When building or remodeling a home, there are so many decisions to be made. Some of the most important revolve around the electrical set-up. Electrical items to consider for your new home include:
- Outlets – here is a comprehensive list of some places you may want to have outlets installed…
- Outlet in a cabinet or closet for charging a vacuum
- Outlets in pantry for charging or for appliances
- Outlet in master closet for steamer/iron
- Outlets behind/near TV area, computer area (family room, master, media room, offices)
- Outlets in bathroom cabinets – for razors, hair dryer, etc.
- Outlet placement in backsplash or around island (to either conceal the outlets or place them in a more useful location depending on how you’ll use them)
- Outlets in the eaves on the exterior of home for Christmas lights (pro-tip: ask for these outlets to be put on a switch to make turning on your Christmas lights even easier!)
- Exterior outlets on front porch or other key places around the exterior of your home for Christmas lights, outside decor, or to use tools that require electricity
- Outlets in the yard and end of driveway area for landscape lighting
- Outlets in the floor in the living room (where lamps might go beside couch) or in an office for a floating desk
- Outlets on either side of where you plan to put your bed
- Separate 20A circuit (220V if your tools need it) with outlets at waist height in the garage to plug in tools/specific outlet locations in the garage if you’re planning to have a workshop area
- Include at least one 50A/220V circuit in the garage for an electric car. If you’re planning on being in your house for any amount of time, there’s a good chance you’ll need this in the future. It’s much cheaper to do while you’re building than later on.
- Outlets for any tech (networking/tech closet, charging station)
- Outlet in master water closet for night light or air freshener
- Some people like to hide their outlets in their baseboard (if the baseboard is white, the outlet will blend in) – if that’s something you’re interested in, be sure to talk to your builder about that
- Placement and Style of Switches
- Utilize multi-way switches anywhere you would be coming in from different directions (for example, we can enter our kitchen area from the back hallway, our master, or the living room, so we have three different switches in three different locations so that we can turn the kitchen light on no matter where we’re entering the kitchen from)
- It’s often forgotten, but if you are going to have an attic, be sure to put a light switch to the attic in the hallway (and remember to put lighting in the attic in general) so that you can turn the light on prior to climbing up there.
- Watch out for places that switches might be obstructed by things like doors – that could be a real annoyance to have to swing a door away from a switch every time you want to turn on a light!
- Toggle and rocker style switches are popular among builders – but choose the style you prefer, which could also include smart switches. Style and function are key!
- Be prepared to have to make some changes once you’re able to do a walk-through of the home once it is framed if this is a new build.
- Other electrical things you may want to consider:
- Placement of lighting (interior and exterior – consider where you might want to place flood lights)
- Ceiling fan placement
- Lighting in attic, closets, the pantry, coat closet, and hallway closets
- Jamb switches or motion sensor lighting (this is usually nice for closets and the pantry, or any rooms where lights are often forgotten and left on. The motion sensor will ensure that they turn off – saving electricity!)
- Stairway lighting
- Under cabinet lighting or lighting in upper glass cabinets (if your home has them)
- If you have a crawl space foundation, be sure to add lights down there for anyone who might need to go down there in the future
- Consider whether you will want a generator, as the builder will need to install a transfer switch for this
- As an alternative to a generator, think about if you’re going to install solar panels or a battery so that can be accounted for
- Landscape lighting
Are you building or remodeling your home and need an electrical team you can trust to get everything done for you safely and quickly?
Look no further – we’ve got the power at TMS to take care of it all!
Whether installing new electrical from the ground up or making upgrades/additions, our TMS electricians are ready to help and are here to answer all of your questions regarding electrical items to consider for your new home. Just give us a call and you’ll be “shocked” at how easy our team makes it when handling all of your electrical needs from start to finish!
Source: https://thirteenacres.com/planning-electrical-for-your-new-home/
