Question - Wiring a room & a sub panel

[cjbenedict]

Hi, have a question for the experts out there. From what I understand a wire with 14-2 gauge is the code for doing a residential room for lights, switches, and outlets. Is this an acceptable gauge or would something like 12-2 be better?

Also, I'll have two or three computers in one corner of the room. For those outlets would 14-2 be alright or should I go with another gauge?

I'm planning on adding a small sub-panel beside the main panel for just this room that I'm renovating. A rough outline of the wiring going into it is two large florescent units, 6 pot lights, and 6-8 outlets. Any suggestions on what kind of sub-panel (model, amps, etc.) is appreciated.

[BuildingHomes]

Why would you add a sub panel? Is the main panel full? Is there enough ampacity available into the house to handle loads you are adding?

If you are asking questions like this about wire gauge, I would highly recommend consulting a licensed electrician to set everything up properly. They will know how to do all the load calculations for you as well as do the wiring so that your house is safe.

[Drthorne]

14 gauge wire is rated for a 15amp circuit breaker and receptacles, I don't see the point in spending the extra money on 12 gauge unless you're using a 20amp braker and receptacles. I would just run 2 15amp circuits for the plugs and 1 15amp circuit for the lights. Canadian Tire sells a Federal Pioneer 4 circuit panel for around $50 plus the 15amp breakers are $10 each. if the sub-panel is right next to the main panel, then you don't need a main breaker in the sub-panel. Install a 30amp double pole breaker in the main panel and wire with 10 gauge 3 conductor to the sub-panel

[cjbenedict]

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. There is room in the main panel for the additions, but I'd like to separate my new wiring from the original house wiring, and I don't mind the extra cost of a sub-panel.

I'll stick with the 14-2, thanks for straiting me about about that.

I'm just trying to get a general feel of a proper way that it should be done. I'm still demolishing the room so it will be some time before I actually sit down and figure out how to run everything, and I will be getting a permit before I actually start doing anything with the wiring.

Thanks again for your input!

Cheers

[eelfliw]

Wow!!! 12 guage wiring! Are you running a server farm with hundreds of hard drives?

Best to find out how much power your computers use before shelling out $$$ for wiring.

Normal house wiring (14-2) is good for 15 amps @ 120V. That's 1800W of continuous energy. That's about 4 quad-CPU servers and 8 RAID5 banks of 15K RPM drives (appx 400W each computer under normal load).

If you're running that kind of equipment, you should look into getting a 220V supply line (which requires a separate panel).

If not, then regular 14-2 wiring will do. And get a few UPS's to condition the power going to the computer. That'll do more than having a separate panel.

[cjbenedict]

Thanks for the input. I'll have at most three desktops and a laptop running at one time, so you're right, I might as well stick to 14/2 wire.