only tripped every few years. Then you just go to the basement with a flashlight and reset the breaker... done!
Of course, major appliances have their own circuits, and the stove has a thicker cable, which is logical.
As a non-expert, I don’t see a need for multiple breakers/circuits in every room. But are there any professionals here who have a different opinion?
Regards,
Tito
ypg schrieb:
If you're a layperson (you mention it several times): how come you're doing it yourself? I find that a bit unusual – it's not like painting or something.
Best regardsWell, I’m only installing the wiring. I’ll have a professional do the connections of the outlets and the circuit breaker panel.
Since I’m doing a lot of work on the house myself, it’s not a big deal for me to handle this as well. The electrician from the builder showed me which beams I can run cables through and which ones I cannot... and a friend who’s a professional will help me a little at the start and check in regularly.
He said I don’t necessarily have to be a specialist to lay the cables in an organized way.
But in general, I have a technical degree (Dipl. Ing) and took two semesters of electrical engineering about 10 years ago. Still, I consider myself a layperson. I also changed the brakes on my car without being an auto mechanic.
S
Steffen809 May 2017 11:23This was a topic of discussion for a long time, and everyone tells you something different. Our outlets are now connected with 1.5mm² (approximately 16 AWG) cables, with 2 to 3 supply lines per room, and a 16 A circuit breaker. This has been the standard for decades. I would have felt more comfortable with 13 A breakers, but this is how it is now.
Ultimately, there are hardly any devices that actually draw a "lot" of power. The only ones that come to mind are the iron and the vacuum cleaner.
Regards, Steffen
Ultimately, there are hardly any devices that actually draw a "lot" of power. The only ones that come to mind are the iron and the vacuum cleaner.
Regards, Steffen
titoz schrieb:
Does one exclude the other? Is the risk of a house fire with 1.5mm² (15 AWG) and 13A higher than with a 2.5mm² (13 AWG) cable and 16A? No, of course not. The risk should not be higher, but the likelihood of the circuit breaker tripping with 1.5mm² is simply greater. The price difference for 2.5mm² cables isn’t that much higher, so I don’t see a solid reason to opt for 1.5mm². The breakers cost the same.So you connect sockets to the next larger room and lighting as well?Yes, for me that specifically means parents + dressing room, hallway + guest toilet, and upstairs corridor + attic.The large living/dining/kitchen area would be covered by two circuits for standard connections (stove and large appliances separately).I would rather install a bit more capacity in the kitchen.I understand what you mean, but apart from "there’s a chance the breaker will trip" and "then you’re sitting in the dark," I’m missing a real reason. That is acceptable to me and has happened about five times in my homes and apartments over the past 30 years. If it meant the cable was overheating and could ignite the wood fiber insulation, that would be a different matter, but as a non-expert I see little reason for concern as I would only use a 13A breaker anyway.If you’re installing the cables yourself anyway, you’re basically only paying for the cable. So why save there?
And if there should be another reason: I’ve come across stuck breakers twice (admittedly about 30 years old). Physically speaking, 2.5mm² simply offers better safety in such cases.
P
Peanuts749 May 2017 12:30titoz schrieb:
Hello everyone,
My timber house is mostly built now and I want to take on the wiring myself.
I’m having the builder’s electrician show me where to route the cables, which beams I’m allowed to drill through, etc., but I’ll leave the fuse box, outlets, and such to the professional.
The questions start already with sourcing the materials and especially choosing the cables.
- Expert 1 (architect and trained electrician): One 5x1.5mm² (with 13A fuse) supply line to each room, then from there 3x1.5mm² cables to lights and sockets. Reason: less material, smaller fuse box, less work.
- Expert 2 (master electrician): 3x2.5mm² cable to each room for sockets and 3x1.5mm² to each room for lighting. Sockets protected by 16A fuse. Reason: If the socket fuse blows, you still have light in the room, and the load capacity of the sockets is higher.
- Expert 3 (master electrician): For himself, he would choose Expert 2’s option but could live with Expert 1’s version if it had a 5x2.5mm² supply line, then 3x2.5mm² to sockets and 3x2.5mm² to lights.
Of course, my goal is also to keep costs and work to a minimum.
Since I handle each room separately, it should be hard to overload a 1.5mm² line with a 13A fuse. I’d literally have to run a TV, a 2000W vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, lights, and radio all at once in one room for something to happen, right? Seems unlikely, doesn’t it? My father combined several rooms on one circuit in his old house, and maybe the fuse tripped once every few years. Then you just take a flashlight to the basement and flip it back on… done!
Of course, large appliances have their own circuits, and the oven has a thicker cable, which is obvious.
As an amateur, I don’t see a need for multiple fuses/circuits per room.
But are there any professionals here who think differently?
Regards,
TitoWell, I’ve installed several 3x2.5mm² supply lines for sockets in every room myself. For lighting, 3x1.5mm² is sufficient, which I protected with a 6A fuse.
If you buy your cables yourself online (preferably professional-grade material, for example from Waskönig & Walter), it won’t break the bank—after all, what’s a difference of around $200 more or less?
P
Peanuts749 May 2017 12:35Steffen80 schrieb:
This was a long-standing topic for us, and everyone gives you different advice. Our outlets are now connected with 1.5mm² (approx. 16 AWG) cables, usually 2 to 3 supply lines per room, protected by a 16 A circuit breaker. This has been standard practice for decades. I would have preferred 13 A breakers myself, but this is how it is now.
In the end, there are very few devices that actually draw a lot of power. The only ones that come to mind are the iron and the vacuum cleaner.
Regards, SteffenToaster, kettle, hair dryer, etc...
I can’t understand how a few 50 cents can be saved on cables when you’re spending almost a million on the house. Then again, every technical gizmo with KNX or similar gets installed anyway...
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