I'm planning a kitchen remodel, and I always like to have a complete plan before I get started on projects (self or hired contractors). I also have a tendency to overengineer my projects, but now I'm in a situation where I need to know where I can pull back a little, because I have a limited number of unused circuits in my electrical box and I'm trying to avoid the large additional cost of upgrading my panel.
My house was built in the 1870s, and the current kitchen has limited electricity. I haven't fully traced the existing wires yet, but I believe that I have the following:
- Main house circuit (knob and tube) supporting other rooms plus one kitchen light and two kitchen non-grounded outlets.
- Fridge (may or may not be on it's own circuit
- Stove (I think this is on a separate circuit)
My intent during the remodel is to move the fridge and put in more outlets and lights, plus a microwave, dishwasher and disposal. In the perfect world, I'd do the following, but since I don't have enough circuits I'm wondering if there is anywhere I'm overengineering my plan, where I could consolidate and save a circuit.
Run new wires and use the existing circuit breakers:
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- 1 circuit to the stove/oven. May also support one BP by the stove for handheld blender use on the stove
- 1 circuit to the fridge (stays on separate circuit to avoid food spoilage)
NEW circuits needed:
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- NEW circuit to a new built-in microwave oven to be installed above the stove with a vent fan
- NEW circuit for the countertop BPs (for countertop appliances like mixers, blenders, wafflemakers, etc.). This circuit might share the new kitchen lighting, which would include undercabinet LED or halogen, 3 pendant lights from the ceiling (60W each).
- NEW circuit with just the dishwasher and disposal.
Of particular interest are the last two- is it appropriate/necessary to run the dishwasher and disposal on a separate circuit, or is it possible to put them on the same (GFCI) circuit as the BPs and lights?
Thanks for any advice, Keith