Dedicated Appliance Circuit Installation & Repair
You probably don’t spend much time thinking all the different ways your appliances and other electronics use power. Most people just start their washers, run their refrigerators, and fire up their stoves without thinking about how different each appliance is from a television, a radio, or a computer.
Yet each appliance has its own motor, and draws much more power than smaller equipment ever will. Plugging a big appliance into a standard outlet puts a major strain on your electrical system.
A dedicated appliance circuit may be the solution, in which case call Premo Electric. We’re San Diego’s top-rated electricians, and can set up your dedicated circuits more efficiently, conveniently, and cost-effectively than you might expect. Read our reviews, contact us for a free quote, and we can come out right away.
Or read on to learn more about dedicated appliance circuits.
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What are dedicated appliance circuits?
Many of the appliances and electronics in your home share a circuit. For instance, in your living room you’ve probably got a TV, a DVD player, maybe a game system, and maybe a clock. Plus the lights, and maybe a ceiling fan or two. Each of those runs on the same circuit. If the breaker trips, all that equipment stops working at once.
A dedicated appliance circuit may be the solution, because it serves one appliance. In a perfect world you’d probably have one dedicated circuit for your fridge, one for your washer, one for your dryer, one for your stove, and one for any other major appliance in your home that has its own motor. If one appliance’s circuit breaker trips, only that appliance will shut down. You avoid having all your eggs in one basket.
Reducing or even eliminating breaker trips is one great reason to have a dedicated circuit in the first place. The purpose of a dedicated circuit is to make sure an appliance can get all the power it needs, without forcing it to share power with other appliances and vice versa.
When do you need a dedicated appliance circuit?
Every time a breaker trips it wears out a little more.
You might not notice. You’ll flip the switch, get the power flowing again, and feel that all is well.
But when the breaker’s worn-out for good it won’t trip anymore. Though that might sound more convenient, in truth it’s a very bad thing. Breakers trip when the circuit is taking on too much power. A circuit with too much power overheats, and may start a fire.
We want to make sure we’re balancing power loads in a way that ensures the breakers don’t trip often, if ever. Tripping breakers may seem normal to you, but the truth is a tripping breaker is supposed to be a last-resort safety measure, not something that happens on a regular basis.
Which appliances need dedicated circuits?
All major appliances require a dedicated circuit. Here’s a short list of the most common appliances that require them:
- Freezers
- Refrigerators
- Hot Water Heaters
- Hot Tubs
- Dishwasher
- Washing Machine
- Dryer
- HVAC Systems
- Microwaves
How do you know if you’ve got enough dedicated circuits in your home?
Here in San Diego, homes built in the 1970s (or earlier) often don’t have enough dedicated circuits to support all the appliances a modern home uses. It’s a good idea to let us check.
How much does it cost to install dedicated appliance circuits in my home?
Less than you might think. Besides, the cost of installing an appliance circuit is much less than the cost of dealing with the aftermath of a fire and having to replace appliances. Usually, we can install a dedicated circuit for $500 to $800.
Of course, every home is different. Contact Premo Electric for a free quote. We can give you an exact figure when we’ve had a chance to look at your home.
