Will this overload the circuit?

Question

The following nine items are on one 15 amp circuit. I want to add a tenth item.

On one 15 amp wire (one 15 amp circuit) there are currently :

1) Back Door outside Light (one bulb, 75 watt)

2) Light fixture above Washer and Dryer (two 75 watt bulbs)

3) Light in Garage (one 100 watt bulb)

4) Lights for automatic Garage Door Opener (two 60 watt bulbs)

5) Automatic Garage Door Opener (unknown wattage)

6) Two outlets in the garage (sometimes used)

7) Garage Attic Fan (unknown wattage)

8) Two light fixtures on the outside of the garage door (one on either side) (two 60 watt bulbs total)

9) One outdoor motion light fixture with two 100 watt bulbs.

Here is my question. There are currently 9 items shown above. I want to add another item so the future total will be 10 items. This is what I want to add : I want to add ANOTHER outdoor automatic motion light with two 100 watt bulbs. Will I be overloading this 15 amp circuit?
Thank you.

Answer 1

i dont think so, but u have problems already......garage needs to be on its own with its lights....the garage needs to be on GFIC...code......the attic fan should be on its own circuit.....( anything with a motor needs its own circuit!

lic. gen. contractor

Answer 2

First, you do NOT need a separate circuit for the garage. Scary that one of those answer came from an electrician (IBEW). Maybe it is true that union are .... never mind

You do not need a separate circuit, but receptacles need to be GFCI protected by current codes. If your house was built before that requirement you do not need to upgrade, but that wouldn't be a bad idea.

For your "unknowns" there should be a nameplate on the appliance. It may have AMPS instead of WATTS, which is what you want anyway. For the garage door opener, the amps will include the light assuming you don't put a bigger lamp than it specifies. For the watts you have, divide by 120 to get the amps.

Now, even if you add up to more than 15 amps, it isn't necessarily a problem. You aren't going to have everything on at once. If that is what you want, then technically, if you exceed 12A continuously (80%) the breaker could trip.

Most homeowners do not think about these things. If your breaker doesn't trip, than you don't have a problem. In my opinion, you have a lot but not overloaded. By Code, there is no problem.

Answer 3

For one 15 amp fuse or breaker. Better to find out how much voltage the line has. For 105 volts the total watts is 1,575. For 120 volt is For 120 volts the total watts is 1800. Total lighting you have is 890 watts. Adding two 100 watt bulbs would make 1090 watts. Garage door opener uses alot wattage. I don't know about the attic fan. I wouldn't use a heater on any of the outlets. As long as you don't turn on all the lights at once, assuming nothing is plugging into the outlet, while the is fan running, and garage door opens. It shouldn't overload the circiut.

Answer 4

yes, you are in violation of current NEC code. you must have a separate circuit for outlets in the garage, must be GFCI as well.

without knowing the garage door opener load, and attic fan, you are already up to 9.375A on this circuit. (1.5A for each outlet in garage)

guessing the FLA (full load amperage) for the average opener to be 1/2 Horsepower (746 watts per 1 HP, so 0.5 HP is 373 watts or 3.108A at 120 volts nominal x 300% peak is 9.324A)

As for the attic fan lets guess 1/5 HP or 1.243A

So.......General Lighting and Power-9.375A
Peak Load for Opener-9.324A
Attic Fan-1.243A
Total Load-19.942Amps on 15A Circuit

Yea, I'd say you are over the 80% of 15A limit. Assuming that the voltage in your home is 120 volts.

Answer 5

ok here is a perfect example of could i should i so all i can say is if you can turn all of these things on at the same time and plug 2 lamps into the outlets that are on this same circuit if it still preformes well then i would say go ahead and do it it is difficult to answer because i would assume also the garage door opener is on this circuit so w/o being there to measure total amperage of all said items i am just guessing but I would try the lamp thing first it should be ok but when in doubt most good electricians would answer this for you for a minimal fee of 40 bucks or so so consult your local sparky

Answer 6

you need to figure the ampereage of all you devices on your circuit this can be done by utilizing ther P>I>E> P = WATTS, I=AMPS, E=Volts , divide your watts and volts this will give you amps then add you values and divide bt 80% if it is over 15 amp then yup it will

Answer 7

read the specs on them at an electrical site a place that sells them has the limits listed and if it doesn't ask them for info...

Answer 8

you can have up to twelve max. you are sure going to be pushing it
contractor