IF that's the only thing on the circuit. Honestly, I would do 12ga everywhere too, then give the electrician a $100 gift card to the restaurant of his choice.
I just re-wired my own house and even being in the industry did all 14/2's for lighting. Made no fuckin sense to use 12's everywhere. Even at cost, that shit adds up... I did use 12's on most receptacles however though. That actually made sense for the added cost.
@@Floridaman8783 my Local county Natrona, in Wyoming 12/2 is code. Only trailers (single and doublewide etc.) and smoke alarm circuits I believe can be 14/3, but rarely does electrician bother to carry any 14... With LED lighting they really could change the code and allow 14/2 circuits for just lighting.. I am a broadcast engineer and DIY handyman, not electrician...
I understand people's hesitation with hub required home automation but many of those standards are purpose built for low bandwidth distributed devices. I ended up going almost entirely z-wave mesh network with a hubitat hub for my own home and I'm glad I did. There are tons of z-wave devices by different brands offering different feature sets if you every find yourself wanting something specific and the frequency range it uses doesn't conflict with wifi.
This comment should get more upvotes. A hub makes things easier because you can combine other devices together. Otherwise you'll probably end up with 4 or 5 different apps on your smartphone to control different devices from different brands. With a hub, you can have your brand x motion sensor turn on your brand y lights. And the switches are more affordable because you are not beholden to a specific brand.
@@raymondt817 Totally agree Ray. z-wave is the way to go if you don't want to be opening 5-8 different apps to control everything. I've got everything tied to a qolsys IQ 2 plus panel. And tied to alarm.com for cellular connectivity. It's awesome to have EVERYTHING in a single app, from my garage doors, door locks, lights, Hvac, sprinkler system, motorized blinds, cameras, water sensors, etc etc. I love all of Matt's Build stuff, but this is not what I would consider a "smart" home lights at all.
You can also use something like home assistant (or other ‘open source’ home automation software) to manage all the automations in one place. You then are not stuck to only z-wave or zigbee or whatever devices. I even have both z-wave and Philips hue devices that run on the same actions. More important though is your sentiment that you should use hub-based tech. Bluetooth is fickle. As a software dev, I will not rely on Bluetooth lights/whatever as they will have more problems in the long run. Not to mention that these other protocols (like z-wave) are designed for exactly these purposes.
As a CS PhD Student (taking break due to ... the world in 2020) I shivered when he said mesh network over bluetooth... That equipment will all need replaced in under 15 years. No If And or Buts about it... Someone will find a vulnerability that can't be fixed remotely and that's the end of that story.
Matt, have loved your channel for years but it’s becoming more and more like an infomercial. It’s great your getting free stuff for you home but is it worth your integrity.
Thanks for the video Matt. I am a DIY, remodeling my entire home and since i'm saving $ on contractor labor I have a bigger budget for materials so I started installing 12 gauge wire for everything but that was a mistake. From my experience, it's nice having 12-2 because I can extend circuits to multiple receptacles without worrying about amp capacity but the downside is with installing the lighting (especially halo recessed lights). It is much easier wiring lighting fixtures with 14 gauge than it is with 12 gauge and NEC doesn't allow for downsizing if you start with 12 gauge and switch to 14 gauge in a branch. Anyways, i've learned a lot from your videos so thank you.
The Halo line is only 5% dimming. He is going to really regret that. People don’t understand how important 1% dimming really is. I personally feel that Lutron has significantly better lighting control systems. Also, If you’re going to go to the extent of having smart lighting, and home control, you really should have an IALD certified lighting designer do your lighting plan and fixture specifications. Unlike interior designers, an IALD lighting designer DOES NOT make money of off fixtures or get kickbacks from manufacturers. A good lighting designer will help you avoid a lot of lighting pitfalls, and also keep you in budget. I can’t even begin to tell you how many bad lighting layouts I’ve seen done by architects… Lighting has become a true specialty, and it’s well worth the investment to make sure you’ve got the right person looking after it. I am not a lighting designer, but I would never build my custom home without having one on board from day one of design. Worth every penny.
Bluetooth is also an awful option for large amounts of lighting as well. He should have gone with Zigbee, or Zwave devices. Those are also not vendor specific protocols and can be controlled without proprietary apps. That app he has might not be supported in a few years and he is also stuck in the ecosystem of those lights. With Zigbee/Zwave lights you can mix and match manufactures to work together. They also form a mesh network to keep devices from dropping off which I guarantee he will be having issues with bluetooth. Just speaking from firsthand experience. I imagine those were sponsored products anyways.
@@Cstegg "Bluetooth" as used in modern lighting products is actually the "LE" version which supports mesh networking. ZigBee often uses the same 2.4GHz as BT, with the same penetration problems. Zwave is a closed proprietary protocol. BT LE is actually a very reasonable choice and improves every year with better vendor adoption. I worked on the original ZigBee specification and even I say it's not significantly better than BT LE in the generic smart home use case. The 2 protocols can be remarkably similar when configured so.
You will appreciate this Matt. My first home I built back in 1978 I used all 12-2 WG and a 400 Amp commercial panel that was about 4 foot high. The home was all electric. The second home I built back in 2001 once again had 400 Amp with two 200 Amp panels and CAT5 all prewired with AV panel. Keep up the good work.
400A panel in a residential setting is nonsense, big waste, the pole transformer or pad outside is usually only about 23kVA, feeding a few homes....do you have every outlet on it's own breaker?
You could go through the expense of having all 20A circuits, or you could tell your electricians to put the lighting and receptacles on separate circuits. Have lighting on 15A and receptacles on 20A. Just my opinion but you’re the boss😂
@@frankyb702 It's actually more labor to work with 12ga, as numerous electricians have pointed out. Since lighting and outlet circuits should be separate, regardless of wire gauge, it's not hard to use 2 different flavors. You still have to put other things on wire bigger than 12ga, so it's not like the whole house is done that way anyway. And if you use 14 for the lights it is easier to identify in the future - white romex = lights, yellow romex = outlets. Kind of like using the blue and red pex...few people just use white for both. Even if wire is free it doesn't make any sense to use 12 for lights...also, even if you have 12ga for your lights, it's better to put lighting circuits on a 15A breaker too - again, easier to identify. I totally agree with outlet circuits, 12ga/20A for sure, although still very unlikely to ever use that capacity. (Especially for an energy nazi like Matt) More importantly if you hire an electrician tell him to do it right, don't tell him what kind of wire to use. That's his job, why did you hire an electrician? I can just imagine the face palm when the clueless customer starts dictating wire size...
With the introduction of many low voltage LED lighting fixtures, it makes so much more sense to separate the lighting and receptacle circuits. Making it even easier for automated control later especially if you make your lighting runs to a separate box and your breaker feeds to that box. Join them with wire nuts for now and later you could insert full automation control when you are ready. This and not having to rely on unreliable wireless control of your lights.
Wafer lights are a pretty poor choice for a new home. Having the bulb recessed in the can allows for much better light distribution. Wafer or surface lights are for closets at best. Spending a bit more on your cans either from WAC, USAI or another higher end manufacturer really makes a difference. Also, if the house is custom, I would find it in the budget to hire a lighting designer. I am willing to bed most if not all the lights are placed poorly. 4 cans and a fan, downlights over carpet, bathroom sconces over a mirror etc.
As an electrician some of this is overkill and some makes sense. For one 12/2 throughout the house is a waste, but the middle ground that has logic is doing the receptacles in 12. In a brand new home no one should need to plug in portable heaters or window AC units, which are 2 of the biggest culprits I find people overload their circuits with. Older home's didn't require a 20A bath circuit either. I've seen hair dryers with a wattage label of 1875W, which is more than a whole 15A circuit. Again that's an old home problem in an area already addressed by code. A vacuum can draw around 12 amps but it is usually a temporary load. Excluding kitchen/dining/bath areas that already require 20A circuits, most people will never utilize a fraction of any of those 20A circuits. One cost saving route would be to put more receptacles on a circuit. With most lighting going the LED route that's even less load in the system. Having breakers on the exterior of the house I just hate the idea of it. Main outside if you must; 2020 code when adopted will mandated an exterior shutoff. The whole copper/AL issue has long been settled. Those AL wires will not loosen on those lugs if installed properly, neither will the copper. If the customer wants copper and they got the cash I'm happy to install it, but overall I feel the extra money spent on copper feeders and 12/2 on lighting could have been put to better use elsewhere.
It would have helped in my garage where I run a tool and a shop vac and trip the breaker. Of course, not putting all the outlets on a single breaker would have been nice, but you know those electricians. 😂🤣😂
actually aluminum has a different compression than copper - virturally all aluminum wire will have to be re-torqued after a year. and it's better to have the extra capacity since it's alway about accomodating potential.
Yeah, the biggest issue I had with his recommendation for 12/2 everywhere was the complete disregard for the extra labor involved. Bigger wire = harder to work with.
Noice light option video. Matt, I appreciate the through dive on everything you do. With the 12 gauge wire idea though, I might suggest 14/2 for lights and 12/2 for all outlets. When figuring the load requirement for the lights, especially with led technology (90% more efficient), it very likely the 14/2 would even be to 25% of it's maximum capacity.
Correct. I just built my own house, used 14-2/14-3 for lighting and 12-2 outlet. All LED lighting. Used a amp clamp on the lighting circuits after and ALL lights on, 3-4amps total! 12-2 on lighting is just unnecessary.
44 year electrician here. Lighting should ALWAYS be done in 14 guage. Better box fill for dimmers, easier make up in ALL types of fixtures/cans. Stop being brainwashed into the thinking that 20a is better than 15amp!!!!!
I watched your video with great interest and with 35 years doing electrical work (Electrician) doing mostly commercial as residential service work, I would have to disagree with running everything 20 ga.. All your outlets yes by all means do so but for your lighting circuits there’s no need my reason for this is twofold One all your lighting now is LED’s which means that if if you install 15 amp breakers, say 2 15 amp breakers per floor as well 2 for exterior lighting so if by chance a breaker should trip you would be left in total darkness in any area and you can alternate circuits for each area lighting. Second All LED drivers have a built in thermo, as well as built in disconnect that automatically shuts off power to that fixture sometime comes in very handy in troubleshooting (BTW the drivers are the weak link in LEDs) since LEDs are rated in watts you’re looking at 3000 watts of lighting per floor or 2400 watts @ percent for your 2 breaker per floor. Also more room in your switch boxes If you don’t mind wasting money by all means running 20 amp circuits and 12 ga. Wire. If you disagree with me please tell me why I’m wrong since most folks can’t afford to waste hard earn money on even a custom build.
I think the biggest thing that scares me the most is that the setup requires an app. Say halo for whatever reason goes under, chances are their app will cease to function. I’ve seen very similar technology in theatrical lighting controls that have a central processor to make edits and changes. If you’re going for longevity, you might want to look at long term software support solutions.
Long term, hackers can find vulnerabilities, and operating systems can change, forcing you to upgrade. There is a lot of technology that is beyond the control of the people building it. There is a lot of programming that is beyond the ability of the computer programer to control. Today, in new construction it still makes sense to wire everything the old fashioned way so that the technology could be removed and replaced with old fashioned simple switches.There are places where is makes cost effective sense to use this technology. (such as remodels where running a new light or wire might be more expensive), but he is potentially asking for problems long term.
I agree.Sticking to open standard devices like zwave and zig bee are the safest choice from changes in vendor support. You can always switch to another controller from a different manufacturer.
Nice house. Another point I’d like to mention to you, make sure you install a panel with copper bus not aluminum. And when installing it you should keep all the largest loads closest to the lugs with incoming power. I’d like to send you some pics of a 2 year old 200 amp panel I had to replace that had aluminum bus and an 80amp EV charger circuit installed at the bottom of the panel furthest from the lugs... as for your house He did a nice job. I always use 14/2 for lighting just for ease of terminations. I’d just run another circuit if I felt the circuit was going to be too loaded. Always 12/2 for general receptacles.
Matt, I thought I saw a generator being planned for. I didn’t see/hear any thing about a transfer switch or discussion about which circuits will be powered when the generator kicks in. Did I miss something? Maybe there is a new show planed to cover the generator.
At least some conduit / stub outs to where such equipment may go. Includes for Solar, Garage-EV charging, and possible back-up. And yeah, splitting critical loads to THEIR OWN sub-panel, now (while everything is open) would be pretty smart.
Matt really doesn't know much about electrical or generators. He's fully stuck his foot in his mouth more than once. He had to take a different generator video down because he was explaining how to make/use an illegal and totally unsafe suicide cord plugged into a dryer outlet... He is not an electrician. He's just not qualified to talk about what he's talking about...
@@ryanroberts1104 Yeah, good point. Matt -- if you catch this and need some decent electrical / renewable / back-up coverage -- give me a yell. Phil Timmons. Texas Master #44770. philiptimmons@yahoo.com
I'm an electrician for over 30 years. 12 Guage wire is unnecessary in most places. It just fills up the boxes with wire, harder to work with. Houses are more efficient now with led lights
Totally agreed...he's going on and on and on about how much energy he's saving...and then going on and on and on about how he needs bigger wires for more energy. Typical Risinger....
I’m an electrician too. Working with 12 gauge is nasty. Don’t need it only for T receptacles for kitchen counter maybe, or n a case where you’re risking voltage drop ...
@@ksoman953 LOL! Just read his comments. Most of them by far are basically calling him stupid. It's not just me. Happens on almost every video he posts. He's delusional. He gives a lot of bad advice while pretending to be an expert he isn't. In this example, he gave a lot of bad electrical advice, because he isn't an electrician. If you're not an electrician you shouldn't be telling the electrician what kind of wire to use...
Wiring lighting with 14 gauge wire is just a little easier. Also allows you to get more wires into switch boxes. 12 gauge is just not need with today's LED light fixtures, it is just more work and extra money.
Yep. You could literally wire every light in the house with a single 15A 14 gauge circuit and it would not be anywhere near capacity. It would be annoying to have every light on one breaker but they should be separated from the outlets.
We use the bathroom circuits to pick up a few more lights. It's a non arc fault circuit and easily you can add about another 8 lights off it. We still stick to the 12 "items" per circuit rule even though the led wafer lights we use a lot are such low draw. All on 14 gauge.
@@Dweenz69 Bathroom appliance circuits (IE hair dryers, curling irons etc...) are supposed to be dedicated circuits and its lighting and wall switches must be on another circuit circuit.
Aluminum per UL AND NEC does not have oxide interference as it ages and DeOx is not required per NEC code. Lugs need to be retourqed because copper DOES expand just like aluminum but not at the same rate. Those lugs are also made from aluminum so specifying copper over aluminum is mute.
I don't know of a single panel maker that specs re torquing of lugs with aluminum wire. Intact most specifically say not to do so. There are so many aluminum wiring myths out there..
@@johnrotramel5204 just because they don’t doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. If they didn’t need to be retorqued we wouldn’t have people do thermal imaging on equipment and PM equipment. I know a lot of times medium voltage equipment is PMed and torque checks and retorques are performed. The terminals don’t always require tightening but some do and a loose terminal will only become looser per heat cycle.
@@RaddestDad That's interesting, I have a few questions if you don't mind answering. I've heard so many conflicting stories about aluminum wire and I'm trying to gather more information. Do you think that the lugs were properly torqued when installed? Are you talking about panels that have loads close to the maximum allowed for that panel and feeder wire? Do you think that its the modern aluminum wire alloy (AA-8000)? Do you believe in using noalox, and if so why?
@@johnrotramel5204, if there's a problem, it's electricians not using a calibrated torque screwdriver or torque wrench when tightening lugs. On government jobs, that won't fly.
He's putting "smart" things in which work over a commonly-exploitable technology. "Hacking" isn't something he is worried about; he should be, but he's not.
Because US electrical code is about 10yrs behind in Code and safety regulations as Canada. Us electricians in Canada laugh when we see 12AWG on all circuits, total overkill and waste of money because you will never draw that amount of power if you follow Code! In Canada it's ILLEGAL to have the panel outside-ever heard of copper thieves! Just LMAO at this stupidity, was expecting more from this guy- highly dissapointed!!!
- Tech Enthusiasts: Everything in my house is wired to the Internet of Things! I control it all from my smartphone! My smart-house is bluetooth enabled and I can give it voice commands via alexa! I love the future! - Programmers / Engineers: The most recent piece of technology I own is a printer from 2004 and I keep a loaded gun ready to shoot it if it ever makes an unexpected noise.
Can confirm. However, I do have a variety of "connected" devices, but they're either zigbee, zwave, or wifi with custom firmware. No internet interaction here. Voice control is for people who can't push a button.
@@FishFind3000 Spend some time in a cyber offense group. I scare people on the regular. None of those connected devices have 1 a way to update 2 the compute power for security
@@steven7650 newer zwave is updatable over the air. Some controllers like Hubitat can be set for no internet connectivity. I think a more significant risk is the cheap routers people use that have limited security configuability.
11:00 If you mount the fixture on joist, and drywall covers the access hole, you can no longer access the J-Box. NEC does not encourage creative thinking. ;)
GREAT - nice analysis of products and materials, as logistics to a build; for me it highlights the difference of UK/US builds, that exposes developments in building, as markets change.....interesting Matt Risinger, more please - thank-you.
Yeah, I don't get that either. It's bad enough I have to go out in the garage to access the breakers. I can't imagine having to go outside to flip a breaker... It couldn't have been that hard to run the mains through the wall and put the breaker panel inside the house. Even better for Matt, ONE hole through the air barrier with a big wire that's way easier to seal up than 20 small holes.
@Matt, have you considered the security aspects of your electrical and smart home setup? For example, your 220 box for mechanicals is outside and easily accessible to potential bad actors. Also, bluetooth is just about the least secure means of wireless communication, it's super easy to exploit. I.e., someone sitting outside you house could shut off all your electrical and/or change your lighting programming. On a tangentially related note, have you considered physical security in the design of your house? I think a video on that would be useful for many of your viewers, who might know to air seal the slab to framing but not know the difference between a truly high security lock system and a Kwikset from their local big box store.
@@InterstateLoveSong that's a good point I wasn't aware of, thank you for bringing it up. I thoroughly dislike that addition to code for security reasons, although I understand where it's coming from. That being said, code is what it is. So, my first thought is that I'd double down on the physical security of the panel box itself: I'd probably have a custom one fabricated or at least have the door of an off the shelf panel box modified to take a legit lock. Then I'd use a high security smart lock to secure the door, so if I was expecting maintenance I could authorize temporary access. The security vulnerability is just too significant not to try and mitigate somehow
@@claytonsprague7316 I thought about mentioning this, but knowing what I do about Matt he's probably building to exceed all the codes. Me, personally, I want to build my own house somewhere that doesn't have any local building codes so I can do exactly what I want without Big Brother meddling 😅
@@bf2wesley come to rural Maine. We have no inspections here. Its my responsibility to do things correctly. Of course a licenced worker has to follow code, but still no inspections.
Pro tips: - Holy heck, DON'T EVER touch the main lugs in a panel. You'll never know if they're live if you're dead. - If your electrician is buying wire by the 250' bundle, find a different electrician. - If you have an issue with "popping" breakers, find a different electrician. - The Halo wafers you used are advertised as 12 watts. You could run 100 of them on a single 14 gauge, 15A circuit. You overspent by a factor of about 2 on your lighting cabling. - Halo wafers on Insteon flicker excessively.
you want the electrician to buy his circuit wiring on 1000' spools, you get to carry them around. and if you want to micromanage your electrician, be ready to find another electrician.
@@kenbrown2808 Well they either do it to his standards or find another advertising buddy. Sparks have to start learning to play nice as they're going to be replaced more and more with PoE, sick of dealing with the my way or highway attitude.
I've watched your channel for years and one thing I've really appreciated is your knowledge of sealing and insulating. As an electrician, having installed those Arlington in-boxes I had to wonder why anyone would want a great big hole like that in their exterior wall cavity, because you just know the insulation is gone, being taken up instead by this giant hollow plastic box. It's a huge energy leak. Thanks for showing your solution!
Missed this during the storm and recovery. Anyone else think the "all off" next to an exit is a security nightmare, if not a personal annoyance? Kid runs out and shuts off all the lights on accident. Also it's nice to have smart lights, and Bluetooth can be more efficient than wifi. But can we get and idea that you've planned for a full home network?or have I missed it?It's one of the few things installed in a modern house that is directly responsible for income and it always feels tacked on instead of an integral component of a modern home design. Space consideration with venting for something like a 12 u server rack for space for a home storage server than can be used for local security video storage as well and general network attached storage for home media. Wireless ap deployment to ensure wifi coverage to compensate for your construction in key areas. Hard-line network connections in key areas: offices, bedrooms, TV spaces, even the kitchen as well as for ceiling mounted APs with power over ethernet. I've lived in a number of different houses, but the one that was most enjoyable had redundant ethernet drops in each room. With adequate wire installations the concerns for your wifi connectivity is diminished. I'm sure Ubiquity would love to donate a few samples for a RUclips spot.
12g wire for led's is way over kill. Run 14/2 on a 15 amp breaker for each rooms lights. Every room should have 2 breakers. 15 amp for the led's and a 20 amp for the sockets. The master bath would have a separate breaker from the master bedrooms sockets.
yeah, if you're putting the lights on a separate circuit, then there is no need for 20AWG on those. it wasn't clear whether that was happening there. I don't know the code or typical practice in his area
Its a cost saving. No point in buy to different wire sizes for about $8 oll difference. Then I don't have to work about the electrician running out of one size wire and having too much of the other size. Electricians cost around $60\hr. Don't want to waste money having him to pick up more wire, or waiting on me to come back with more wire. Keep is simple.
@@chriswithrow3107 Not really disappointing but 20amp for everything is nonsense. Here up north it'd charge him extra just for labor because it's PITA to work with in cold when you can do the same quality job with 14/2
As an electrician, I'd do a couple 15 amp citcuits for lighting. One for each floor. Then all 20 amp circuits for receptacles. I would also pigtail the wires and land them under the screws like they should be, not use the crappy stab-in connections.
Wire all your ceiling lights with 14 gauge wire and to a breaker that only feeds other ceiling lights. 14 gauge is much easier to work with, cheaper and LED lights draw so little current that you will never overload a 15 amp breaker. 14 gauge for lights and 12 gauge for all your outlets and don't forget all switch boxes now require a neutral wire.
Matt, I re-did my downstairs area for my mom when she couldn't live alone any more. One thing I did was wrap the bathroom in 3/4" plywood. This let me wait until she gradually needed more help, then add grab bars and other heavy items anyplace I wanted.
Love Matt but everything and I mean everything draws less power in these modern times. Only place I would use 20 amp circuits other than those that are required by the NEC would be an over the top home theater where someone is running some serious wattage in subs and equipment. And yes, copper sucks, but you can also use compact aluminum conductors that are equal to copper. Never buy panels with aluminum bus... not even for residential.
As a electrician 20 amp for all circuits is overkill 15 amps is more than plenty for circuits in a home it takes a lot more than you think to pull 15 amps in a home.
How about a space heater and PC gaming with a 1600w power supply with PFC? on the same circuit? Or a 15 AMP Window AC unit and some other device that draws a few amps?
@@guytech7310 there is special situations and applications where a larger circuit will be needed to be ran but for general use 15 amp is more than plenty
I work in Information technology and I made my house a dumb as possible. The last thing I want to do is fix another bluetooth device after work. I've also switched to all led light bulbs as I got tried of the entire light failing.
Everything is wired with normal wire it's a very important thing. Over in England they're finding out that calling the electrician in to change a lightbulb is not very efficient. when the manufacture specifies that it lasts so long and it doesn't. Most of the channels I watch are going back to the traditional replaceable bulb units is then the customer has the option of changing it themselves when the Bulb goes.
I'm sorry but building your house around Bluetooth and app controlled devices is absolutely not a long term solution. You talk about wire lasting 100 years; you'll be lucky if you get 5-10 years out of those devices.
Matt, I know you mentioned the Big L when it came to smart lighting as being expensive. You are correct when it comes to their Radio RA and HomeQS but their Caseta system is a game-changer. Advantages: No need for special wiring. Caseta switches are a direct replacement for traditional switches. They work with ALL traditional light fixtures so there's no need to be locked into one brand of lighting. They make 3 and 4 way switching a thing of the past; 3 pole switches are replaced by a single-pole smart switch and Pico remotes are used anywhere you want secondary switches. The remotes look like switches and can be mount on the walls as such or sit on a table in a pedestal. The system is just as programable as any other out there, but it steals from its bigger brothers, so you get more functionality for less money. Note I am in no way affiliated with L. I just did a lot of research before I did my house and Caseta was by far the best solution. That said my daughter is a designer for a local company and they use RA and QS. Next comment: If you are truly going to build a smart home, do not forget about your computer network. Almost all smart devices like TVs can be hardwire connected. RUN CAT6(a) to every room. DO NOT depend on WiFi especially when it comes to streaming media. Cable is cheap when the walls are open. As an IT professional, I tell all my clients that there is no reason why a (smart) home shouldn’t benefit from a business-class network. And with so many professionals working from home post-COVID, now more than ever is the time to start building even modest homes with wired networks. WiFi will never replace the quality of a good, wired network. Lastly, my cardinal rule of building a Smart Home is for it to be smart enough to allow people to interact with it in the traditional way. Love your videos. Would love to talk more about home-based networking and smart home technology.
Maybe in the your next 100 year home you can wire up all the lights with low voltage cat6 instead of 14 guage... Would have been interesting to see those products and you talk to a lighting designer.
Aren't there still a lot of caveats and losses with that? Limited lights per run, less ability to upgrade or change fixtures in drywall, low odds of finding a matching fixture when a driver burns out, high costs at the network switch, heat from the network switch, etc?
@@FishFind3000, you're running 48 volts to get 25 watts, so, conceptually, you could power two of these Halo fixtures on one run. That's several home runs per room. Each home run needs a termination for it's 8 tiny wires on each end and they need to be perfect every time all the time. It's a good system for the right application, I just question whether general home illumination is that right application.
@@steveb365 efficiency is constantly going up. I believe he is saying lights in the future will be efficient as to run of a single watt or even less, thus code will change and wire size will dip for, only, lighting circuits
😳 there's no reason to wire bedrooms and lights with 12s, especially with modern LED/low power devices. The example you gave makes no sense because hairdryer is used in the bathroom where obviously 12 makes sense and is per code.
Enter gaming PC and a space heater (or the current thing is 2 pcs or a pc & gaming console for streaming). In an apartment I rented during college, I couldn't have a space heater on the same 15A circuit as the laser printer or it would trip. - you never know if someone might use a bedroom as an office in the future/etc. easier to just run all the receptacles with 12s; lights should be on a separate circuit anyways and can be 14s.
@@jbrandt7 This is a new construction extremely efficient passive+ house though. He'll never even run the heat and very minimal central AC. Heck, that gaming PC will probably heat the entire house. Yes, lights should be separate but he even ran 20amps to LEDs lol (each is like 8W). This is just so wrong. It's absolutely pointless and silly
Why do you have that external panel? Speaking from what I've seen in Iowa, I've never seen outside panel boxes, like that. I've always only seen the electrical panel on the interior of the home, hence my asking.
@@LRaines makes it easier to hook up things that will end up outside such as AC, hot tub, generator disconnect. From there is relatively easy to feed sub panel inside for interior services.
You should consider reaching out to tech experts about smart home options.... Bluetooth is a terrible choice because it will cause interference with wifi. Z-wave would be a much better choice and having a hub is a very reliable way to have these devices communicate. If you wouldn't want 10 extra devices on your wifi, then you don't want 10 extra bluetooth devices hanging around. They interfere with each other!
I live by the theory of, over-wire and under-breaker. Run 12-2 with a 15 amp breaker and so on, never worry about having a wire burn inside your wall. The breaker snaps well before. JMO.
Screw that. Let's just use that "number two gauge copper"...I need more power for my super efficient house! It's only a hundred bucks here, a hundred bucks there...who's counting? Subpanel in every room!
Answered my question 25 seconds from the end: low voltage is "weird". Make it normal. We're not using incandescent lights or CRT TVs anymore. High voltage is dangerous, difficult to install, and highly regulated.
I doubt that POE maxes out at about 120W. Cannot run most devices on only 120W. 48VDC is also not any less safe. About 15 years ago the big craze in Datacenters was rolling out 48VDC racks, only to end up with electrical fires.
low voltage lighting runs higher amperage, so you're using a lot of extra copper both to keep from overheating your wiring and to try to eliminate voltage drop.
@@kenbrown2808 If you increase the size of the load. But in reality, we've reduced load by 90%, so we could either reduce voltage or amperage by 90%, or a combination of the two.
@@BetaEngineer pop quiz: what's the difference between the maximum resistance in a circuit at 12V vs. a circuit at 120V to have the circuit operating with less than 3% voltage drop? keep in mind #14 copper has about a quarter of an ohm of resistance per 100 feet, whether you're running it at 12V or at 120V.I'll give you a hint: a 10A load at 12V on 100' of conductor has 44.6% voltage drop. a 10A load on the same conductor at 120V has 4.47% voltage drop.
Those lugs should be treated like a firearm, a firearm is always loaded even when it isn't, and you double checked. It's still considered loaded. This is the same as playing with an "unloaded" gun.
I can see doing all receptacle circuits in 20 amp but wiring lighting circuits in 20 amp is a waste of money everything is LED nowadays. Also Halo and most recessed lights don’t give you the room to make up multiple 12 awg wires in the boxes.
NOOOOOOO NOT BLUETOOTH! Zigbee style systems should be the ONLY system to look at! Get ready for MASSIVELY inconsistent connectivity, lights that refuse to be controlled, and just, endless frustration. ANYTHING but WiFi of Bluetooth.
Aluminum wire does not need noalox, it's not required by any major panel maker or any large manufacturer of wire such as Southwire. It does however need to be properly torqued to the panel manufacturers spec. The alloy of aluminum in use today is very different from the one that was first used in homes that had issues. There's nothing wrong with using modern aluminum wire to feed main panels or sub panels when installed to manufacturer specs. I used it to feed the main panel in my house. I wish people would stop propagating these myths about aluminum wire.
That being said, specifically using Cu wire with Al Lugs in the panel to avoid oxidation makes no sense. I'd think you'll get a little less oxidation if you have Al on AL, rather than mixing the metals, but I'm no materials scientist.
The issue is using Alum. wiring with Copper lugs or with wirenuts or press-on connectors that typically use copper. Copper & alum in contact causes corrosion, so they need to be protected from oxidation.
The glare is the biggest issue. But the built in driver specifies the dimming range. Generally most won't dim past a certain level to prevent noticable flicker. Outside of that it's just setting dimmer high and low end trims (not all dimmers have that feature) and if it's forward or reverse phase LEDs
@@kenbrown2808 Most of the integrated USB chargers are crap and tech changes. New phones using high current chargers, etc. I would rather have extra space to plug whatever charger I'm using 5-10 years from now!
I'm sorry, a tv and a computer, even 2 of each, in bedrooms are not gonna cause issues on a 15 amp circuit. You have 1800 watts available. As an electrician who has dealt with using 12-2 many times when it was completely unnecessary, I can tell you right now on a new house I would probably charge you at least an additional $1000 based on the amount of time spent to deal with the bigger wire in every single box, where it wasn't needed. $1000 that could go towards better insulating, air sealing, better windows, etc. If there wasn't an additional cost proposed and accepted that electrician lost $ and is regretting it given how tight the new construction market is. Using 12 gauge wire in multi gang switch boxes is a nightmare given the quantity of dimmers that will be installed here. And yet those 20A ckts will likely be loaded to 20% capacity. Total waste unless you believe incandescents are coming back.
I used romex wire with 2 small wires for 0-10v dimming. My electrician didn't like it. I was told that was the best way to dim the lights. I am not so sure it wasn't a waste of money.
Depends on the computer. Gaming computers can use 1800watts.. Also in some cases people might use an electric space heater or a window AC if there is an issue with the heating\cooling system.
@@phylismaddox4880 In the Netherlands all homes have indoor panels. But code requires them all to be 3m (~9ft) from the front door. They go to a shallow build-in cabinet/door closet that is standardized for gas, water, electrical and data/telecom, input and meters.
You will see it more and more since the 2020 NEC requires an emergency disconnect outside. So new homes and existing ones getting service upgrades will at least have a small panel with the main and a circuit to the sub panel or the entire panel outside. This was common when I lived in Colorado. Lived in a few houses where the entire panel was out next to the meter.
You don't get a call backs about tripped breakers if you size the loads on each circuit correctly. This new construction you should never have an issue with that. No need for 12 gauge. Although I do prefer each rooms outlets to be on their own 20 amp circuit. Separate lighting circuits.
And it’s not that Matt can’t have any sponsor he wants. He really needs to do the legwork and find the better products. He’s been going to the quick handouts lately and it’s pushing me away from his content.
Got it all backwards. Code change requires very expensive arc fault breakers. Each contains a microprocessor, a long term maintenance problem. Why? 20A ckt breakers don't trip on a short in lamp or small appliance cord. I used to use 20A outlet circuit, but unless you are dumb and use electric space heating to same on your oil heat bill 15A circuit are fine. I have a 5000 sq ft house, with very high efficiency LED. Code required 6 circuits, today a single 15A circuit will do. Fine to wire with 12GA, and inspector will complain, but even if you are using GFCI/AFCI breakers use 15A breakers. If they trip because your son has a 5000W audio system, you can swap for a 20A breaker. Tell your son to use ear protection!
@@aayotechnology Yeah, I don't want to have to buy two different cable to save about $8 oll and then have to micromange how much wire I need. If I run out than I wasting time running to the store to pick up more. It was a pain just managing the other wire sizes I needed (30AMP, 50 AMP & 60 AMP circuits).
@@guytech7310 I didn't fully explain. No choice now but to install AFCI. But the "magnetic" trip even when no arc exists requires a lot more current to trip a 20A compared to a 15A. Since you can plug a lamp or any appliance with just an #18 cord into an outlet that wire will COOK even without an arc. The reason for the invention of AFCI was to mitigate this problem, reduces but does not prevent a fire.
@@buildshow good reply Mr. Risinger, I am sure they have the opposite of hate, they bill for it and am sure it always works in their favour. If they do what you ask, and you are happy I am sure they are happy as well. Clear expectations, directions and QC and everyone is happy.
@@shootmovecommunicate3322 i think cause typically bears live in some kind of wooded area unless it’s polar bears then it’s like Disney on ice 😂 sorry it’s late and I’m being silly
-Panel capacity (no expensive tandem split breakers needed) -Generator panel for 120v circuits -Ease of resetting breakers from inside the house (including afci/gfci trips) -Shorter homeruns -Conditioned space better for longevity on smart breakers and probably the afci $$ too. -Conditioned panels also trip less on hot summer days and don't freeze in the closed on position mid winter
There really aren't 120V panels. Most subpanels are 240vac that are split phase. 220V circuit is L1-N-L2. Each Lx is 120v when tied to neural ie L1-N = 120V, L2-n = 120V & L1-L2 is 240V Generally subpanels are useful to reduce wiring costs or if or adding rooms to an existing house & don't have an easy way to run all of cabling back to the main breaker box. Sub-panels are also used for critical loads for a generator\UPS\Solar setup which the power source (GenSet\UPS\Solar-Inverter) cannot handle all of the loads. You put your critical loads into the subpanel (ie frig\freezer\lighting) to segrate from devices like the AC, electric Dryer, electric stove, etc.
If Matt later wanted to put in a 240V breaker into his "120V" panel, he'd be able to do it, the same as any other panel. He just chose to put only 120V circuits in it.
There is a lot to talk about with this whole full 12ga setup, more than I can write in a youtube comment. I'll just affirm what some others have already said and add that the idea that 14ga is "worse" is fundamentally wrong. It just has a different use case. An old joke amongst electricians is that you can always tell when a homeowner did the wiring because everything is done in 12ga since they think "bigger is better". In some instances it may make sense to do a circuit in 12ga even when not required by code, but in others it may make no sense at all, and cause issues with box fill etc. Consult your electrician for your specific scenario and I think you'll find a majority dont agree with this concept.
@@buildshow You probably shouldn't be telling the electrician what wire to use when you don't know very much about wires and electricity...that's the electrician's job.
I am wiring my own house and doing the same as Matt. Not because I dont understand where 14 gauge could be used, but for simplicity. As a DIYer it just makes it a lot easier to go overkill and not have to worry about it.
I would argue that wiring your outlets as 20 amp circuits could actually be considered more dangerous, yes you can potentially power more devices on a single circuit, but what happens when one of those devices ends up with a short inside of it, that 20 amp circuit will now allow even more current to flow through that device which is typically rated to be plugged into a 15 amp circuit. Cheap cable attached to the device barely rated even for the 15 amps now has an extra 5 amps to burn that cable up.
After having one smart hone set up it was so expensive to setup and then I had to go replace all the blue tooth stuff cause it shut down the lower 2G wifi and also messed up the use of wireless headphones and headsets. I ended up having one wireless network just for the "smart home setup" worked great but after 2 years only had one leviton smart switch go bad. Wish I did not have to sell that place
You nailed it. Smart devices are good for about 12 to 24 months before the problems start, and the Mfg no longer supports them forcing you to upgrade everything.
The switch is cool but the real magic is in automations and voice control. You don’t need to press a switch when you leave. A presence sensor (or some specific set off conditions) activates an automation that turns on or off what you want for that condition, locks/unlocks doors, changes thermostat settings, garage door, tv.....
Proprietary wifi/radio/bluetooth/whatever dies very quick. Open Source home automation will not because people will keep on maintaining the source. If you can, avoid anything that doesn't work with open source apps, avoid anything that requires an active internet connection too.
I wire my homes in emt. I would never punch holes in a box and then put romex with no protection. People not realize tat their home is constantly vibrating and insulation can be compromised. I use 12 stranded for all circuits and 14 for lighting loads. No callbacks for 40 years.
Compared to Northern Europe, it looks different, very different. Maybe it is good, but it looks worse (no offense!). Maybe someone who knows both can elaborate/compare?
@@Freedacarlo everything in illinois is conduit. I don’t like exposed wire like that. It’s much to vulnerable. I’ve seen people drill and cut though romex.
Exactly, that is one of the main things. All wires go trough conduit. And since most houses are from concrete or stone, it is even less exposed since the conduit is encapsulated by concrete/stone. Furthermore, panelboxes and things like that are not outside.
If your electrician installs new circuits that will trip due to overload during normal use, your electrician is not a very good one. Using 12 for lighting is fine, but only if your lighting is on dedicated circuits. My SOP is to use 14 for lighting circuits and I can run only 2 or 3 circuits for lighting.
@MattRisinger I very much appreciate your passion for fine craftsmanship and high performance homes. That being said as a professional electrician for 20+yrs, I wonder if you gave enough thought to this video and the Influence you wield? 3/4 of a million people see your content. I’m not trying to troll or hate but I have some constructive criticism. From the looks of things your “Rick the electrician” is a very good installer and in Tx they have to pass state licensing, but you should point out that electrical work is extremely varied by locale and that folks should inform themselves through trusted local experts. And my question to you is why wouldn’t you want to have the expert walk us through the electrical install? There are many things that you say that are misleading and uninformed and really are more opinion than fact based. I appreciate the full disclosure, about your materials but please don’t let free stuff influence you too much or you appear to lose your original integrity. For instance in your original stuff you can really sense your passion and belief in the zip products. There was years of homework that needed to be applied to your content on this one. Please don’t be afraid to include other master craftspersons in your content. Glad your safe down there I have family in Tx and it’s been a rough week, keep up the good work and feel free to reach out with questions. We all learn from each other
With much respect, Clayton Sprague says, “But you should point out that electrical work is extremely varied by locale and that folks should inform themselves through trusted local experts.,” FYI, the State of Texas requires all new installs to be code compliant to the adopted current code(2020) within state boundaries not counties(I have to emphasize). But, alot of Texas counties don’t inspect to the Texas State current code !? It is still the responsibility of the electrician to install to the Texas State current code.
since your overkilling the electrical, the one thing that everyone seems to be missing the boat on, is your grounding for the electrical.. since there are circuit boards in almost everything these days, people DO NOT pay enough attention to their OHMS resistance on their grounding.. if your smart, you will have 5 ohms or less, even tho the code says 25 ohms. if your electrician just pounds a couple rods in the ground and says good enough that's code, then he is not paying attention to real world problems... and if you do get a great reading of 5 ohms or less then you need to protect that connection. if your smart you will look into a Strong Cap. and did you know with the new electrical codes for 2021 where everything needs to be ground faulted, you need a good ground for a ground fault to work, and by the way they are seeing mini splits not working correctly with the ground faults..
Thank you for bringing that up! I freaking _KNEW_ there was something bothering me about his wiring installation! Company I used to work for recently spent a _TON_ of money grounding literally everything inside and outside (TV broadcaster). IIRC the spec we went with (on the sat dishes) was 0.5 ohm between the feedhorn and the ground rod (NOT the wire to the rod, but the rod itself)
Even a 120V circuit can over load a 5 ohm ground. 120V/5ohm = 24amp. Issue is earth ground is no better than 6 ohms, but can be much higher in dry climates or soil types (ie sandy soil). In the US, GND & neutral are tied together at the panel, so if there is a ground fault it will trip the breaker.
I have a HALO system in my home. The bad thing about these switches is that once they stop working, you can't turn on/off your lights. Once that circuit board fries, you lose control of your lights. This has happened twice now in the past year, and not very fun. At 30-50 bucks a pop depending on the switch, not worth the headache. As the switches break, I have been replacing them with standard toggle switches.
Yeah I was already checking on a heated towel rack for my bathroom. I'm thinking of connecting the hot water side to the towel rack before it goes to the shower. That way when the shower is in use, it will heat up the towel rack. Just my thoughts I'm thinking about for my place.
Never got why some electricians use 12awg for lighting. Everything is LED. You can have 160 can lights on a circuit on a 15a breaker technically. And if you have 110 or 220 to your outlet you have something completely wrong! It is 120/240v. #triggered now 😅
You almost got me. I was going to call you out for your advice when I saw "220". LOL! Totally agree...as soon as somebody says that, that's how you know to ask somebody else about electricity.
Regarding CANLESS recessed lights in a ceiling with a batt insulated attic above it. How do you air seal those types of lights? I know, they come with a gasket BUT I know (from experience) that gasket is most likely not enough to stop air flow from going from below to the attic above. Air pressure and the stack effect probably will push air around that gasket. What's the best way with these CANLESS recessed lights? Thanks.
Who else flinched every time he laid his hand across the main lugs 😂
I was losing it lol im so paranoid of that kind of stuff even when I know its off
Or when the apprentice/helper cuts all the conductors in one bit with linesman’s or side cutters.
It's the one time you can do it :)
made me cringe
Keep your finger off the trigger even if you "know" it's unloaded...
use #14 for lighting circuits. Your electrician will thank you.
Totally agree. Especially with LED's.
@@dmolldude also easier to make up to small fixture wires and multi gang switch boxs are a breeze.
IF that's the only thing on the circuit. Honestly, I would do 12ga everywhere too, then give the electrician a $100 gift card to the restaurant of his choice.
I just re-wired my own house and even being in the industry did all 14/2's for lighting. Made no fuckin sense to use 12's everywhere. Even at cost, that shit adds up... I did use 12's on most receptacles however though. That actually made sense for the added cost.
@@Floridaman8783 my Local county Natrona, in Wyoming 12/2 is code. Only trailers (single and doublewide etc.) and smoke alarm circuits I believe can be 14/3, but rarely does electrician bother to carry any 14... With LED lighting they really could change the code and allow 14/2 circuits for just lighting.. I am a broadcast engineer and DIY handyman, not electrician...
I understand people's hesitation with hub required home automation but many of those standards are purpose built for low bandwidth distributed devices. I ended up going almost entirely z-wave mesh network with a hubitat hub for my own home and I'm glad I did. There are tons of z-wave devices by different brands offering different feature sets if you every find yourself wanting something specific and the frequency range it uses doesn't conflict with wifi.
This comment should get more upvotes. A hub makes things easier because you can combine other devices together. Otherwise you'll probably end up with 4 or 5 different apps on your smartphone to control different devices from different brands. With a hub, you can have your brand x motion sensor turn on your brand y lights. And the switches are more affordable because you are not beholden to a specific brand.
Hubitat also integrates well with Lutron Caseta. Just get the Caseta Pro controller to allow for integration.
@@raymondt817 Totally agree Ray. z-wave is the way to go if you don't want to be opening 5-8 different apps to control everything. I've got everything tied to a qolsys IQ 2 plus panel. And tied to alarm.com for cellular connectivity. It's awesome to have EVERYTHING in a single app, from my garage doors, door locks, lights, Hvac, sprinkler system, motorized blinds, cameras, water sensors, etc etc. I love all of Matt's Build stuff, but this is not what I would consider a "smart" home lights at all.
Yep, totally agree! Will be interesting to see if he has any issues with the Bluetooth.
You can also use something like home assistant (or other ‘open source’ home automation software) to manage all the automations in one place. You then are not stuck to only z-wave or zigbee or whatever devices. I even have both z-wave and Philips hue devices that run on the same actions.
More important though is your sentiment that you should use hub-based tech.
Bluetooth is fickle. As a software dev, I will not rely on Bluetooth lights/whatever as they will have more problems in the long run. Not to mention that these other protocols (like z-wave) are designed for exactly these purposes.
If you got the money I’ll wire it anyway you want
As a CS PhD Student (taking break due to ... the world in 2020) I shivered when he said mesh network over bluetooth... That equipment will all need replaced in under 15 years. No If And or Buts about it... Someone will find a vulnerability that can't be fixed remotely and that's the end of that story.
15 years. Your a bit optimistic, I believe the app would not be supported on any new smartphone in about 2 years.
You see him touching the lugs and I see a job opening.
Matt, have loved your channel for years but it’s becoming more and more like an infomercial. It’s great your getting free stuff for you home but is it worth your integrity.
Thanks for the video Matt. I am a DIY, remodeling my entire home and since i'm saving $ on contractor labor I have a bigger budget for materials so I started installing 12 gauge wire for everything but that was a mistake. From my experience, it's nice having 12-2 because I can extend circuits to multiple receptacles without worrying about amp capacity but the downside is with installing the lighting (especially halo recessed lights). It is much easier wiring lighting fixtures with 14 gauge than it is with 12 gauge and NEC doesn't allow for downsizing if you start with 12 gauge and switch to 14 gauge in a branch. Anyways, i've learned a lot from your videos so thank you.
The Halo line is only 5% dimming. He is going to really regret that. People don’t understand how important 1% dimming really is. I personally feel that Lutron has significantly better lighting control systems. Also, If you’re going to go to the extent of having smart lighting, and home control, you really should have an IALD certified lighting designer do your lighting plan and fixture specifications. Unlike interior designers, an IALD lighting designer DOES NOT make money of off fixtures or get kickbacks from manufacturers. A good lighting designer will help you avoid a lot of lighting pitfalls, and also keep you in budget. I can’t even begin to tell you how many bad lighting layouts I’ve seen done by architects… Lighting has become a true specialty, and it’s well worth the investment to make sure you’ve got the right person looking after it. I am not a lighting designer, but I would never build my custom home without having one on board from day one of design. Worth every penny.
Bluetooth is also an awful option for large amounts of lighting as well.
He should have gone with Zigbee, or Zwave devices. Those are also not vendor specific protocols and can be controlled without proprietary apps. That app he has might not be supported in a few years and he is also stuck in the ecosystem of those lights. With Zigbee/Zwave lights you can mix and match manufactures to work together.
They also form a mesh network to keep devices from dropping off which I guarantee he will be having issues with bluetooth.
Just speaking from firsthand experience. I imagine those were sponsored products anyways.
@@Cstegg "Bluetooth" as used in modern lighting products is actually the "LE" version which supports mesh networking. ZigBee often uses the same 2.4GHz as BT, with the same penetration problems. Zwave is a closed proprietary protocol. BT LE is actually a very reasonable choice and improves every year with better vendor adoption. I worked on the original ZigBee specification and even I say it's not significantly better than BT LE in the generic smart home use case. The 2 protocols can be remarkably similar when configured so.
You will appreciate this Matt. My first home I built back in 1978 I used all 12-2 WG and a 400 Amp commercial panel that was about 4 foot high. The home was all electric. The second home I built back in 2001 once again had 400 Amp with two 200 Amp panels and CAT5 all prewired with AV panel. Keep up the good work.
Seems like a massive waste. The cat5/6 I agree on.
400A panel in a residential setting is nonsense, big waste, the pole transformer or pad outside is usually only about 23kVA, feeding a few homes....do you have every outlet on it's own breaker?
You could go through the expense of having all 20A circuits, or you could tell your electricians to put the lighting and receptacles on separate circuits. Have lighting on 15A and receptacles on 20A. Just my opinion but you’re the boss😂
But then he can't brag everything is on 12 gauge!
you can but the extra labor and planning might not be worth simply keeping it all 20
@@frankyb702 It's actually more labor to work with 12ga, as numerous electricians have pointed out. Since lighting and outlet circuits should be separate, regardless of wire gauge, it's not hard to use 2 different flavors. You still have to put other things on wire bigger than 12ga, so it's not like the whole house is done that way anyway. And if you use 14 for the lights it is easier to identify in the future - white romex = lights, yellow romex = outlets. Kind of like using the blue and red pex...few people just use white for both.
Even if wire is free it doesn't make any sense to use 12 for lights...also, even if you have 12ga for your lights, it's better to put lighting circuits on a 15A breaker too - again, easier to identify.
I totally agree with outlet circuits, 12ga/20A for sure, although still very unlikely to ever use that capacity. (Especially for an energy nazi like Matt)
More importantly if you hire an electrician tell him to do it right, don't tell him what kind of wire to use. That's his job, why did you hire an electrician? I can just imagine the face palm when the clueless customer starts dictating wire size...
With the introduction of many low voltage LED lighting fixtures, it makes so much more sense to separate the lighting and receptacle circuits. Making it even easier for automated control later especially if you make your lighting runs to a separate box and your breaker feeds to that box. Join them with wire nuts for now and later you could insert full automation control when you are ready. This and not having to rely on unreliable wireless control of your lights.
Why are the 220 circuits outside?
Buy extras for all of those led fixtures. Some will fail and very likely will no longer be available when this happens.
Buy Halo and you won't have that problem.
The best way is : stay simple because things do change.
Halo connectors will connect to the new models.
Wafer lights are a pretty poor choice for a new home. Having the bulb recessed in the can allows for much better light distribution. Wafer or surface lights are for closets at best. Spending a bit more on your cans either from WAC, USAI or another higher end manufacturer really makes a difference. Also, if the house is custom, I would find it in the budget to hire a lighting designer. I am willing to bed most if not all the lights are placed poorly. 4 cans and a fan, downlights over carpet, bathroom sconces over a mirror etc.
Best outro on RUclips.
Thanks! Fell into that a few years back and it’s stuck
Towel warmer, heated floors, how much more can the Texas grid take? 😂
This is why it’s down...
Don’t forget about the steam shower with audio speakers!
How much heat does a Texas house need? With how tight this thing is, he could probably heat the whole second floor with the towel warmer...
Those towel warmers are becoming popular, we've installed them in several bathroom remodels lately.
As an electrician some of this is overkill and some makes sense. For one 12/2 throughout the house is a waste, but the middle ground that has logic is doing the receptacles in 12. In a brand new home no one should need to plug in portable heaters or window AC units, which are 2 of the biggest culprits I find people overload their circuits with. Older home's didn't require a 20A bath circuit either. I've seen hair dryers with a wattage label of 1875W, which is more than a whole 15A circuit. Again that's an old home problem in an area already addressed by code.
A vacuum can draw around 12 amps but it is usually a temporary load. Excluding kitchen/dining/bath areas that already require 20A circuits, most people will never utilize a fraction of any of those 20A circuits. One cost saving route would be to put more receptacles on a circuit. With most lighting going the LED route that's even less load in the system.
Having breakers on the exterior of the house I just hate the idea of it. Main outside if you must; 2020 code when adopted will mandated an exterior shutoff. The whole copper/AL issue has long been settled. Those AL wires will not loosen on those lugs if installed properly, neither will the copper. If the customer wants copper and they got the cash I'm happy to install it, but overall I feel the extra money spent on copper feeders and 12/2 on lighting could have been put to better use elsewhere.
It would have helped in my garage where I run a tool and a shop vac and trip the breaker. Of course, not putting all the outlets on a single breaker would have been nice, but you know those electricians. 😂🤣😂
actually aluminum has a different compression than copper - virturally all aluminum wire will have to be re-torqued after a year. and it's better to have the extra capacity since it's alway about accomodating potential.
Yeah, the biggest issue I had with his recommendation for 12/2 everywhere was the complete disregard for the extra labor involved. Bigger wire = harder to work with.
@@akyak333 that's wrong
My mig welder always pops my bathroom circuit... 🤷😂
Noice light option video. Matt, I appreciate the through dive on everything you do. With the 12 gauge wire idea though, I might suggest 14/2 for lights and 12/2 for all outlets. When figuring the load requirement for the lights, especially with led technology (90% more efficient), it very likely the 14/2 would even be to 25% of it's maximum capacity.
Correct. I just built my own house, used 14-2/14-3 for lighting and 12-2 outlet. All LED lighting. Used a amp clamp on the lighting circuits after and ALL lights on, 3-4amps total! 12-2 on lighting is just unnecessary.
44 year electrician here. Lighting should ALWAYS be done in 14 guage. Better box fill for dimmers, easier make up in ALL types of fixtures/cans. Stop being brainwashed into the thinking that 20a is better than 15amp!!!!!
44 years of being cheap🤣 I'm probably sure your wife agrees with me to
I watched your video with great interest and with 35 years doing electrical work (Electrician) doing mostly commercial as residential service work, I would have to disagree with running everything 20 ga.. All your outlets yes by all means do so but for your lighting circuits there’s no need my reason for this is twofold
One all your lighting now is LED’s which means that if if you install 15 amp breakers, say 2 15 amp breakers per floor as well 2 for exterior lighting so if by chance a breaker should trip you would be left in total darkness in any area and you can alternate circuits for each area lighting.
Second All LED drivers have a built in thermo, as well as built in disconnect that automatically shuts off power to that fixture sometime comes in very handy in troubleshooting (BTW the drivers are the weak link in LEDs) since LEDs are rated in watts you’re looking at 3000 watts of lighting per floor or 2400 watts @ percent for your 2 breaker per floor. Also more room in your switch boxes
If you don’t mind wasting money by all means running 20 amp circuits and 12 ga. Wire. If you disagree with me please tell me why I’m wrong since most folks can’t afford to waste hard earn money on even a custom build.
Edit : 20 ga to amps or change to 12 ga
I think the biggest thing that scares me the most is that the setup requires an app. Say halo for whatever reason goes under, chances are their app will cease to function. I’ve seen very similar technology in theatrical lighting controls that have a central processor to make edits and changes. If you’re going for longevity, you might want to look at long term software support solutions.
Long term, hackers can find vulnerabilities, and operating systems can change, forcing you to upgrade. There is a lot of technology that is beyond the control of the people building it. There is a lot of programming that is beyond the ability of the computer programer to control. Today, in new construction it still makes sense to wire everything the old fashioned way so that the technology could be removed and replaced with old fashioned simple switches.There are places where is makes cost effective sense to use this technology. (such as remodels where running a new light or wire might be more expensive), but he is potentially asking for problems long term.
I agree.Sticking to open standard devices like zwave and zig bee are the safest choice from changes in vendor support. You can always switch to another controller from a different manufacturer.
Don't need vendor support when using an app like Google Home. Another option!
@@willthethrill360 If they have all the features you want and you’re not worried about Google cloud then it’s a good solution.
@@willthethrill360 you do, the vendor is Google.
Nice house. Another point I’d like to mention to you, make sure you install a panel with copper bus not aluminum. And when installing it you should keep all the largest loads closest to the lugs with incoming power. I’d like to send you some pics of a 2 year old 200 amp panel I had to replace that had aluminum bus and an 80amp EV charger circuit installed at the bottom of the panel furthest from the lugs... as for your house He did a nice job. I always use 14/2 for lighting just for ease of terminations. I’d just run another circuit if I felt the circuit was going to be too loaded. Always 12/2 for general receptacles.
Matt, I thought I saw a generator being planned for. I didn’t see/hear any thing about a transfer switch or discussion about which circuits will be powered when the generator kicks in. Did I miss something? Maybe there is a new show planed to cover the generator.
At least some conduit / stub outs to where such equipment may go. Includes for Solar, Garage-EV charging, and possible back-up. And yeah, splitting critical loads to THEIR OWN sub-panel, now (while everything is open) would be pretty smart.
Matt really doesn't know much about electrical or generators. He's fully stuck his foot in his mouth more than once. He had to take a different generator video down because he was explaining how to make/use an illegal and totally unsafe suicide cord plugged into a dryer outlet...
He is not an electrician. He's just not qualified to talk about what he's talking about...
@@ryanroberts1104 Yeah, good point. Matt -- if you catch this and need some decent electrical / renewable / back-up coverage -- give me a yell. Phil Timmons. Texas Master #44770. philiptimmons@yahoo.com
@@philtimmons722 More true than you know.
Really liked this video Matt👍👍👍
I'm an electrician for over 30 years. 12 Guage wire is unnecessary in most places. It just fills up the boxes with wire, harder to work with. Houses are more efficient now with led lights
Totally agreed...he's going on and on and on about how much energy he's saving...and then going on and on and on about how he needs bigger wires for more energy. Typical Risinger....
I’m an electrician too. Working with 12 gauge is nasty. Don’t need it only for T receptacles for kitchen counter maybe, or n a case where you’re risking voltage drop ...
@@ryanroberts1104 Come on. Nobody is perfect. Matt is doing a great job compared to a lot of others out there.
@@ksoman953 LOL! Just read his comments. Most of them by far are basically calling him stupid. It's not just me. Happens on almost every video he posts. He's delusional. He gives a lot of bad advice while pretending to be an expert he isn't. In this example, he gave a lot of bad electrical advice, because he isn't an electrician. If you're not an electrician you shouldn't be telling the electrician what kind of wire to use...
Electrician here : few people can afford an electrical system as shown.
Wiring lighting with 14 gauge wire is just a little easier. Also allows you to get more wires into switch boxes. 12 gauge is just not need with today's LED light fixtures, it is just more work and extra money.
Yep. You could literally wire every light in the house with a single 15A 14 gauge circuit and it would not be anywhere near capacity. It would be annoying to have every light on one breaker but they should be separated from the outlets.
We use the bathroom circuits to pick up a few more lights. It's a non arc fault circuit and easily you can add about another 8 lights off it. We still stick to the 12 "items" per circuit rule even though the led wafer lights we use a lot are such low draw. All on 14 gauge.
@@Dweenz69 Bathroom appliance circuits (IE hair dryers, curling irons etc...) are supposed to be dedicated circuits and its lighting and wall switches must be on another circuit circuit.
It's over engineering
Someday we got a problem Flashing the toilet because Internet go down
Aluminum per UL AND NEC does not have oxide interference as it ages and DeOx is not required per NEC code. Lugs need to be retourqed because copper DOES expand just like aluminum but not at the same rate. Those lugs are also made from aluminum so specifying copper over aluminum is mute.
*moot
I don't know of a single panel maker that specs re torquing of lugs with aluminum wire. Intact most specifically say not to do so. There are so many aluminum wiring myths out there..
@@johnrotramel5204 just because they don’t doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. If they didn’t need to be retorqued we wouldn’t have people do thermal imaging on equipment and PM equipment. I know a lot of times medium voltage equipment is PMed and torque checks and retorques are performed. The terminals don’t always require tightening but some do and a loose terminal will only become looser per heat cycle.
@@RaddestDad
That's interesting, I have a few questions if you don't mind answering. I've heard so many conflicting stories about aluminum wire and I'm trying to gather more information.
Do you think that the lugs were properly torqued when installed?
Are you talking about panels that have loads close to the maximum allowed for that panel and feeder wire?
Do you think that its the modern aluminum wire alloy (AA-8000)?
Do you believe in using noalox, and if so why?
@@johnrotramel5204, if there's a problem, it's electricians not using a calibrated torque screwdriver or torque wrench when tightening lugs. On government jobs, that won't fly.
As a professional you should know it's 240/120 volts.
honestly its just slang at this point
You also have to consider wire space in the boxes you are using since this 12-2 takes more space
Why put a panel outside where its subject to weather, humidity, and malicious persons / hackers when you have a conditioned garage?
He's putting "smart" things in which work over a commonly-exploitable technology. "Hacking" isn't something he is worried about; he should be, but he's not.
Because US electrical code is about 10yrs behind in Code and safety regulations as Canada. Us electricians in Canada laugh when we see 12AWG on all circuits, total overkill and waste of money because you will never draw that amount of power if you follow Code! In Canada it's ILLEGAL to have the panel outside-ever heard of copper thieves! Just LMAO at this stupidity, was expecting more from this guy- highly dissapointed!!!
Because Texas 🤷♂️
Code in Austin Tx and will be code soon to have outside main disconnect. Also
- Tech Enthusiasts: Everything in my house is wired to the Internet of Things! I control it all from my smartphone! My smart-house is bluetooth enabled and I can give it voice commands via alexa! I love the future!
-
Programmers / Engineers: The most recent piece of technology I own is a printer from 2004 and I keep a loaded gun ready to shoot it if it ever makes an unexpected noise.
The more you know the less you want.
Can confirm.
However, I do have a variety of "connected" devices, but they're either zigbee, zwave, or wifi with custom firmware. No internet interaction here.
Voice control is for people who can't push a button.
@@FishFind3000 Spend some time in a cyber offense group. I scare people on the regular. None of those connected devices have 1 a way to update 2 the compute power for security
Best comment ever
@@steven7650 newer zwave is updatable over the air. Some controllers like Hubitat can be set for no internet connectivity. I think a more significant risk is the cheap routers people use that have limited security configuability.
11:00 If you mount the fixture on joist, and drywall covers the access hole, you can no longer access the J-Box. NEC does not encourage creative thinking. ;)
Yup, it becomes a hidden/inaccessible junction box
GREAT - nice analysis of products and materials, as logistics to a build; for me it highlights the difference of UK/US builds, that exposes developments in building, as markets change.....interesting Matt Risinger, more please - thank-you.
Haven’t you learned anything? Why are you putting your utilities on the outside of your house?
Yeah, I don't get that either. It's bad enough I have to go out in the garage to access the breakers. I can't imagine having to go outside to flip a breaker... It couldn't have been that hard to run the mains through the wall and put the breaker panel inside the house. Even better for Matt, ONE hole through the air barrier with a big wire that's way easier to seal up than 20 small holes.
May be a requirement in Texas? or maybe you only need a shutoff outside, I'm not sure on that. It does seem common in Texas, CA, AZ though.
Matt's really not the "learning" type.
Required in Austin tx
@@CRsolar Not required for anything plumbing related. And only requires a single disconnect, not an entire panel.
@Matt, have you considered the security aspects of your electrical and smart home setup? For example, your 220 box for mechanicals is outside and easily accessible to potential bad actors. Also, bluetooth is just about the least secure means of wireless communication, it's super easy to exploit. I.e., someone sitting outside you house could shut off all your electrical and/or change your lighting programming.
On a tangentially related note, have you considered physical security in the design of your house? I think a video on that would be useful for many of your viewers, who might know to air seal the slab to framing but not know the difference between a truly high security lock system and a Kwikset from their local big box store.
2020 NEC requires an emergency disconnect outside. At the very least his main breaker would still have to be outside per current code.
@@InterstateLoveSong that's a good point I wasn't aware of, thank you for bringing it up. I thoroughly dislike that addition to code for security reasons, although I understand where it's coming from.
That being said, code is what it is. So, my first thought is that I'd double down on the physical security of the panel box itself: I'd probably have a custom one fabricated or at least have the door of an off the shelf panel box modified to take a legit lock. Then I'd use a high security smart lock to secure the door, so if I was expecting maintenance I could authorize temporary access. The security vulnerability is just too significant not to try and mitigate somehow
And 2020 code is only enforced where it is adopted .... no hate, just do your homework for your locality before making decisions.
@@claytonsprague7316 I thought about mentioning this, but knowing what I do about Matt he's probably building to exceed all the codes. Me, personally, I want to build my own house somewhere that doesn't have any local building codes so I can do exactly what I want without Big Brother meddling 😅
@@bf2wesley come to rural Maine. We have no inspections here. Its my responsibility to do things correctly. Of course a licenced worker has to follow code, but still no inspections.
Pro tips:
- Holy heck, DON'T EVER touch the main lugs in a panel. You'll never know if they're live if you're dead.
- If your electrician is buying wire by the 250' bundle, find a different electrician.
- If you have an issue with "popping" breakers, find a different electrician.
- The Halo wafers you used are advertised as 12 watts. You could run 100 of them on a single 14 gauge, 15A circuit. You overspent by a factor of about 2 on your lighting cabling.
- Halo wafers on Insteon flicker excessively.
Yes, yes, yes and Yes!
100% What a waste of precious copper for lighting circuits.
Agree.. No need on a lighting circuit. Even with fans
you want the electrician to buy his circuit wiring on 1000' spools, you get to carry them around. and if you want to micromanage your electrician, be ready to find another electrician.
@@kenbrown2808 Well they either do it to his standards or find another advertising buddy. Sparks have to start learning to play nice as they're going to be replaced more and more with PoE, sick of dealing with the my way or highway attitude.
Thinking of building an igloo in Texas, what is the R value of snow?
R-1 per inch.
NavyMace love it 👋
It’s actually not that bad of an r value
🤠🤠
I have a snow saw. You can barrow it
I've watched your channel for years and one thing I've really appreciated is your knowledge of sealing and insulating. As an electrician, having installed those Arlington in-boxes I had to wonder why anyone would want a great big hole like that in their exterior wall cavity, because you just know the insulation is gone, being taken up instead by this giant hollow plastic box. It's a huge energy leak. Thanks for showing your solution!
Missed this during the storm and recovery.
Anyone else think the "all off" next to an exit is a security nightmare, if not a personal annoyance? Kid runs out and shuts off all the lights on accident.
Also it's nice to have smart lights, and Bluetooth can be more efficient than wifi. But can we get and idea that you've planned for a full home network?or have I missed it?It's one of the few things installed in a modern house that is directly responsible for income and it always feels tacked on instead of an integral component of a modern home design. Space consideration with venting for something like a 12 u server rack for space for a home storage server than can be used for local security video storage as well and general network attached storage for home media. Wireless ap deployment to ensure wifi coverage to compensate for your construction in key areas. Hard-line network connections in key areas: offices, bedrooms, TV spaces, even the kitchen as well as for ceiling mounted APs with power over ethernet. I've lived in a number of different houses, but the one that was most enjoyable had redundant ethernet drops in each room. With adequate wire installations the concerns for your wifi connectivity is diminished.
I'm sure Ubiquity would love to donate a few samples for a RUclips spot.
Don't use wifi lights. Use Lutron.
If you're an audiophile/home theatre nerd, multiple dedicated 20A circuits, preferably in BX shielded.
Yep!
What is the need for shielding? I'm doing some work on a home theater
12g wire for led's is way over kill. Run 14/2 on a 15 amp breaker for each rooms lights. Every room should have 2 breakers. 15 amp for the led's and a 20 amp for the sockets. The master bath would have a separate breaker from the master bedrooms sockets.
yeah, if you're putting the lights on a separate circuit, then there is no need for 20AWG on those. it wasn't clear whether that was happening there. I don't know the code or typical practice in his area
Yes! Perfection!
Its a cost saving. No point in buy to different wire sizes for about $8
oll difference. Then I don't have to work about the electrician running out of one size wire and having too much of the other size. Electricians cost around $60\hr. Don't want to waste money having him to pick up more wire, or waiting on me to come back with more wire. Keep is simple.
You don’t share ANY circuits between rooms, eg lighting?
As an electrician this outta be interesting.
Agreed.
Turns out, disappointing.
Was it?
@@chriswithrow3107
Not really disappointing but 20amp for everything is nonsense. Here up north it'd charge him extra just for labor because it's PITA to work with in cold when you can do the same quality job with 14/2
As an electrician, I'd do a couple 15 amp citcuits for lighting. One for each floor. Then all 20 amp circuits for receptacles. I would also pigtail the wires and land them under the screws like they should be, not use the crappy stab-in connections.
Wire all your ceiling lights with 14 gauge wire and to a breaker that only feeds other ceiling lights. 14 gauge is much easier to work with, cheaper and LED lights draw so little current that you will never overload a 15 amp breaker. 14 gauge for lights and 12 gauge for all your outlets and don't forget all switch boxes now require a neutral wire.
Matt, I re-did my downstairs area for my mom when she couldn't live alone any more. One thing I did was wrap the bathroom in 3/4" plywood. This let me wait until she gradually needed more help, then add grab bars and other heavy items anyplace I wanted.
Now that's a great idea !
cool idea. I might steal that one.
I do the same thing on all my bathrooms and kitchens. Grab bars are easy and cabinets are easy.
Bless you for planning ahead to take care of your mother!
We do this in every commercial project I do
Love Matt but everything and I mean everything draws less power in these modern times. Only place I would use 20 amp circuits other than those that are required by the NEC would be an over the top home theater where someone is running some serious wattage in subs and equipment. And yes, copper sucks, but you can also use compact aluminum conductors that are equal to copper. Never buy panels with aluminum bus... not even for residential.
I do 15amp on lighting and 20amp on any plug circuits.
As a electrician 20 amp for all circuits is overkill 15 amps is more than plenty for circuits in a home it takes a lot more than you think to pull 15 amps in a home.
How about a space heater and PC gaming with a 1600w power supply with PFC? on the same circuit? Or a 15 AMP Window AC unit and some other device that draws a few amps?
@@guytech7310 there is special situations and applications where a larger circuit will be needed to be ran but for general use 15 amp is more than plenty
I work in Information technology and I made my house a dumb as possible. The last thing I want to do is fix another bluetooth device after work. I've also switched to all led light bulbs as I got tried of the entire light failing.
I totally agree. If the LED isn't replaceable with industry standard parts that will be available in 10 years, it's crap. It *WILL* burn out.
Thin fixtures = death by heat
Also, thinking of blujacking and blusnarfing thru these IoT devices...somewhere along the way, they get thru to the internet.
Everything is wired with normal wire it's a very important thing. Over in England they're finding out that calling the electrician in to change a lightbulb is not very efficient. when the manufacture specifies that it lasts so long and it doesn't. Most of the channels I watch are going back to the traditional replaceable bulb units is then the customer has the option of changing it themselves when the Bulb goes.
I'm sorry but building your house around Bluetooth and app controlled devices is absolutely not a long term solution. You talk about wire lasting 100 years; you'll be lucky if you get 5-10 years out of those devices.
Matt, I know you mentioned the Big L when it came to smart lighting as being expensive. You are correct when it comes to their Radio RA and HomeQS but their Caseta system is a game-changer.
Advantages: No need for special wiring. Caseta switches are a direct replacement for traditional switches. They work with ALL traditional light fixtures so there's no need to be locked into one brand of lighting. They make 3 and 4 way switching a thing of the past; 3 pole switches are replaced by a single-pole smart switch and Pico remotes are used anywhere you want secondary switches. The remotes look like switches and can be mount on the walls as such or sit on a table in a pedestal. The system is just as programable as any other out there, but it steals from its bigger brothers, so you get more functionality for less money. Note I am in no way affiliated with L. I just did a lot of research before I did my house and Caseta was by far the best solution. That said my daughter is a designer for a local company and they use RA and QS.
Next comment: If you are truly going to build a smart home, do not forget about your computer network. Almost all smart devices like TVs can be hardwire connected. RUN CAT6(a) to every room. DO NOT depend on WiFi especially when it comes to streaming media. Cable is cheap when the walls are open. As an IT professional, I tell all my clients that there is no reason why a (smart) home shouldn’t benefit from a business-class network. And with so many professionals working from home post-COVID, now more than ever is the time to start building even modest homes with wired networks. WiFi will never replace the quality of a good, wired network.
Lastly, my cardinal rule of building a Smart Home is for it to be smart enough to allow people to interact with it in the traditional way.
Love your videos. Would love to talk more about home-based networking and smart home technology.
Maybe in the your next 100 year home you can wire up all the lights with low voltage cat6 instead of 14 guage... Would have been interesting to see those products and you talk to a lighting designer.
Aren't there still a lot of caveats and losses with that? Limited lights per run, less ability to upgrade or change fixtures in drywall, low odds of finding a matching fixture when a driver burns out, high costs at the network switch, heat from the network switch, etc?
@@steveb365 That sounds like it would be a good build show network video discussing the ins and outs of that system.
Well Poe+ is good for 48volts and led doesn’t need that much so you could definitely do it.
@@FishFind3000, you're running 48 volts to get 25 watts, so, conceptually, you could power two of these Halo fixtures on one run. That's several home runs per room. Each home run needs a termination for it's 8 tiny wires on each end and they need to be perfect every time all the time. It's a good system for the right application, I just question whether general home illumination is that right application.
@@steveb365 efficiency is constantly going up. I believe he is saying lights in the future will be efficient as to run of a single watt or even less, thus code will change and wire size will dip for, only, lighting circuits
Matt sent me thanks Matt
😳 there's no reason to wire bedrooms and lights with 12s, especially with modern LED/low power devices. The example you gave makes no sense because hairdryer is used in the bathroom where obviously 12 makes sense and is per code.
Enter gaming PC and a space heater (or the current thing is 2 pcs or a pc & gaming console for streaming). In an apartment I rented during college, I couldn't have a space heater on the same 15A circuit as the laser printer or it would trip. - you never know if someone might use a bedroom as an office in the future/etc. easier to just run all the receptacles with 12s; lights should be on a separate circuit anyways and can be 14s.
@@jbrandt7
This is a new construction extremely efficient passive+ house though. He'll never even run the heat and very minimal central AC. Heck, that gaming PC will probably heat the entire house.
Yes, lights should be separate but he even ran 20amps to LEDs lol (each is like 8W). This is just so wrong. It's absolutely pointless and silly
maybe Matt's family is planning for many weddings, that's when the hairdryers come out all at once...
@@jbrandt7 Space heater in a modern home?????
@@robertgregory2618 Some people are never warm enough - esp. if you keep your thermostat at 68 and others want to be above 70.
Why do you have that external panel? Speaking from what I've seen in Iowa, I've never seen outside panel boxes, like that. I've always only seen the electrical panel on the interior of the home, hence my asking.
Common in the West. Here in Southern California, it would be quite unusual to not find a panel on the outside of the house.
Yeah I found that odd too. I wouldn’t want my breakers outside where anyone can walk up and turn them off
@@LRaines makes it easier to hook up things that will end up outside such as AC, hot tub, generator disconnect. From there is relatively easy to feed sub panel inside for interior services.
@@LRaines more work for the electrician in 5-10 years.
Exterior service disconnect is now code. NEC 230.85 Emergency Disconnects. Exterior panel also handy for landscape lighting, etc.
You should consider reaching out to tech experts about smart home options.... Bluetooth is a terrible choice because it will cause interference with wifi. Z-wave would be a much better choice and having a hub is a very reliable way to have these devices communicate. If you wouldn't want 10 extra devices on your wifi, then you don't want 10 extra bluetooth devices hanging around. They interfere with each other!
I live by the theory of, over-wire and under-breaker. Run 12-2 with a 15 amp breaker and so on, never worry about having a wire burn inside your wall. The breaker snaps well before. JMO.
Completely overkill. 20 amps for #12 is already derated.
I agree with August
Extreme over kill. Especially with known loads that will never change.
@@nickstopherd7762, You are 100% correct but, I'm a little overkill myself. !
It always baffles me why anyone would place the main panel on the outside of the house in the weather and where anyone can access it.
It's a Texas thing to do this ranch/farmer setup on residential dwellings. goes with the sliding barn doors, and the barndominions,...
They aussies also use outdoor panels.
Exactly! If you trip a breaker in a storm, you are standing in the rain, in a puddle, resetting a breaker.
@@guytech7310 meter box out circuit breakers in .
All the homes in my CA neighborhood have external breakers/mains. I found it strange as well.
Matt, next house 10/2 for led recessed lights :) and make it MC just in case))
Slacker. Im going to run rigid pipe to all mine and run #10 thwn.
Screw that. Let's just use that "number two gauge copper"...I need more power for my super efficient house! It's only a hundred bucks here, a hundred bucks there...who's counting? Subpanel in every room!
@@ryanroberts1104 lets add redundant afci/gfi everywhere! lol
Dang I can't get many 12's in a box.
When it comes to fluorescent and LED interior lighting, CRI is very important.
CRI with 95 plus is key.
Outstanding presentation. Also, 20 amp circuits everywhere is a good design.
not so.
“Now that a fat daddy right there”
- Matt 2021
Answered my question 25 seconds from the end: low voltage is "weird". Make it normal. We're not using incandescent lights or CRT TVs anymore. High voltage is dangerous, difficult to install, and highly regulated.
Give it about 5 more years to start seeing that change. the standards for it are currently being written for the change.
I doubt that POE maxes out at about 120W. Cannot run most devices on only 120W.
48VDC is also not any less safe. About 15 years ago the big craze in Datacenters was rolling out 48VDC racks, only to end up with electrical fires.
low voltage lighting runs higher amperage, so you're using a lot of extra copper both to keep from overheating your wiring and to try to eliminate voltage drop.
@@kenbrown2808 If you increase the size of the load. But in reality, we've reduced load by 90%, so we could either reduce voltage or amperage by 90%, or a combination of the two.
@@BetaEngineer pop quiz: what's the difference between the maximum resistance in a circuit at 12V vs. a circuit at 120V to have the circuit operating with less than 3% voltage drop? keep in mind #14 copper has about a quarter of an ohm of resistance per 100 feet, whether you're running it at 12V or at 120V.I'll give you a hint: a 10A load at 12V on 100' of conductor has 44.6% voltage drop. a 10A load on the same conductor at 120V has 4.47% voltage drop.
Pro tip: No touching the inside of the panel. Especially the lugs.
What about licking?
Noob tip
Not powered up morans
@@johnkulpowich5260 forgive these idiot's, they just too dang sensitive
Those lugs should be treated like a firearm, a firearm is always loaded even when it isn't, and you double checked. It's still considered loaded.
This is the same as playing with an "unloaded" gun.
I can see doing all receptacle circuits in 20 amp but wiring lighting circuits in 20 amp is a waste of money everything is LED nowadays. Also Halo and most recessed lights don’t give you the room to make up multiple 12 awg wires in the boxes.
Yep, the flimsy tabs break when you try and stuff a #12 solid in it.
NOOOOOOO NOT BLUETOOTH! Zigbee style systems should be the ONLY system to look at! Get ready for MASSIVELY inconsistent connectivity, lights that refuse to be controlled, and just, endless frustration. ANYTHING but WiFi of Bluetooth.
Wrong , lutron is the best
I've been using the Lutron Caseta, very happy with this. This is with a house built in 1963 though, so retro fitting not building new.
Aluminum wire does not need noalox, it's not required by any major panel maker or any large manufacturer of wire such as Southwire. It does however need to be properly torqued to the panel manufacturers spec. The alloy of aluminum in use today is very different from the one that was first used in homes that had issues. There's nothing wrong with using modern aluminum wire to feed main panels or sub panels when installed to manufacturer specs. I used it to feed the main panel in my house. I wish people would stop propagating these myths about aluminum wire.
That being said, specifically using Cu wire with Al Lugs in the panel to avoid oxidation makes no sense. I'd think you'll get a little less oxidation if you have Al on AL, rather than mixing the metals, but I'm no materials scientist.
The issue is using Alum. wiring with Copper lugs or with wirenuts or press-on connectors that typically use copper. Copper & alum in contact causes corrosion, so they need to be protected from oxidation.
Agreed. We use it commercially often except in special cases where were concerned about corrosion. It's a great product and can save money.
Are those smart home switches rated for 20amp?
Circuit breakers are to protect the wire and not the appliances . But it’s good to check your appliance anyway.
I love installing the new disk recess but I've noticed that they don't dim to much. Unlike cans with the right led recess can dim very low.
Hey the right dimmer and they will dim all the way
The glare is the biggest issue. But the built in driver specifies the dimming range. Generally most won't dim past a certain level to prevent noticable flicker. Outside of that it's just setting dimmer high and low end trims (not all dimmers have that feature) and if it's forward or reverse phase LEDs
I have tried cans recess and disk. I've just found that most of the cans can dim more than the disk no matter the dimmer. Give it a try.
If you have a really low dimmable disk please post it. I want to get them. I like to use them for a theater t room
I hate those flat wafer lights. There's just no depth to the light.
I love them. Easy to install for renovations and you can get quality 6" ones on Amazon for $10 bucks each.
Glare bombs...
Had a laugh with the boxes for extra sound proofing in the master bedroom...
Joking aside two gang boxes on wall with headboard is brilliant!
receptacles with integrated USB charging receptacles are better. - and one above the nightstand is better yet.
To power those personal appliances.
@@BajaPete Make sure you can get the full 20 amps by the bed!
@@kenbrown2808 Most of the integrated USB chargers are crap and tech changes. New phones using high current chargers, etc. I would rather have extra space to plug whatever charger I'm using 5-10 years from now!
@@rumrunner1290 oh, that's okay. the integrated 6A USB port in a Leviton USB receptacle won't obstruct your 2A iphone fast charger.
Ive been waiting! Thanks Matt I always look forward to Tuesday and Friday
"In the bedroom I've got a couple cool things going on." Waiting for the saxophone music to start...
🤣🤣
How you think his kids got there?🧐. 😂😂😂
@@ryanroldan6097 Only 4 times! Jesus might be watching!
Yep!🥰
I'm sorry, a tv and a computer, even 2 of each, in bedrooms are not gonna cause issues on a 15 amp circuit. You have 1800 watts available. As an electrician who has dealt with using 12-2 many times when it was completely unnecessary, I can tell you right now on a new house I would probably charge you at least an additional $1000 based on the amount of time spent to deal with the bigger wire in every single box, where it wasn't needed. $1000 that could go towards better insulating, air sealing, better windows, etc. If there wasn't an additional cost proposed and accepted that electrician lost $ and is regretting it given how tight the new construction market is. Using 12 gauge wire in multi gang switch boxes is a nightmare given the quantity of dimmers that will be installed here. And yet those 20A ckts will likely be loaded to 20% capacity. Total waste unless you believe incandescents are coming back.
I used romex wire with 2 small wires for 0-10v dimming. My electrician didn't like it. I was told that was the best way to dim the lights. I am not so sure it wasn't a waste of money.
Depends on the computer. Gaming computers can use 1800watts.. Also in some cases people might use an electric space heater or a window AC if there is an issue with the heating\cooling system.
So weird to see the main panel outdoors. Almost as weird as all the external water heaters down there. I'll never get used to seeing that stuff.
I remember staring at the first indoor main panel I ever saw. ;D
@@phylismaddox4880 In the Netherlands all homes have indoor panels. But code requires them all to be 3m (~9ft) from the front door. They go to a shallow build-in cabinet/door closet that is standardized for gas, water, electrical and data/telecom, input and meters.
You will see it more and more since the 2020 NEC requires an emergency disconnect outside. So new homes and existing ones getting service upgrades will at least have a small panel with the main and a circuit to the sub panel or the entire panel outside. This was common when I lived in Colorado. Lived in a few houses where the entire panel was out next to the meter.
Chickapowow
The panel outdoors thing is more a code thing than a regional thing.
The water heater thing is weird for sure thoughz
You don't get a call backs about tripped breakers if you size the loads on each circuit correctly. This new construction you should never have an issue with that. No need for 12 gauge. Although I do prefer each rooms outlets to be on their own 20 amp circuit. Separate lighting circuits.
Oof Matt... I know they sponsored it, but Bluetooth for lights/switches? Hard pass. Zigbee/Zwave is the way to go.
And it’s not that Matt can’t have any sponsor he wants. He really needs to do the legwork and find the better products. He’s been going to the quick handouts lately and it’s pushing me away from his content.
Got it all backwards. Code change requires very expensive arc fault breakers. Each contains a microprocessor, a long term maintenance problem.
Why? 20A ckt breakers don't trip on a short in lamp or small appliance cord. I used to use 20A outlet circuit, but unless you are dumb and use electric space heating to same on your oil heat bill 15A circuit are fine. I have a 5000 sq ft house, with very high efficiency LED. Code required 6 circuits, today a single 15A circuit will do. Fine to wire with 12GA, and inspector will complain, but even if you are using GFCI/AFCI breakers use 15A breakers. If they trip because your son has a 5000W audio system, you can swap for a 20A breaker. Tell your son to use ear protection!
Code requires ArcFault in bedrooms regardless if they are 15A or 20A, and the 15A AFCI are just as expensive.
You prefer all 12ga?
@@aayotechnology Yeah, I don't want to have to buy two different cable to save about $8
oll and then have to micromange how much wire I need. If I run out than I wasting time running to the store to pick up more. It was a pain just managing the other wire sizes I needed (30AMP, 50 AMP & 60 AMP circuits).
@@guytech7310 I didn't fully explain. No choice now but to install AFCI. But the "magnetic" trip even when no arc exists requires a lot more current to trip a 20A compared to a 15A. Since you can plug a lamp or any appliance with just an #18 cord into an outlet that wire will COOK even without an arc. The reason for the invention of AFCI was to mitigate this problem, reduces but does not prevent a fire.
Do sparkies hate this guy as much as plumbers?
Does a bear shit in the woods?
Why is that ?
Plenty of Builders in that camp too.
@@buildshow good reply Mr. Risinger, I am sure they have the opposite of hate, they bill for it and am sure it always works in their favour. If they do what you ask, and you are happy I am sure they are happy as well. Clear expectations, directions and QC and everyone is happy.
@@shootmovecommunicate3322 i think cause typically bears live in some kind of wooded area unless it’s polar bears then it’s like Disney on ice 😂 sorry it’s late and I’m being silly
What is the benefit of a separate 110 panel? Wouldn’t one 110/220 inside be better?
-Panel capacity (no expensive tandem split breakers needed)
-Generator panel for 120v circuits
-Ease of resetting breakers from inside the house (including afci/gfci trips)
-Shorter homeruns
-Conditioned space better for longevity on smart breakers and probably the afci $$ too.
-Conditioned panels also trip less on hot summer days and don't freeze in the closed on position mid winter
sure, but this is Texas. we do power our unique 2-stepping & stumbling way ;-)
There really aren't 120V panels. Most subpanels are 240vac that are split phase. 220V circuit is L1-N-L2. Each Lx is 120v when tied to neural ie L1-N = 120V, L2-n = 120V & L1-L2 is 240V
Generally subpanels are useful to reduce wiring costs or if or adding rooms to an existing house & don't have an easy way to run all of cabling back to the main breaker box. Sub-panels are also used for critical loads for a generator\UPS\Solar setup which the power source (GenSet\UPS\Solar-Inverter) cannot handle all of the loads. You put your critical loads into the subpanel (ie frig\freezer\lighting) to segrate from devices like the AC, electric Dryer, electric stove, etc.
If Matt later wanted to put in a 240V breaker into his "120V" panel, he'd be able to do it, the same as any other panel. He just chose to put only 120V circuits in it.
There is a lot to talk about with this whole full 12ga setup, more than I can write in a youtube comment.
I'll just affirm what some others have already said and add that the idea that 14ga is "worse" is fundamentally wrong. It just has a different use case. An old joke amongst electricians is that you can always tell when a homeowner did the wiring because everything is done in 12ga since they think "bigger is better". In some instances it may make sense to do a circuit in 12ga even when not required by code, but in others it may make no sense at all, and cause issues with box fill etc. Consult your electrician for your specific scenario and I think you'll find a majority dont agree with this concept.
Interesting. I didn’t know this. My electrician is fully on board with this concept. Appreciate you taking the time to comment. Best, Matt
@@buildshow You probably shouldn't be telling the electrician what wire to use when you don't know very much about wires and electricity...that's the electrician's job.
I am wiring my own house and doing the same as Matt. Not because I dont understand where 14 gauge could be used, but for simplicity. As a DIYer it just makes it a lot easier to go overkill and not have to worry about it.
I would argue that wiring your outlets as 20 amp circuits could actually be considered more dangerous, yes you can potentially power more devices on a single circuit, but what happens when one of those devices ends up with a short inside of it, that 20 amp circuit will now allow even more current to flow through that device which is typically rated to be plugged into a 15 amp circuit. Cheap cable attached to the device barely rated even for the 15 amps now has an extra 5 amps to burn that cable up.
@@myquest84 I did mine with 20 for receptacles and 15 for lighting. No problems ever!
PS are you putting CAD6 wires in the walls?
After having one smart hone set up it was so expensive to setup and then I had to go replace all the blue tooth stuff cause it shut down the lower 2G wifi and also messed up the use of wireless headphones and headsets. I ended up having one wireless network just for the "smart home setup" worked great but after 2 years only had one leviton smart switch go bad. Wish I did not have to sell that place
You nailed it. Smart devices are good for about 12 to 24 months before the problems start, and the Mfg no longer supports them forcing you to upgrade everything.
I’ve had some Leviton zwave switches for 10 years in high use areas with no problems.
The switch is cool but the real magic is in automations and voice control. You don’t need to press a switch when you leave. A presence sensor (or some specific set off conditions) activates an automation that turns on or off what you want for that condition, locks/unlocks doors, changes thermostat settings, garage door, tv.....
Surprised you didn't go with the Lutron RadioRA system for your home automation/lighting.
That’s a good product too. Halo has a few advantages and is less expensive
RadioRa is expensive and will be outdated in 10 years. But same thing with bluetooth halo. Wifi based switches will be the future but also expensive.
Proprietary wifi/radio/bluetooth/whatever dies very quick. Open Source home automation will not because people will keep on maintaining the source. If you can, avoid anything that doesn't work with open source apps, avoid anything that requires an active internet connection too.
@@MrJramirex are you familiar with ISY by Universal Devices?
Love it
Hey Matt I would love to see a video of just products you use to air seal a house, such as certain tapes, caulks, and spray foams.
I wire my homes in emt. I would never punch holes in a box and then put romex with no protection. People not realize tat their home is constantly vibrating and insulation can be compromised. I use 12 stranded for all circuits and 14 for lighting loads. No callbacks for 40 years.
Here's a tip, service loops bro.
Yes seriously this is code in Canada
Absolutely.
Compared to Northern Europe, it looks different, very different. Maybe it is good, but it looks worse (no offense!). Maybe someone who knows both can elaborate/compare?
Regarding the electrical? Maybe you are used to seeing conduit in the walls?
@@Freedacarlo everything in illinois is conduit. I don’t like exposed wire like that. It’s much to vulnerable. I’ve seen people drill and cut though romex.
Exactly, that is one of the main things. All wires go trough conduit. And since most houses are from concrete or stone, it is even less exposed since the conduit is encapsulated by concrete/stone. Furthermore, panelboxes and things like that are not outside.
If your electrician installs new circuits that will trip due to overload during normal use, your electrician is not a very good one.
Using 12 for lighting is fine, but only if your lighting is on dedicated circuits. My SOP is to use 14 for lighting circuits and I can run only 2 or 3 circuits for lighting.
@MattRisinger I very much appreciate your passion for fine craftsmanship and high performance homes. That being said as a professional electrician for 20+yrs, I wonder if you gave enough thought to this video and the Influence you wield? 3/4 of a million people see your content. I’m not trying to troll or hate but I have some constructive criticism. From the looks of things your “Rick the electrician” is a very good installer and in Tx they have to pass state licensing, but you should point out that electrical work is extremely varied by locale and that folks should inform themselves through trusted local experts. And my question to you is why wouldn’t you want to have the expert walk us through the electrical install? There are many things that you say that are misleading and uninformed and really are more opinion than fact based. I appreciate the full disclosure, about your materials but please don’t let free stuff influence you too much or you appear to lose your original integrity. For instance in your original stuff you can really sense your passion and belief in the zip products. There was years of homework that needed to be applied to your content on this one. Please don’t be afraid to include other master craftspersons in your content. Glad your safe down there I have family in Tx and it’s been a rough week, keep up the good work and feel free to reach out with questions. We all learn from each other
With much respect, Clayton Sprague says, “But you should point out that electrical work is extremely varied by locale and that folks should inform themselves through trusted local experts.,” FYI, the State of Texas requires all new installs to be code compliant to the adopted current code(2020) within state boundaries not counties(I have to emphasize). But, alot of Texas counties don’t inspect to the Texas State current code !? It is still the responsibility of the electrician to install to the Texas State current code.
Hi Matt love your videos I learn a lot
since your overkilling the electrical, the one thing that everyone seems to be missing the boat on, is your grounding for the electrical.. since there are circuit boards in almost everything these days, people DO NOT pay enough attention to their OHMS resistance on their grounding.. if your smart, you will have 5 ohms or less, even tho the code says 25 ohms. if your electrician just pounds a couple rods in the ground and says good enough that's code, then he is not paying attention to real world problems... and if you do get a great reading of 5 ohms or less then you need to protect that connection. if your smart you will look into a Strong Cap. and did you know with the new electrical codes for 2021 where everything needs to be ground faulted, you need a good ground for a ground fault to work, and by the way they are seeing mini splits not working correctly with the ground faults..
Thank you for bringing that up! I freaking _KNEW_ there was something bothering me about his wiring installation! Company I used to work for recently spent a _TON_ of money grounding literally everything inside and outside (TV broadcaster). IIRC the spec we went with (on the sat dishes) was 0.5 ohm between the feedhorn and the ground rod (NOT the wire to the rod, but the rod itself)
Even a 120V circuit can over load a 5 ohm ground. 120V/5ohm = 24amp. Issue is earth ground is no better than 6 ohms, but can be much higher in dry climates or soil types (ie sandy soil). In the US, GND & neutral are tied together at the panel, so if there is a ground fault it will trip the breaker.
I have a HALO system in my home. The bad thing about these switches is that once they stop working, you can't turn on/off your lights. Once that circuit board fries, you lose control of your lights. This has happened twice now in the past year, and not very fun. At 30-50 bucks a pop depending on the switch, not worth the headache. As the switches break, I have been replacing them with standard toggle switches.
Yeah I was already checking on a heated towel rack for my bathroom. I'm thinking of connecting the hot water side to the towel rack before it goes to the shower. That way when the shower is in use, it will heat up the towel rack. Just my thoughts I'm thinking about for my place.
Great Idea
Never got why some electricians use 12awg for lighting. Everything is LED. You can have 160 can lights on a circuit on a 15a breaker technically. And if you have 110 or 220 to your outlet you have something completely wrong! It is 120/240v. #triggered now 😅
You almost got me. I was going to call you out for your advice when I saw "220". LOL! Totally agree...as soon as somebody says that, that's how you know to ask somebody else about electricity.
Great video. A little surprised no mention of prewiring in garage for electric cars.
Good point...
Well, this is Texas and Chevy doesn’t make an Electric suburban yet!
Regarding CANLESS recessed lights in a ceiling with a batt insulated attic above it. How do you air seal those types of lights? I know, they come with a gasket BUT I know (from experience) that gasket is most likely not enough to stop air flow from going from below to the attic above. Air pressure and the stack effect probably will push air around that gasket. What's the best way with these CANLESS recessed lights? Thanks.