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Can You Wire Lights and Outlets on the Same Circuit?

Electricity is a part of our daily life. To use electricity, we need to wire our house properly with lights and outlets. All these lights and outlets are connected to a circuit so that they can be managed properly and get the proper amount of electricity for their functionality.

You may ask if you can wire lights and outlets on the same circuit or not. Let us help you know the answer to that question and some necessary information about this topic.

Can you wire lights and outlets on the same circuit?

Yes, you can wire lights and outlets on the same circuit. Although it also depends on the load given on the circuit as well. As 15A circuits are commonly used by electricians to connect lights and outlets, they can easily handle them on the same circuit within its load range.

Wiring lights and outlets on the same circuit is a common practice by electricians. Usually, at home, we usually don’t use the full load of the circuit breaker.

Thus, if necessary, there will be the advantage to supply power to multiple points if the load is kept within the range. So, it is possible to wire them on the same circuit.

You might have to use circuits in wiring your lights and outlets. Let us help you understand if the following areas can be wired in the same outlet or not:

Bedroom:

Yes, you can wire lights and outlets on the same circuit in your bedroom. In your bedroom, it is likely that you will be using low-power consuming lights.

Besides, the outlets will be providing power to the low-power consuming appliances like chargers and some other small appliances. So, you can wire your lights and outlets on the same circuit.

But, when you need to connect a heavy load appliance like an air conditioner, it is better to attach a dedicated circuit for that product. This will ensure the proper distribution of electricity.

Bathroom:

Yes, you can wire lights and outlets on the same circuit in your bathroom. It is quite likely that your bathroom appliances consume the least amount of electricity in your house as it is only used when required.

So, you can connect the light and outlets of your bathroom in the same circuit if you want to. Most electricians will wire lights and outlets on the same circuit.

Water heater and some other electric appliances are typically used in a bathroom. It is ideal to use a dedicated circuit for these heavy-load appliances.

Garage:

No, you should not wire lights and outlets on the same circuit in your garage. It is common to use various kinds of repair tools like drill machines, sanders, etc. in your garage.

More likely, you can use various items like a lawnmower in your house as well which might be powered by the outlets of your garage. Therefore, it will be ideal not to wire lights and wires on the same circuit as your garage.

Kitchen:

No, it is not ideal to wire lights and outlets on the same circuit in your kitchen. You often use various heavy-load appliances like blenders, juicers, ovens, etc. in your kitchen.

These consume a lot of electricity and might end up consuming more than the usual range of your circuit. Therefore, it may trip your circuit and may cause short circuit issues leading to serious accidents.

So, wiring lights and outlets in your kitchen on separate circuits will be a wise choice.

But if your kitchen has a few lights and a handful of low-load connection outlets, then you can use a single circuit to connect them all. But it is advised to use separate circuits to wire them for the future.

Basement:

Yes, you can wire lights and outlets on the same circuit in your basement. It is common to use a few lights and outlets in your basement for various reasons.

It is rare to use any kind of heavy-load appliances and devices in the basement. Thus, it will be ideal to wire lights and outlets on the same circuit.

Why shouldn’t you wire lights and outlets on the same circuit?

There are various reasons why you should not wire lights and outlets on the same circuit. Let us discuss with you some necessary reasons why you shouldn’t do it:

Load Related Concerns:

A circuit can provide a certain amount of electricity through the output. When the load crosses this range, the circuit will trip. This tripping may happen frequently if your load calculation over your light and outlet connection is mistaken.

This may also cause catastrophic incidents if the problem is severe. Therefore, it is wise to not wire lights and outlets on the same circuit if possible.

Regional Electrical Laws:

Every region has some electrical law. It may be prohibited in your area to wire lights and outlets in the same circuit due to safety reasons. It is a common rule of many regions throughout the world. Thus, you should not wire lights and outlets on the same circuit.

How to wire lights and outlets on the same circuit?

Wiring lights and outlets on the same circuit are becoming common these days. If you are wiring the lights of your house and outlets to the same circuit, you can do it by following some simple steps. The steps are as follows:

Purchase and Install an Electrical Box:

You can purchase the electrical box from your nearest hardware store. You can also purchase it online as well. Using an electrical box will help you comply with the Electrical Regulatory Rule of America.

After you purchase it, you will have to set it on the wall. Set it beside the main door of your place and place it 44 inches from the ground.

Set up a Circuit on the Electrical Box:

Purchase and set up a circuit on the electrical box. To set it up, first of all, connect the electric box with the input connectors and join the red and black wire with them accordingly with the power source of your house.

Before doing any of the work on the wiring, turn off the electricity of the whole place by tripping the main power board. The electrical wires from the source will provide electricity to your circuit. Thus, you can wire the other lights and outlets.

Adding wires to the light and outlets:

Lights and outlets do not come with added wires. You will have to add set them yourself appropriately before wiring them with the circuit.

While doing this, keep in mind to use the appropriate colors of wires. Red wires will be connecting the positives and black wires will be connecting the neutral.

Connecting the lights with the switches:

Before connecting the lights with a circuit, you will have to connect the switches with the lights. Connect the positive or red wires. Therefore, you can control the lights properly.

Wiring the lights and outlets with the circuit:

To finish the wiring, you will have to connect the positive wire of the outlet and the negative of the switches to the positive of the circuit. Then, connect the negative of all lights and outlets with the neutral of the circuit. This will complete the whole connection.

How many outlets and lights can be on one circuit?

A maximum of 10 – 15 outlets and lights can be on one circuit at a time depending on the load of the circuit. The specific number will be based on the load provided and the load range of the circuit.

Depending on this information, the number of lights and outputs might vary.

According to the general rule of electrical calculations, it is assumed that one outlet may consume around 1.5 amp. Based on this information, you can find out the number of lights and outlets that your circuit may handle.

You may be using various sizes of circuits at your place. Let us help you know the number of lights and outlets that some specific sizes of circuits can take:

15 amp circuit:

Using the general rule, we can say that a 15 amp circuit can have 10 outlets. This means that a 15 amp circuit can handle either 10 lights or 10 outlets at once. You will have to merge the rest according to your need.

20 amp circuit:

The general rule says that a 20 amp circuit can have 13 lights or 13 outlets at the same time based on your preference. However, this number may also vary.

Final thoughts

Yes, you can wire lights and outlets on the same circuit based on the load provided on the circuit and the size of the circuit. But it is wise not to wire them on the same circuit if you are going to use heavy load appliances with the outlets as it may overload the circuit.