6/15/2016

31CommonHouseholdCircuitWiringsYouCanUseForYourHome(2)|EEP

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31CommonHouseholdCircuitWirings
YouCanUseForYourHome(2)

31 Common Household Circuit Wirings You Can Use For Your Home (2nd part)

1st part | 2nd part | 3rd part

HouseholdCircuitWirings
The list of the next ten household circuit wirings:
11. Double receptacle circuit with shared neutral wire (receptacles alternate circuits)
12. Double receptacle small-appliance circuit with GFCIs & shared neutral wire
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13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

31CommonHouseholdCircuitWiringsYouCanUseForYourHome(2)|EEP

Double receptacle small appliance circuit with GFCIs & separate neutral wires
120/240V range receptacle
240V Baseboard heaters, thermostat
Dedicated 120v computer circuit, isolated-ground receptacle
240V appliance receptacle
Ganged single-pole switches controlling separate light fixtures
Ganged switches controlling a light fixture and a vent fan
Three-way switches & light fixture (fixture between switches)

11.Doublereceptaclecircuitwithsharedneutralwire(receptaclesalternate
circuits)

Double receptacle circuit with shared neutral wire (receptacles

alternate circuits)
This layout features two 120 V circuits wired with one three-wire cable connected to a double-pole circuit
breaker. The black hot wire powers one circuit. The red wire powers the other. The white wire is a shared neutral
that serves both circuits.
When wired with 12/2 and 12/3 cable and receptacles rated for 20 A, this layout can be used for the two smallappliance circuits required in a kitchen.
Remember to use a GFCI circuit breaker if you use this circuit for kitchen counter top receptacles.
This layout features two 120 V circuits wired with one three-wire cable connected to a double-pole circuit
breaker

Go back to Circuit Wirings

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31CommonHouseholdCircuitWiringsYouCanUseForYourHome(2)|EEP

12.DoublereceptaclesmallappliancecircuitwithGFCIs&sharedneutral
wire

Double receptacle small-appliance circuit with GFCIs & shared

neutral wire
Use this layout variation of circuit wiring 10 to wire a double receptacle circuit when code requires that some of
the receptacles be GFCIs. The GFCIs should be wired for single-location protection (see circuit wiring 2).
Requires three-wire and two-wire cables.

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31CommonHouseholdCircuitWiringsYouCanUseForYourHome(2)|EEP

Use this layout variation of circuit wiring 10 to wire a double receptacle circuit

Go back to Circuit Wirings

13.DoublereceptaclesmallappliancecircuitwithGFCIs&separateneutral
wires

Double receptacle small appliance circuit with GFCIs & separate

neutral wires
If the room layout or local codes do not allow for a shared neutral wire, use this layout instead. The GFCIs
should be wired for single-location protection (see circuit wiring 2).
Requires two-wire cable.

If the room layout or local codes do not allow for a shared neutral wire, use this layout instead

Go back to Circuit Wirings

14.120/240Vrangereceptacle
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120/240V range receptacle

This layout is for a 40- or 50 A, 120/240 V dedicated appliance circuit wired with 8/3 or 6/3 cable, as required
by code for a large kitchen range. The black and red circuit wires, connected to a double-pole circuit breaker in
the circuit breaker panel, each bring 120 volts of power to the setscrew terminals on the receptacle.
The white circuit wire attached to the neutral bus bar in the circuit breaker panel is connected to the neutral
setscrew terminal on the receptacle.

This layout is for a 40- or 50 A, 120/240 V dedicated appliance circuit wired with 8/3 or 6/3 cable

Go back to Circuit Wirings

15.240VBaseboardheaters,thermostat
240V Baseboard heaters, thermostat
This layout is typical for a series of 240 V baseboard heaters controlled by a wall thermostat. Except for the last
heater in the circuit, all heaters are wired as shown below. The last heater is connected to only one cable.
The sizes of the circuit and cables are determined by finding the total wattage of all heaters.
Requires two-wire cable.
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31CommonHouseholdCircuitWiringsYouCanUseForYourHome(2)|EEP

This layout is typical for a series of

240 V baseboard heaters controlled
by a wall thermostat

Go back to Circuit Wirings

16.Dedicated
120vcomputercircuit,
isolatedground

receptacle

Dedicated 120v computer circuit, isolated-ground receptacle

This 15 A isolated-ground circuit provides extra protection against surges and interference that can harm
electronics. It uses 14/3 cable with the red wire serving as an extra ground ing conductor. The red wire is tagged
with green tape for identification.
It is connected to the grounding screw on an isolated-ground receptacle and runs back to the grounding bus bar in
the circuit breaker panel without touching any other house wiring.
This 15 A isolated-ground circuit provides extra protection against surges and interference that can harm
electronics
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31CommonHouseholdCircuitWiringsYouCanUseForYourHome(2)|EEP

Go back to Circuit Wirings

17.240Vappliancereceptacle

240V appliance receptacle

This layout represents a 20 A, 240 V dedicated appliance circuit wired with 12/2 cable, as required by code for
a large window air conditioner. Receptacles are available in both singleplex (shown) and duplex styles.
The black and the white circuit wires connected to a double-pole breaker each bring 120 volts of power to the
receptacle (combined, they bring 240 volts).
The white wire is tagged with black tape to indicate it is hot.
This layout represents a 20 A, 240 V dedicated appliance circuit wired with 12/2 cable

Go back to Circuit Wirings

18.Gangedsinglepoleswitchescontrollingseparatelightfixtures
Ganged single-pole switches controlling separate light fixtures
This layout lets you place two switches controlled by the same 120 V circuit in one double-gang electrical box.
A single-feed cable provides power to both switches. A similar layout with two feed cables can be used to place
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31CommonHouseholdCircuitWiringsYouCanUseForYourHome(2)|EEP

switches from different circuits in the

same box.
Requires two-wire cable.
This layout lets you place two
switches controlled by the same 120
V circuit in one double-gang electrical
box

Go back to Circuit Wirings

19.Gangedswitchescontrollingalightfixtureandaventfan
Ganged switches controlling a light fixture and a vent fan
This layout lets you place two switches controlled by the same 120 V circuit in one double-gang electrical box.
A single-feed cable provides power to both switches.
A standard switch controls the light fixture, and a time-delay switch controls the vent fan.
This layout lets you place two switches controlled by the same 120 V circuit in one double-gang electrical
box
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Go back to Circuit Wirings

20.Threewayswitches&
lightfixture(fixture
betweenswitches)

Three-way switches & light fixture (fixture between switches)

This layout for three-way switches lets you control a light fixture from two locations. Each switch has one
common screw terminal and two traveler screws. Circuit wires attached to the traveler screws run between the two
switches, and hot wires attached to the common screws bring current from the power source and carry it to the
light fixture.
Requires parallel runs of 2-wire cable.
This layout for three-way switches lets you control a light fixture from two locations

Go back to Circuit Wirings

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31CommonHouseholdCircuitWiringsYouCanUseForYourHome(2)|EEP

1st part | 2nd part | 3rd part

Reference // The Complete Guide to Electrical Wiring (Current with 20142017 Electrical Codes) Black+Decker

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AboutAuthor//
Edvard Csanyi
Edvard - Electrical engineer, programmer and founder of EEP. Highly specialized for
design of LV high power busbar trunking (<6300A) in power substations, buildings and
industry fascilities. Designing of LV/MV switchgears.Professional in AutoCAD
programming and web-design.Present on Google+
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