If you’re building a new home, you might assume your builder will automatically plan your electrical system to handle everything you’ll plug in. But unless you tell them how you actually plan to use your outlets, you could end up popping breakers left and right. Super frustrating!
If your fridge and freezer are on the same circuit and both decide to kick on at the same time, that’s a lot of power being pulled at once. The same goes for a coffee bar. If you’ve got a fancy espresso machine, a grinder, and maybe even a milk frother all running at the same time, you could easily overload the circuit and cut power to your entire kitchen.
A dedicated circuit solves this problem. It’s a separate wire and breaker that delivers power to a single appliance or a specific section of a room, so it can handle the electrical load without interference.
Where Dedicated Circuits Matter Most
Not all outlets should share power, especially for appliances that pull a lot of electricity. Here are some areas where a dedicated circuit makes sense:
Kitchen and Coffee Bar: If you’re running multiple appliances at once like coffee machines, blenders, toaster ovens.
Fridges and Freezers: If you’ve got a spare fridge or deep freezer, make sure your builder knows so they can run a separate line. Losing power to your fridge while you’re on vacation isn’t something you want to experience.
Network Room: You don’t want your modem, router, and servers losing power just because someone plugged in a space heater.
Heaters, Sump Pumps, and Saunas: Anything that generates heat or runs continuously (like a sump pump) should be on its own circuit.
Avoiding Electrical Headaches Later
Your builder isn’t a mind reader. If you don’t tell them how you plan to use your outlets, they’ll default to standard wiring plans, which might not work for your lifestyle.
Planning ahead is key! As a new homeowner, there are so many things to think about when building a house. Get The Ultimate Home Building Checklist to make sure you don’t miss a thing.
