15 amp or 20 amp electrical circuit line?

[Sadhu]

My electrician tells me that a 20 amp line is overkill for my AV system, but I am feeling that I should trust my audio shop and get a 20 amp line. After all, there is a surround system driven by a Marantz AV 7005 and Marantz 8003, and a powered subwoofer. and a bunch of other pieces as well. I would think that while it may not trip the 15 amp, there would be more "breathing room" if it had more power, which is something that seems to go right over the head (and ears) of most electricians. Does anyone agree, and or have any experience or have links to share (possibly another thread to share -- I am new here) on this topic? Thanks in advance.

 

[walter duque]

Since I live in an apartement I am running my whole system off a 15 amp breaker and at high volume it will trip. Go with the 20 amp.

 

[tcarcio]

Well I think if you want the 20a then go for it but I run my Home theater which includes a Marantz reciever and 4 outboard pro amps along with a BD player, HD Dvd player, CD player, my Danley Dts10 sub, my 2 PJ's and my Satellite system all on a 15a line with no trouble.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Definitively get the 20A circuit!

You never know when you need the extra watts in the future.

For example, my AT3005 amp REQUIRES a 20A circuit!

I would not have known that even 2 yrs ago.

My future house will have 20A circuits everywhere.

 

[Warpdrv]

Agreed.... You may never need the full 20a, but its certainly nice to have the extra power from the circuit if needed.

The difference in cost of the wire and the breaker will be absolutely minimal compared to the labor for him to install it...

Amps these days will use a fraction of what many people seem to declare, they have capacitors built in to store the power needed for the fraction of a second of heavy usage. Mainly they just idle along barely drawing much energy at all.

I ran 3 x 30a circuits and 2 x 20a for my setup, which is way overkill, but I do the electricity myself, so it was just a matter of the cost for the wire and breakers.
I have a large array of Pro amps for my subs, 6 - 4000w amps so I put 2 of them on each 30a circuit and the rest of the equipment runs off the 2 - 20 amp circuits.
Seriously overkill but provides me piece of mind......

 

[walter duque]

Just for one of my power amps they recommend a 20-30 amp breaker. Power consumption at max. power is 5550 watts. Go with the 20 amp.

 

[Pyrrho]

Whether you need more than 15 amps is going to depend upon many factors, such as whether you have everything on at the same time or not, how loud you play things, etc. I use a Yamaha RX-V2700, an ODL HT-2 power amp, several other components, AND a space heater (on low) on a 15 amp circuit with no problems. But I don't listen at deafening volumes, and my speakers are of normal efficiency, so I never push my amplifiers very hard. However, if you are putting in a new circuit anyway, I don't see why you would not want a 20 amp circuit for it, just in case.

 

[m_vanmeter]

the actual cost difference in running 14 ga. wire with a 15 amp breaker is negligable to running 12 ga. wire with a 20 amp breaker. Most of the cost of the install is the electrician's time.

Go 20 amp.

 

[mtrycrafts]

.... but I run my Home theater which includes a Marantz reciever and 4 outboard pro amps along with a BD player, HD Dvd player, CD player, my Danley Dts10 sub, my 2 PJ's and my Satellite system all on a 15a line with no trouble.

I have about what you have plus a projector with a hefty bulb and no problems

 

[mtrycrafts]

My electrician tells me that a 20 amp line is overkill for my AV system, but I am feeling that I should trust my audio shop and get a 20 amp line. After all, there is a surround system driven by a Marantz AV 7005 and Marantz 8003, and a powered subwoofer. and a bunch of other pieces as well. I would think that while it may not trip the 15 amp, there would be more "breathing room" if it had more power, which is something that seems to go right over the head (and ears) of most electricians. Does anyone agree, and or have any experience or have links to share (possibly another thread to share -- I am new here) on this topic? Thanks in advance.

If this is a new construction with a choice of what to put in for audio, go with 20A.
If a special remodel just for that circuit, I'd think twice about it.

 

[PENG]

I ran 3 x 30a circuits and 2 x 20a for my setup, which is way overkill, but I do the electricity myself, so it was just a matter of the cost for the wire and breakers.
I have a large array of Pro amps for my subs, 6 - 4000w amps so I put 2 of them on each 30a circuit and the rest of the equipment runs off the 2 - 20 amp circuits.
Seriously overkill but provides me piece of mind......

In that case, I am sure you have a >=200A service.

 

[highfigh]

My electrician tells me that a 20 amp line is overkill for my AV system, but I am feeling that I should trust my audio shop and get a 20 amp line. After all, there is a surround system driven by a Marantz AV 7005 and Marantz 8003, and a powered subwoofer. and a bunch of other pieces as well. I would think that while it may not trip the 15 amp, there would be more "breathing room" if it had more power, which is something that seems to go right over the head (and ears) of most electricians. Does anyone agree, and or have any experience or have links to share (possibly another thread to share -- I am new here) on this topic? Thanks in advance.

Most residential electricians know a little about how a circuit works with light bulbs and small motors but almost nothing about how A/V gear is affected by bad grounds or feeding part of a system from one circuit and part from another unless they're actually interested in this kind of stuff. They also know very little about how proximity of A/V cabling to AC power wiring can really screw up a system and cost the user time, money and be a royal PITA. They have little knowledge of why things need to be done in certain ways and why it's necessary to plan for the future in terms of cabling.

The electrician should wire it the way you want unless it goes against the electric code and is dangerous. Other than that, he should do what you're paying him to as long as it makes sense. It's helpful to feed ALL power to the equipment from one circuit and to have a whole-house surge protector at the breaker panel, too.

 

[Jacksmyname]

I had a new house built three years ago, and I spec'd a seperate circuit on the wall where where my system would be. I went with a 20 amp. If I had it to do again, I'd spec two rather than one. One circuit originally was enough, but as time went on, I added some things I hadn't planned on (sound familiar to anyone? )
As others have posted, the difference in price is in the materials. Labor is the same. You're better off having the extra capacity and not needing it than the other way around.
By all means, go with 20 amps.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

There is also a safety issue. People are under the impression that a 15A circuit won't offer more than 15 amps to flow to the outlet. Absolutely not true ... whatever current your electrical devices ask for, the power system will try to deliver. That is why electrical fires are an issue.

Breakers do not measure current; they measure heat which is correlated to current. In other words, they *should* trip if more than 15A is demanded, but what they really will do is trip if the heat that a typical 15A draw generates is exceeded. It's not an exact relationship or a go/no go situation if you are measuring current draw ... because it's heat based, there is a time component where you can draw more than 15A if it's not sustained for long.

Another issue is the age of the breaker ... every time it trips, it degrades a little bit in a somewhat unpredictable manner. After a number of trips, it may no longer sense the heat correctly and may allow higher currents to flow. Again that can cause a fire hazard; remember it's not just the breaker that heats up, it's the entire 14GA line to the outlet.

If you want sustained high current draw from a circuit, going 20A (breaker, line, outlet) is not a bad idea. Even if the total draw never exceeds 15A, you have a safety margin to keep things safe, the 12GA line will tolerate more current without heating up as much, and there is always the ability to draw more available when needed, if needed.

Electricians have a dirty little secret ... they are cheapskates. They charge a lot for labour, and if they can install 50cent outlets they will. The parts cost for the upgrade isn't huge, and the labour charge is exactly the same. It's not like you are asking for 20A everywhere in the home, where the parts cost can become an issue.

 

[Speedskater]

As Johnny just noted a 15 Amp breaker is rated for 15 Amps continuous (where continuous is 3 hours or more). Think of the lighting system in a large store that's open for many hours. The design limit for such lighting system is 80% of the breaker rating. With old fashion light bulbs the turn-on surge was 10 times the continuous current yet the breaker never tripped.

Very few hi-fi setups require even a 15 Amp breaker. But those with several amps may need to turn the amps on one at a time.

However when running a new AC power circuit exclusively to the hi-fi system, I would go with a 20 Amp breaker and over-size 10AWG wire. THe cost difference will be less than what some audiophiles spend on interconnect cables.

If the code permits, I would use real SouthWire brand Romex® rather than metal or plastic conduit.

 

[HTfreak2004]

I find having dedicating power outlets is a prudent choice. It isn’t obvious to most basic enthusiasts into home audio how all the wires in a circuit from power, component internals, interconnects, speakers and speaker wire all form part of the overall end result in quality sound reproduction. We know different wires can be used to experience a graduated video quality with the display internals forming part of that chain so why should we provide our audio with less than optimal power delivery if it attempts to pull for it? Usually if the components are of lower quality the external wires will not (bring out) the components or speakers full potential. On the other hand the better the parts used within the components and speakers the more important optimal external wiring becomes. Optimal shouldn’t be associated with price but with the goal to eliminate any noticeable degradation to the quality of the components or speakers full potential. Many times there is no noticeable improvement in sound quality by simply changing one part of the chain. Usually with cars one needs to improve intake, combustion, & exhaust to realize the power increase to its full potential. Afterwards suspension, frame torque balance, gearing, transmission, and tires must factor into the chain to enjoy the improvement in power! If the same approach is applied to home theatre/audio&video you should unlock & maximize the quality of whatever equipment your current setup is made of.

 

[Speedskater]

and two years later.
Oh dear, popcorn anyone?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yes, a couple of years later.

But seriously, I assume all new homes are built with 20A, except for the big appliances get 30A.

I recall my builder and electrician told me that 2 years ago.

 

[Danzilla31]

Yes, a couple of years later.

But seriously, I assume all new homes are built with 20A, except for the big appliances get 30A.

I recall my builder and electrician told me that 2 years ago.

Mine is anyway. I still put in 2 dedicated 20amp circuits. One for the subs one for the amps.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Mine is anyway. I still put in 2 dedicated 20amp circuits. One for the subs one for the amps.

Same here. I have one 20A circuit for the Theater Room (for Projector) plus two 20A circuits for the Theater Closet.