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!
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.
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.
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.
I have been in the electrical industry for 40+ years. I have to say this has been an impressive video with a substantial amount of information. Hats off from one Texan to another one Matt. Thumbs up to this video for you.
For who might be interested: In the Netherlands most new homes get 3 phase, 220V/25amp (used to be 220V,16Amp, but solar and electric cars made 3phase become the standard). With a mains panel in an indoor door closet that's standardized for gas, water, electricity and data/telecom input and meters. Positioned within 3m (~3ft) of the front door. All wiring goes through pvc 3/8" (sometimes 1/2") piping. Every group has a 16Amp breaker per group. Separate groups are required for bathrooms, kitchens build in appliances and mechanical. Most rooms have one group going to a ceiling box (3"×3"). From that box all other points in the room are fed. And the box itself is used for the lamp. Data wiring all goes from the "meterkast" (the door closet with the meters) to the points around the house and also through 3/8" pvc piping.
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.
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.
@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.
Yeah, I’ve been using the Halo thin lights for a year now and eventually realized I no longer had to worry about my ceiling rafters throwing off where the lights can go. If the rafter is right in the center, the support clamps can go to each side of it. If it’s far enough to one side of the hole or the other, the clamps can go parallel to the rafter. It’s terrific.
I do still need/want to be able to locate the color temp controls somewhere down near the switches. I might look into the Halo Home thing, but already spent several hundred on their Bluetooth dimmer switches.
@@MrMasterfumi Matt was not totally accurate in the video when he showed the thin can light straddling a joist. You still have to be able to get the driver through the opening in order to change it when it fails.
@@stevejones776 @Kyle Fitzsimons : For a 1.5" wide joist right in the center of the light, the drivers on mine are narrow enough to just fit through at least one side. If the hole is further to one side, the gap will be wider to one side. I'm currently working in a 1-story or 2nd floor of a 2-story, so I still access from the attic-side both for running the cable and for placing the drivers (still easier), which I mount on one side of the nearest joist. But checking the 4 1/8" dia hole templates, the driver box *should* still fit, and I think I've tested this before.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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...
I think the all 12 awg wire size issue has been fully discussed. It is personal preference. When building my house, after I saw the price for all 12 awg I asked for dedicated circuits to heavy load areas such as entertainment and office desk. Kitchen, bath, and laundry already require 12 awg. I ran 12 awg to outdoor outlets to limit voltage drop on extension cords for DIY projects. As far as aluminum, the problems are myths. I surveyed wire and connector manufacturers on failure rates. No difference between aluminum and copper. Always make sure connector is listed for the wire used. Past problems have been with connectors not listed for use with aluminum. I also have found, rough electrical is very regional as can be seen in the comments. I installed two 200 amp panels for future expansion as I had several unfinished rooms. My brother, the contractor, only advice was to run empty conduit from panel (in basement) to attic for future expansion. That extra conduit is full today! The extra space for breakers has also been needed. The commenter’s mention of Cat 6 wiring is perfect. I installed Cat 5 20 years ago to future proof. Today I am using only one coax for incoming internet and the Cat 5 phone wiring that was used for phone has been converted to an Ethernet network. BTH, the only issue I have had is when doing work with switches, the backstabbed 14 awg causes the switch back to crack and have a loose connection. This has happened in three switches so far. Also, for frequently used outlets (vacuum cleaner) buy a commercial grade outlet.
Hey Matt, this gave me a lot of subtle details to make a build more enjoyable. Hope you can keep good records of your current house so you can give us an update in about 18 months or so on how the rebuild compares with your current house in terms of Heating, Cooling, Electricity usage, comfort level etc.
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.
My dad happens to be a pro electrician, I used to work with him growing up. 14 is all you need for vast majority of homes if you are building to code and doing your load calculations correctly. Kitchen gets 12/2 or 14/3 due to powerful appliances used there. Future is about using less power, not more, LED lights being a great example. Honestly the only time I've seen or heard of popped 15a breakers was when someone got a cheap reno with no inspection electrical or in really old homes.
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
@@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!
glad you put these video's out.for future use i tell home owners to put metal conduit pipe from basement to attic.im in the north so chimney is a good chaseway.older homes tell customers to use fire chaulk around wires and pipes good for drafts,bugs and [well] fire.a little extra up front in the walls can save alot latter.
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.
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.
I have been using wafer lights for about 2 years now. So easy and fast. Love the ability to place just about anywhere. They work great for remodeling especially is small spaces where a standard low pro can does not fit
This channel has gotten crazy. I'm all for improvement, but think we're going crazy. I have watched this channel for a few years and learned a lot that I have used on my own builds, but I'm finding most of the recent stuff completely impractical at any cost. 1. Main panel on outside is great for sub panels for pools, buildings, generators, etc. You should have just run a 200a subpanel interior for everything. So one penetration. 2. The lugs on the panels are aluminum, so technically you just mixed metals. They have designed all the new boxes to work fine with aluminum. 3. Most circuits these days require 20a anyway, but for the bedrooms, I prefer more circuits than higher gauge wire. 4. Smart switches.. so obviously it's sponsored, but no custom home should be putting Bluetooth switches in. Control4, lutron, zwave, zigbee are much more standardized and reliable. Lutron really isn't that expensive. You'll be tearing out those switches within a few years and using a more standardized system.
Lutron caseta FTW. I have 36 devices in my house, most of them for about a year. Not a single glitch with the switches, remotes, app or interface with alexa.
as an electrician in Oklahoma, I can say that electricians wiring new homes, that I have seen, are using 12/2 for home runs and jumpers for duplex receptacles and to heat up a switch. Some of your branch circuits like laundry and small appliance branch circuits, they are required to be 20 amp circuits; even on switch legs, which you can get away with a 14/2 and still be on a 20 amp branch circuit, all electricians I know are using 12/2 and 12/3 for 3 way and 4 way switches. The NEC code actually requires 20 amp branch circuits on some of the branch circuits in the home that are likely to have motor loads on them, like small appliance BC and Laundry. I have seen some electricians in Texas do some remodels and use 14/2 for switch legs, but I think every one is using 12/2 and doing 20 amp branch circuits for homes. I don't know if that is to accommodate space heaters that many people use during the winter time, but it certainly is wise to run 20 amp branch circuits for homes! I'm just speaking for the experience I have had, but I have certainly seen some of the storm relief mobile homes made by FEMA for storm relief shelters use 14/2 as early as 1992. Great advice!
Love the smart functionality of my recently remodeled home. I used Treatlife switches with standard led bulbs in regular fixtures. It is wifi based, and I can set my scenes via the Smart Life or Alexa apps.
12-2 is overkill Matt. If you are worried about heavy loads in individual rooms, just wire the receptacles seperately in 12-2. 12-2 in all circuits is a total waste of money. All houses are usually re-wired well before 150 years. Wire and insulation changes significantly every few years. LED's are used extensively in modern homes, which reduce the lighting load significantly. 14-2 is all that is needed for lighting circuits. Great video. Thanks, Russ, Journeyman Electrician from Oregon
@@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.
I hope my eventual builder doest get pissed off by asking him to watch videos of Matt. I already have 3 videos. Love the 2×6 supplement in areas of water pipes, using Borax before drywall, and agree with him about soffit lighting not to mention got me hooked on the zip system. Hope he does a video on his gutters because I did notice he had ice hanging down from his roof and that surprised me.
Thank you Matt! I’m just now in the process of specking out lighting in my basement. One side is entertainment space, one side is my workshop. Those Halo lights look like just the ticket!! :)
in SKorea, the medicine cabinet seem to have power outlet inside, with holes to the bottom, for cable mgmt. Seen some with lights and magnified mirrors. A lot of apartments there, have heated flooring and smart lighting via main control pad and sub control pads, with total shut off for electricity and gas, you also have access to security camera outside your door and main entrance, also you can also call up the elevator, when needed. look at Skorea/house apartment tours, most of them arent as big as US, but seem to be more convenient
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.
Hey Matt, nice electrical setup you got going on there, but I couldn't help but notice your electrician is using those all metal staples, most of the time those are fine, but if any of them get pounded in a little to much after a while it will chafe through and short your wires across and could burn your house down, I would recommend pulling all those out and replacing them with the plastic insulated staples.
Great share, appreciate the details on the Halo lighting system. Not be fan of Bluetooth, but the grouping of lighting makes up for it. Also, love the one hole to each wire through penetrations. Good stuff!
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.
What perfect timing, I am at the electrical planning stage on my self build, thank you... only one comment I would give is to add some pendant lighting, I had all recessed lighting then I realized it was missing some character. The Halo smart products are really cool. Again thank you
yeah, I added boxes or pendent\ceiling fans but drywalled over them. I don't plan to use them, but it there if I change my mind. I used magnets on the cover plate to find them easy in the future. I recommend avoid the Halo lights. Eventually those switchmode power supplies are going fail and be a hassle to replace. Plus its likely Halo won't bother to update the smartphone app and when you eventually get a new phone its not going to work. Just install regular can lights and save yourself the grief.
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.
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'd previously looked at a towel warmer. To run it for a year would have cost me about $100, so if I didn't want to pay that, it's another thing I need to remember to turn off. So the lesson: put towel warmers on a switch with a timer so it turns off automatically after 30-60 minutes. Rule of thumb: running 1W of power for a full year costs about $1 for even below-average US electricity (11¢ per kWh vs a 13¢ per kWh US average).
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.
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. ;)
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.
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
Comment 1000, Matt Im 24 and work with my Father who is a GC and you're a big Inspiration for me this content is amazing and I'm really trying to emulate you as a model for our company. Can you please do a series for young builders just starting off?
We are going to be building our second, and last, custom home and your ideas and insights have been very helpful. The information and products you've shown are and excellent way for me to start the conversation with the architect. Keep up the great work!
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.
Always install 2 thermostats in heated floors and in different locations. Only wire one of them and leave the 2nd as a backup. Thermostats fail eventually and not having to pull tile to replace it the 1st time is a cheap upgrade.
- 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.
it sounded like he was using standard breakers and no surge protector. however, maybe that's just what he was doing on the external panel. maybe the main/exterior panel is getting some bells and whistles
@@somedude-lc5dy, for $100 or less, you can get a plug on surge arrester and put it directly in place of a two pole breaker. I won't install a panel without one.
2020 NEC requiring Surge Protection to be in Main Electrical Panel. In other words some main panels sold will include surge protection already included.
I agree with you as, 12/2 is future proofing the house for the excessive and growing amount of electronics people use. The nice thing with 12/2 is, you can run 15 amp and 20 amp outlets on them with almost no restrictions.
That would make sense if it weren't for the trend of making energy hungry electronics more efficient. If you just factor in LEDs you are working with 1/10 of what it would have required with incandescents
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.
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.
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.
-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.
Interesting on the sound barrier, you can always do double drywall. I like using plywood, then install drywall on it (more sheer structural support). Then pump it with cellulose, that will definitely make things quieter. Of course, more expensive - but better in the long term. Any who, great discussion on the subject.
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.
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!!!
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.
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.
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
Love all the content. My only gripe is about using 12-2 romex for lighting. If you want everything else in 12-2, that's a good idea. However, basically in 99% of applications there is NEVER EVER EVER EVER any reason to run lighting in anything but 14-2. Firstly, it should be standard practice that lighting is on circuits that only supply lighting. There's more than one reason for this, but in this instance this means that lighting will never be on a circuit with receptacle loads. Second, other than very rare fringe cases, no lighting circuit ever exceeds 15 amp (14-2 is limited to 15 amp), especially today with everything going LED. Thirdly, it makes wiring and servicing significantly harder. Some luminaires CANNOT be installed with 12-2; they literally can't fit. Fourth, lighting circuits don't nuisance trip from overload. They just don't. 15 amps provides a lot more power than you think. Basically using 12-2 for lighting in your home you are wasting money on making your homes lighting harder to service/upgrade/expand. Now, if your lighting is mixed with receptacle loads (which they shouldn't be, this is becoming less and less standard practice) then yes there is a case to be made for going all 20 amp. Other than that, no, 14-2 for lighting all the way. PS just my professional opinion, but I would highly recommend avoiding the Square D QO series panels and breakers like I saw in the video. I don't know why, but I've noticed that East of the Rockies the QO stuff is much more popular.
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.
@@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.
I find Caseta and Raw 2 much better option. The 12-2 VS 14-2 has been a open Debate 4 years but I also charge more in labor. You also run into wire fill issues using 12 wire. I wouldn’t waste the money on it for lighting that’s for sure. The Aluminum is a much better conductor for feeder branches and worth the price savings. But in all a good Video always enjoy watching.
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.
Is it code for you to have the 220 panel on the outside? My main panel is located inside my garage, and only the meter box is on the outside. I would think this could greatly increase the air tightness having only a single wire/hole coming in.
You could still have the Service panel inside if you have an outdoor disconnect between the meter box and service panel. ( N 230.85). Then you could have just the one penetration for the service wiring coming into the house for the service panel.
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.
Good video. I hope you make a video where you put up external wired cameras also. I plan on doing an ICF based house with a dozen external cameras and probably four of those floodlight systems maybe six of the ones you showed here
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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...
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!
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?
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
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.
I have been in the electrical industry for 40+ years. I have to say this has been an impressive video with a substantial amount of information. Hats off from one Texan to another one Matt. Thumbs up to this video for you.
For who might be interested:
In the Netherlands most new homes get 3 phase, 220V/25amp (used to be 220V,16Amp, but solar and electric cars made 3phase become the standard). With a mains panel in an indoor door closet that's standardized for gas, water, electricity and data/telecom input and meters. Positioned within 3m (~3ft) of the front door.
All wiring goes through pvc 3/8" (sometimes 1/2") piping. Every group has a 16Amp breaker per group. Separate groups are required for bathrooms, kitchens build in appliances and mechanical. Most rooms have one group going to a ceiling box (3"×3"). From that box all other points in the room are fed. And the box itself is used for the lamp.
Data wiring all goes from the "meterkast" (the door closet with the meters) to the points around the house and also through 3/8" pvc piping.
Is three phase better for solar grid input and charging EV's . I am just starting my reno Atm and was asked that question .
Post up.some photos. I would be realy i interested to see the lay out
If you got the money I’ll wire it anyway you want
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.
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... 🤷😂
@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.
Yeah, I’ve been using the Halo thin lights for a year now and eventually realized I no longer had to worry about my ceiling rafters throwing off where the lights can go. If the rafter is right in the center, the support clamps can go to each side of it. If it’s far enough to one side of the hole or the other, the clamps can go parallel to the rafter. It’s terrific.
I do still need/want to be able to locate the color temp controls somewhere down near the switches. I might look into the Halo Home thing, but already spent several hundred on their Bluetooth dimmer switches.
I agree. We’ve been those in all of our remodels and new construction. They are cheaper, easier to install, and just look better in my opinion.
How to you service the driver if you're straddling a joist?
@@MrMasterfumi Matt was not totally accurate in the video when he showed the thin can light straddling a joist. You still have to be able to get the driver through the opening in order to change it when it fails.
@@stevejones776 @Kyle Fitzsimons : For a 1.5" wide joist right in the center of the light, the drivers on mine are narrow enough to just fit through at least one side. If the hole is further to one side, the gap will be wider to one side.
I'm currently working in a 1-story or 2nd floor of a 2-story, so I still access from the attic-side both for running the cable and for placing the drivers (still easier), which I mount on one side of the nearest joist. But checking the 4 1/8" dia hole templates, the driver box *should* still fit, and I think I've tested this before.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I think the all 12 awg wire size issue has been fully discussed. It is personal preference. When building my house, after I saw the price for all 12 awg I asked for dedicated circuits to heavy load areas such as entertainment and office desk. Kitchen, bath, and laundry already require 12 awg. I ran 12 awg to outdoor outlets to limit voltage drop on extension cords for DIY projects. As far as aluminum, the problems are myths. I surveyed wire and connector manufacturers on failure rates. No difference between aluminum and copper. Always make sure connector is listed for the wire used. Past problems have been with connectors not listed for use with aluminum. I also have found, rough electrical is very regional as can be seen in the comments. I installed two 200 amp panels for future expansion as I had several unfinished rooms. My brother, the contractor, only advice was to run empty conduit from panel (in basement) to attic for future expansion. That extra conduit is full today! The extra space for breakers has also been needed. The commenter’s mention of Cat 6 wiring is perfect. I installed Cat 5 20 years ago to future proof. Today I am using only one coax for incoming internet and the Cat 5 phone wiring that was used for phone has been converted to an Ethernet network. BTH, the only issue I have had is when doing work with switches, the backstabbed 14 awg causes the switch back to crack and have a loose connection. This has happened in three switches so far. Also, for frequently used outlets (vacuum cleaner) buy a commercial grade outlet.
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
Hey Matt, this gave me a lot of subtle details to make a build more enjoyable. Hope you can keep good records of your current house so you can give us an update in about 18 months or so on how the rebuild compares with your current house in terms of Heating, Cooling, Electricity usage, comfort level etc.
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
My dad happens to be a pro electrician, I used to work with him growing up. 14 is all you need for vast majority of homes if you are building to code and doing your load calculations correctly. Kitchen gets 12/2 or 14/3 due to powerful appliances used there. Future is about using less power, not more, LED lights being a great example. Honestly the only time I've seen or heard of popped 15a breakers was when someone got a cheap reno with no inspection electrical or in really old homes.
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.
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.
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.
glad you put these video's out.for future use i tell home owners to put metal conduit pipe from basement to attic.im in the north so chimney is a good chaseway.older homes tell customers to use fire chaulk around wires and pipes good for drafts,bugs and [well] fire.a little extra up front in the walls can save alot latter.
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.
hope you show more of the switch hook up with the runs in the closet .looks like a nice system
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.
I have been using wafer lights for about 2 years now. So easy and fast. Love the ability to place just about anywhere. They work great for remodeling especially is small spaces where a standard low pro can does not fit
This channel has gotten crazy. I'm all for improvement, but think we're going crazy. I have watched this channel for a few years and learned a lot that I have used on my own builds, but I'm finding most of the recent stuff completely impractical at any cost.
1. Main panel on outside is great for sub panels for pools, buildings, generators, etc. You should have just run a 200a subpanel interior for everything. So one penetration.
2. The lugs on the panels are aluminum, so technically you just mixed metals. They have designed all the new boxes to work fine with aluminum.
3. Most circuits these days require 20a anyway, but for the bedrooms, I prefer more circuits than higher gauge wire.
4. Smart switches.. so obviously it's sponsored, but no custom home should be putting Bluetooth switches in. Control4, lutron, zwave, zigbee are much more standardized and reliable. Lutron really isn't that expensive. You'll be tearing out those switches within a few years and using a more standardized system.
Lutron caseta FTW. I have 36 devices in my house, most of them for about a year. Not a single glitch with the switches, remotes, app or interface with alexa.
as an electrician in Oklahoma, I can say that electricians wiring new homes, that I have seen, are using 12/2 for home runs and jumpers for duplex receptacles and to heat up a switch. Some of your branch circuits like laundry and small appliance branch circuits, they are required to be 20 amp circuits; even on switch legs, which you can get away with a 14/2 and still be on a 20 amp branch circuit, all electricians I know are using 12/2 and 12/3 for 3 way and 4 way switches. The NEC code actually requires 20 amp branch circuits on some of the branch circuits in the home that are likely to have motor loads on them, like small appliance BC and Laundry. I have seen some electricians in Texas do some remodels and use 14/2 for switch legs, but I think every one is using 12/2 and doing 20 amp branch circuits for homes. I don't know if that is to accommodate space heaters that many people use during the winter time, but it certainly is wise to run 20 amp branch circuits for homes!
I'm just speaking for the experience I have had, but I have certainly seen some of the storm relief mobile homes made by FEMA for storm relief shelters use 14/2 as early as 1992. Great advice!
You see him touching the lugs and I see a job opening.
Love the smart functionality of my recently remodeled home. I used Treatlife switches with standard led bulbs in regular fixtures. It is wifi based, and I can set my scenes via the Smart Life or Alexa apps.
Ive been waiting! Thanks Matt I always look forward to Tuesday and Friday
12-2 is overkill Matt. If you are worried about heavy loads in individual rooms, just wire the receptacles seperately in 12-2. 12-2 in all circuits is a total waste of money. All houses are usually re-wired well before 150 years. Wire and insulation changes significantly every few years. LED's are used extensively in modern homes, which reduce the lighting load significantly. 14-2 is all that is needed for lighting circuits. Great video. Thanks, Russ, Journeyman Electrician from Oregon
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.
I hope my eventual builder doest get pissed off by asking him to watch videos of Matt. I already have 3 videos. Love the 2×6 supplement in areas of water pipes, using Borax before drywall, and agree with him about soffit lighting not to mention got me hooked on the zip system. Hope he does a video on his gutters because I did notice he had ice hanging down from his roof and that surprised me.
I do 15amp on lighting and 20amp on any plug circuits.
I liked the individual wires to a box idea. The plywood blocking to the 2nd floor makes good sense too.
4:17 I appreciate seeing the air tightness detail! I've yet to get an electrician to do that, but still, love the detail!
Ask them to bid that way. If they don't want to, find another electrician to work FOR you.
Thank you Matt! I’m just now in the process of specking out lighting in my basement. One side is entertainment space, one side is my workshop. Those Halo lights look like just the ticket!! :)
Use standard can lights. Avoid wafer or surface lights if possible. The light distribution is awful, and only fit for closets, if that.
When it comes to fluorescent and LED interior lighting, CRI is very important.
CRI with 95 plus is key.
So fascinating how different the electrician crafts are from country to country!
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!
in SKorea, the medicine cabinet seem to have power outlet inside, with holes to the bottom, for cable mgmt. Seen some with lights and magnified mirrors. A lot of apartments there, have heated flooring and smart lighting via main control pad and sub control pads, with total shut off for electricity and gas, you also have access to security camera outside your door and main entrance, also you can also call up the elevator, when needed. look at Skorea/house apartment tours, most of them arent as big as US, but seem to be more convenient
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.
Hey Matt, nice electrical setup you got going on there, but I couldn't help but notice your electrician is using those all metal staples, most of the time those are fine, but if any of them get pounded in a little to much after a while it will chafe through and short your wires across and could burn your house down, I would recommend pulling all those out and replacing them with the plastic insulated staples.
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
Great share, appreciate the details on the Halo lighting system. Not be fan of Bluetooth, but the grouping of lighting makes up for it. Also, love the one hole to each wire through penetrations. Good stuff!
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.
What perfect timing, I am at the electrical planning stage on my self build, thank you... only one comment I would give is to add some pendant lighting, I had all recessed lighting then I realized it was missing some character. The Halo smart products are really cool. Again thank you
yeah, I added boxes or pendent\ceiling fans but drywalled over them. I don't plan to use them, but it there if I change my mind. I used magnets on the cover plate to find them easy in the future.
I recommend avoid the Halo lights. Eventually those switchmode power supplies are going fail and be a hassle to replace. Plus its likely Halo won't bother to update the smartphone app and when you eventually get a new phone its not going to work. Just install regular can lights and save yourself the grief.
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.
Matt, perfect timing again. I'm planning my lighting now and am pretty sure I'm going with Halo.
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.
I'd previously looked at a towel warmer. To run it for a year would have cost me about $100, so if I didn't want to pay that, it's another thing I need to remember to turn off. So the lesson: put towel warmers on a switch with a timer so it turns off automatically after 30-60 minutes.
Rule of thumb: running 1W of power for a full year costs about $1 for even below-average US electricity (11¢ per kWh vs a 13¢ per kWh US average).
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.
Matt’s OCD is worse than mine!!! When I go way overboard on my house, I think of Matt. Love this channel.
But you don’t get it for free.
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
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.
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
Comment 1000, Matt Im 24 and work with my Father who is a GC and you're a big Inspiration for me this content is amazing and I'm really trying to emulate you as a model for our company. Can you please do a series for young builders just starting off?
"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!🥰
We are going to be building our second, and last, custom home and your ideas and insights have been very helpful. The information and products you've shown are and excellent way for me to start the conversation with the architect. Keep up the great work!
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...
Thanks for the Mr. Mom reference Matt! Highlight of my day!
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.
Always install 2 thermostats in heated floors and in different locations. Only wire one of them and leave the 2nd as a backup. Thermostats fail eventually and not having to pull tile to replace it the 1st time is a cheap upgrade.
- 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.
Hi Matt....copper all the time....aluminum only on temporary work. Great work by the electricians!
Anthony, IBEW LOCAL UNION #3 NYC
Also I didn't hear you mention whether you were adding a surge protector to the power circuit breaker box.
it sounded like he was using standard breakers and no surge protector. however, maybe that's just what he was doing on the external panel. maybe the main/exterior panel is getting some bells and whistles
@@somedude-lc5dy, for $100 or less, you can get a plug on surge arrester and put it directly in place of a two pole breaker. I won't install a panel without one.
2020 NEC requiring Surge Protection to be in Main Electrical Panel. In other words some main panels sold will include surge protection already included.
I agree with you as, 12/2 is future proofing the house for the excessive and growing amount of electronics people use. The nice thing with 12/2 is, you can run 15 amp and 20 amp outlets on them with almost no restrictions.
That would make sense if it weren't for the trend of making energy hungry electronics more efficient. If you just factor in LEDs you are working with 1/10 of what it would have required with incandescents
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!
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
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.
I really like the 1970’s remodel, especially this episode.
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.
Interesting on the sound barrier, you can always do double drywall. I like using plywood, then install drywall on it (more sheer structural support). Then pump it with cellulose, that will definitely make things quieter. Of course, more expensive - but better in the long term. Any who, great discussion on the subject.
PS are you putting CAD6 wires in the walls?
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.
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
Circuit correctly and 14 gauge is fine bin working for me for 40 years with no call back plus I agree with with other comment about box fill.
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?
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.
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
Love all the content. My only gripe is about using 12-2 romex for lighting. If you want everything else in 12-2, that's a good idea. However, basically in 99% of applications there is NEVER EVER EVER EVER any reason to run lighting in anything but 14-2. Firstly, it should be standard practice that lighting is on circuits that only supply lighting. There's more than one reason for this, but in this instance this means that lighting will never be on a circuit with receptacle loads. Second, other than very rare fringe cases, no lighting circuit ever exceeds 15 amp (14-2 is limited to 15 amp), especially today with everything going LED. Thirdly, it makes wiring and servicing significantly harder. Some luminaires CANNOT be installed with 12-2; they literally can't fit. Fourth, lighting circuits don't nuisance trip from overload. They just don't. 15 amps provides a lot more power than you think.
Basically using 12-2 for lighting in your home you are wasting money on making your homes lighting harder to service/upgrade/expand. Now, if your lighting is mixed with receptacle loads (which they shouldn't be, this is becoming less and less standard practice) then yes there is a case to be made for going all 20 amp. Other than that, no, 14-2 for lighting all the way.
PS just my professional opinion, but I would highly recommend avoiding the Square D QO series panels and breakers like I saw in the video. I don't know why, but I've noticed that East of the Rockies the QO stuff is much more popular.
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?
Those towel warmers are becoming popular, we've installed them in several bathroom remodels lately.
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
I find Caseta and Raw 2 much better option. The 12-2 VS 14-2 has been a open Debate 4 years but I also charge more in labor. You also run into wire fill issues using 12 wire. I wouldn’t waste the money on it for lighting that’s for sure. The Aluminum is a much better conductor for feeder branches and worth the price savings. But in all a good Video always enjoy watching.
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.
Best outro on RUclips.
Thanks! Fell into that a few years back and it’s stuck
Is it code for you to have the 220 panel on the outside? My main panel is located inside my garage, and only the meter box is on the outside. I would think this could greatly increase the air tightness having only a single wire/hole coming in.
My exact thought process also.
The 2020 NEC requires an outside emergency disconnect.
You could still have the Service panel inside if you have an outdoor disconnect between the meter box and service panel. ( N 230.85). Then you could have just the one penetration for the service wiring coming into the house for the service panel.
@@InterstateLoveSong, that can be had as part of your meter base.
@@steveb365 yes of course there are various combinations to choose from.
You also have to consider wire space in the boxes you are using since this 12-2 takes more space
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.
Good video. I hope you make a video where you put up external wired cameras also.
I plan on doing an ICF based house with a dozen external cameras and probably four of those floodlight systems maybe six of the ones you showed here
It's over engineering
Someday we got a problem Flashing the toilet because Internet go down
Surprisingly, our 1976 house out in Aggieland is wired in 2/12 Romex.
Just wish we had more than a 125 service!
Maybe eventually