William:
WM> Just to set the stage: the original structure of our house was built in WM> 1920. From 1954 to '56, my uncle added a garage/office to the back (West), WM> extended the bedrooms (North), and enclosed the screened-in porch to make a
WM> By day I'm a mild mannered computer programmer. My office at home has two WM> computers with all the trappings, plus a MIDI workstation, mixer, amp, etc WM> etc etc. My wife and I also own a business making shirts and tights for WM> renaissance festivals throughout the country, so in the basement are three WM> industrial sewing machines, plus all the trappings that go with ~that~. WM> WM> No, we're not blowing fuses. The problem is, I've got four boxes, and no WM> more circuits - by rights, if I'm doing my math right, the costume shop WM> alone should have two, for instance, but there was only one left in the box
WM> Each computer should have its own circuit. I'm not overpowering the box, WM> I'm just out of room.
I would get the opinion of another electrician, though he may be correct. When we did the addition here last summer we explored a 200A service panel (also had the four-fuses-and-two-circuit-breakers-added) but ended up with a 100A panel. Still several breaker positions available.
WM> setup was considered a lot of electricity for a room. To setup one compute
WM> in my house takes an outlet for the computer; a monitor; a printer; a WM> scanner; the DSL modem; a broadband router; a switch (I have a home WM> network). That's seven. The entertainment center: a tv; vcr; dvd; an WM> amplifier/receiver; cd player. That's five.
Doesn't really matter the number of devices but the amount of electricity consumed. You could have one lamp with a 100W bulb or 25 lamps with 4 watt nightlight bulbs; same amperage being pulled but a lot more devices!
WM> Thesis: We live now in an age where there is more Electical Stuff in common WM> usage than anytime before, and that the conventional/traditional wisdom WM> needs some updating.
I would probably have a lot more outlets installed and consider quads (two duplex outlets together) for some positions. For the computers may not be necessary. The computers here are plugged into a UPS so computers take one wall outlet; the stuff gets plugged into the back of the UPS.
- ¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®
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