Kitchen circuits

5 years ago

We're remodeling our kitchen, including rewiring since there's not enough outlets. Our hours currently has 3 15A circuits that run though different kitchen outlets before traveling elsewhere in the house. Obviously that's outdated an not ideal, but we've never had a problem with breakers flipping.

We upgraded our panel prior to the project to add space for two 20A circuits. The electrician said we really didn't need the 100A service upgraded for our small house, and we've never had an issue even when running, say, the central air, electric stove and microwave at the same time, so we were okay with that.

I was planning to use the new circuits to run most of the kitchen, but the recommendations I'm reading seem a bit overkill. Its old BX with cloth inside, so I'm planning on ripping most of it out rather than dealing with the cloth. Thinking of running one 20A circuit for microwave/fridge/outlet, and another 20A for dishwasher/range hood/outlet, and re-running some of the 15A circuits for outlets and lights, since those will no longer have to run the big appliances.

I have space in the panel to add more circuits, but more seems overkill since the 15A circuits are running fine now. If anything newer appliances like a dishwasher should use less power now, no? I've never experienced a house with a dedicated circuit for each appliance. I am getting it inspected, so will something like the above cause issues? Is running a fridge and micro on the same circuit *really* ever going to flip a 20A breaker? Is there some other safety issue I'm missing?

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Comments (4)

HU-867564120
5 years ago
Brief summary: Current code requires a dedicated circuit for electric ranges, microwave, garbage disposal, dishwasher and refrigerator; each on their own circuit. Kitchen counters typically require 2 GFCI outlets on separate circuits, more outlets on each circuit is allowed. Receptacles are required on countertops of 12" or more and no receptacles within 24" of the sink basin.
wiscokid
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Microwave only needs it own circuit if it's built-in.

Refrigerators don't need their own dedicated circuit either if using the 2 dedicated small appliance circuits (not saying I would do that, but NEC does allow). (If your manufacturer requires it (which some built-ins may?), you should as otherwise, it might void any warranty.)

You may want to check which version of NEC your municipality is using (and would be using at the time you pull your permit), since different states adopt at different times.

ETA: Regarding your original question, you should look at the installation guides for the selected appliances (e.g., dishwasher), as they will tell you what amperage circuit they require. Look at the specs for the specific appliances to see what the peak amperage is and do the math. We ended up having to put our vent hood on a dedicated circuit because of this.)

ETA2: If you are doing the electrical yourself, read up on kitchen electrical requirements for kitchens. Your lights have to be on a separate circuit from your countertop outlets (which have to be 20A). You will also want to confirm outlet spacing as well, since those are very specific (and usual a point of issue for inspectors).
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wiscokid
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
the 2020 NEC reqs are only in effect in 11 states - the rest are 2017 or earlier. Heck 2 states are still following 2008. OP, check which one your state (or in some areas, county/city) follows. Some parts of the newer codes make sense, some are not improvements and might be expensive or overkill if your state is still under 2014 - and some are just different from version to version, specifically the peninsula outlet requirement. Unless you live in Chicago, in which case it's going to be expensive, overkill, and whackadoo that no matter what lol
TBL from CT
5 years ago
Saved this from some Houzz discussion: “Code is the worst quality that someone is legally allowed to build.”

– Joe Lstirbuck