Jump to content
RESET Forums (homeservershow.com)

15A automation switch on a 20A line?

ETBrown

By ETBrown,
in Structured Wiring

 Share

Recommended Posts

ETBrown HSS 1 Post

ETBrown

Posted
Posted

Many of the light switches in my home are connected to 20A circuit breakers, and unfortunately the Z-wave and ZigBee automated switches that I've found are only rated for 15A (if any amperage rating is listed at all).  Does anyone know of a model z-wave or zigbee switch or dimmer that is rated for use on a 20A circuit?

 

If there aren't 20A switches available, do electrical codes allow 15A switches on a 20A line if there are only lights controlled by the switch?  My understanding was that a 15A switch could not be used on a 20A line because a short could burn out the switch before tripping the breaker and start a fire.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cskenney HSS Elite

cskenney

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am not sure what the NEC says but a 20A breaker is meant for an entire circuit.  This may consist of multiple outlets (or lighting circuits) and each one cannot be connected to a 20A load.

 

I am pretty sure it's not uncommon to use 15A switches or outlets in a 20A circuit.  They key piece it to not overload the switch or outlet itself with whatever you are connecting to it.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Update: I have found a few web forums with comments from electricians and they cite sections of the NEC code.  You only need 20A switches if there is only 1 switch on the 20A circuit or if there is only a single outlet on the 20A circuit.  This is because a dedicated circuit rated at 20A you would expect the entire load to be going through the single switch or single outlet.

Edited by cskenney
add'l info
Link to comment
Share on other sites
schoondoggy HSS Genius

schoondoggy

Posted
Posted

Good topic, pull one of your existing switches to see what it is rated for.

When I swapped out switches in my home I used GE/Jasco. A 20amp breaker that I thought ran the hall way light turned out to run several outlets as well.

Thanks for the detail cskenney.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ETBrown HSS 1 Post

ETBrown

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the update cskenny.

 

Which model GE/Jasco switches did you use schoondoggy?  

 

I replaced almost all of the old wiring in my house since a lot of it was cloth-wrapped aluminum wire that had begun to break down and fray.  The new wires were 12 gauge on 20A breakers with 20A switches for the lights.  Most rooms contain a single circuit powering a few outlets and 1 or 2 light fixtures attached to the switch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 5 months later...
curiousbunny HSS Member

curiousbunny

Posted
Posted

I use a power conditioner, if the power line is stronger, my UPS can regulate for safe and steady power. Especially since the products being plugged in aren't cheap, it's worth protecting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Similar Content

    • SpivR
      RESET 24 - Wiring and cameras for your pool house
      By SpivR
      (I didn't see where you may have started a threat on this..)
       
      Suggestions for connectivity between your new pool house and main house:
      Simplest would be to go wireless (which I know you do not prefer).  If you end up going this route, I would suggest getting a point-to-point wireless bridge.  Luxul and other companies make these products.  They include a pair of WiFi radios with focused antennas (instead of typical omnidirectional antennas) and outdoor enclosures.  Put an Ethernet switch on each end and treat is as a transparent "wire" between the two locations.
      If you do trench and pull cable, I'm sure you know the "rule of thumb" to always pull at least two of every cable, every when you think you only need one.  If you plan on pulling Ethernet and coax, then at least two of each.  Go for the highest rating (cat 6E ?) and highest quality cables.  Material cost is a one-time thing but the labor and effort is something you want to last many many years and not have to re-do in the future because of an "oops".
      Because a pool house to main house is probably a relatively short run, and is only a single point=to-point connection, I would strongly advise running at least a pair of fiber optic cables also.  With only one run, the fiber cost will be reasonable (versus wiring a large port of a house, etc.) and there is so much versatility.  Even if you don't use it initially, you have the potential to push anything through a fiber - unlimited video, audio, data, etc. and not have to use any compromise solutions like video-over-IP or HDMI/CEC-over-IP, etc.
      For security and IP cameras, books have been written but I would advise considering only cameras that are ONVIF compatible so they can be used with many different front-end apps, applications, or NVR (network video recorder) systems.
      FOR NVR, (to keep everything in-house and not pay monthly cloud or hosting fees), the two programs I have used are Blue Iris (for the PC), and Security Spy (for Mac).  Both of these are awesome with lots of configuration options and many different ways they can be used.  Both of them will give you the "live video multi-camera display in a grid" on your computer that you are looking for.
      Last thoughts - SD definition cameras are still cheaper than 720p or 1080p HD cameras.  If you are going to use a lot of cameras (4 or 8 or more) consider carefully if you really need all of them to be HD.  with SD cameras you will save a lot of money on the cameras, and have less bandwidth (and less storage) to handle their streaming output.
      Finally, I would advise paying a little extra to get cameras with H.264 hardware encoding built-in.  This will reduce the bandwidth over your LAN and allow the NVR software applications to handle more cameras simultaneously as a lot of the initial video processing is offloaded to the camera itself.
    • cskenney
      Sense home energy monitoring
      By cskenney
      Has anyone seen the Sense home energy monitor?  I stumbled across it today while looking up some other stuff on the internet.
       
      https://sense.com/
       
      I am quite curious about this product and the claims it is making.  By placing a set of current probes on the primary conductor lines that bring power into your home this device is supposed to be able to recognize when devices turn ON/OFF.  It claims to be able to sense common household appliances like washers, dryers and refrigerators.  Here is the full description from the web site.
       
      Every electrical device has a unique electronic signature — its own voice. There is a noisy conversation happening inside your home as every device that’s turned on is talking. All of them. All at once.
      The Sense home energy monitor listens to those voices through current sensors on the main breakers in your electric panel. It records them millions of times per second. We then apply multidomain device signature detection algorithms to distinguish one appliance from another — to recognize each individual voice.
       
      Right now this product is in the early launch stage.  It looks like it is pushing data to a cloud and then an iOS app pulls the data down for you to view.  It's not inexpensive at the current price of $199.
       
      I am really curious what it is able to do and what it can tell me (especially about the energy use of my major appliances).  I would definitely like something that can tell my wife how much it costs to run the dryer an extra 20 minutes just to fluff the clothes that were left in over night and got wrinkled.
       
      So...I decided to place an order for one.  It says it may be June before I get this unit but once it arrives I will report back on how it works.
×
×
  • Create New...