I have a projector I plan on mounting to the ceiling in my basement. It just so happens that I have an unused light fixture receptacle which had been covered with a plate, right next to where I am tying to mount it. I know how to replace an electrical outlet, but I had a few questions:
- Is light fixture wiring capable of handling the 350 Watts the projector consumes (the additional 3A shouldn't be a problem, I don't think)
- There are 4 wires of each color (white, black, and bare). Why so many? Which ones do I use?
- I have yet to measure whether or not this receptacle is on the same circuit as the lights, but if so, how do I get this outlet off of the switch? Since I would like to use the projector with the lights off, I need this circuit to always be hot. This is my biggest question. I would prefer not to have to run additional wiring to that spot on the ceiling.
Since it always comes up, I live in Maryland (USA).
Best Answer
Light wiring is no different than outlet wiring in terms of capacity. The breaker should already be sized appropriately.
Could be that the switch and/or home run (source) wires come into that box, and that two pairs go out to the other light boxes. Some tracing or testing would be necessary.
If the source comes into the box, you're golden. You can connect the new outlet to that and leave the rest of the circuit as-is. If not, You'd probably need to find a way to make changes elsewhere in the circuit to isolate that box. You probably can't bring additional cabling into that box as it's very full already.