Electrical Circuits – How Many Should You Have?
Have too few circuits and you will get the circuit breakers in the Power Box tripping out all the time!
Minimum
The minimum number of electrical circuits for a new home would be 4/5, as follows;
- Lights
- General Power outlets (GPOs)
- Hob and Oven
- Air Conditioning
- Hot Water Service (Only if Electric)
In my opinion this is only suitable for a Granny Flat, although I have heard of it suggested for larger properties.
Suggested Circuits
A good procedure is to have separate circuits for rooms that have heavy loads as well as separate circuits for major items.
This gives the following circuits for a 3/4bedroom house
- GPOs Kitchen
- GPOs Laundry
- GPOs Living*
- GPOs Bedrooms*
- Lighting Living*
- Lighting Bedrooms*
- Hot Water Service**
- Oven
- HotPlates**
- Centralised Air Conditioning
* Upstairs and downstairs for a 2 storey home
**Not required if Gas Appliances
3 Phase Power
If you want Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning for a large house or want Instantaneous Hot Water you will need 3 Phase Power. In this case it may be worth spreading the GPO and lighting circuits over the different phases.