I need to wire 2 bedrooms and a living area. Rather than the addition of a separate lighting circuit with wires going everywhere above, I plan to run each room on a separate 20amp circuit (12/2) with shared receptacles and lights.
Starting my home run from outlet to outlet then simply T-ing off an outlet where a switch would be located above, I could run power to the switch, then to the light. Now back at the T junction, power would continue down the line of outlets finishing till the end of the circuit. My wiring would be in parallel, so pig tails on everything, also would be using a deep enough box to house the 3 sets of wires coming into the T junction outlet box(power in, power out, power to switch and pigtails to power outlet). Is there anything wrong or against code with this method of wiring??
I am aware that most people run separate lighting circuit, mostly for the sake of not losing light if a breaker flips, but for me that does not out weigh a simple branch off an outlet for ease of install and less wire to run, less connections, less potential hazards. In my mind it makes sense and is efficient. Am I missing anything? What do you guys think? any info would be much appreciated.
Best Answer
Electricians have debated this for a long time with no decisive winner, so it's a safe bet there's no right or wrong answer, both ways have merit. But the layout you propose is fine.
Some decide based on cost considerations. Some like the additional power available per room.
Some think it's bad for the lights to go out when someone trips a breaker with a plug in device, since they may have to navigate in the dark to go reset the breaker.
Some like the idea that you can put the smoke detectors on the lighting circuit and if that circuit trips the breaker for any reason, you'll know because the lights won't work.
I prefer the arrangement you propose, a 20A circuit per room for lights and receptacles, with 15A receptacles. My favorite reason is space heaters, in my opinion that's what settles it.
Very few homes have heating that separates every room on its own thermostat. There are not many families where everyone is comfortable at the same temperature. Therefore, sometimes people use space heaters.
Electricians hate space heaters, and tell homeowners they should not use them, because they mess up their plans to put a lot of space on a single circuit. In my opinion, this is the tail wagging the dog, the homeowner isn't supposed to worry about what the electrician would want in their home. The electrician's design should anticipate the homeowner's demand.
One other suggestion along these lines. Even if you're not going to install a ceiling fan right now, provide for it with your wiring. It's a difficult retrofit but it's only a little extra effort and expense now to set up for a ceiling fan later. Electricians also hate ceiling fans, but some homeowners love them.