If you’ve ever owned a house, then you know that using the same exact kind of electrical setup for every room isn’t so wise. Different rooms have different purposes, and each room’s wiring should meet its needs. George Sanchez, an electrical contractor in Palm Beach and the owner of Excel Electric, LLC, , understands that every room in a house requires different wiring. Of course, knowing that is the easy part. The challenge is implementing that wiring in the best way possible to serve clients’ needs.
“The study and the kitchen are where you want light to be the brightest,” explains Sanchez. “Lots of times, you go into a house and there’s only one light in the center of a room—like the center of the study or even the kitchen.” Sanchez says that this might be passable for some homeowners, but that ultimately it’s an inadequate way to light such rooms. After all, these are rooms where visibility is key. In the study, somebody working or reading should have plenty of light so that there’s no need to squint at the words on a page. And in the kitchen, good lighting aids cooking because everything is so brilliantly visible. Imagine having to cook a whole meal from scratch with only very hazy, dim light coming from the center of the kitchen. The shadows cast on the food would make it almost impossible to prepare the meal-you’d have to order in every night!
“When we do a domestic lighting job,” says Sanchez, “we first concentrate on the main lighting. Once we have that out of the way, we work on the accent lighting.” In the kitchen, accent lighting will be under and upper cabinet lighting. In the bedroom, accent lighting will be high hats and recessed lighting. And, of course, there are fans. Fans present a nice challenge for Excel Electric, LLC because they combine the need for an appliance that has lighting built into it.
What about the size of the wires involved? “The bigger wires are usually in the kitchen where the appliances are,” says Sanchez. Compared with bedrooms, where maybe some lamps and computers need electricity, the kitchen is a monster energy-consumer. Kitchens have dishwashers, microwaves, toasters, ovens, stoves, refrigerators, and outlets for mixers and blenders. That requires some serious wiring.
Sanchez and his electrical company know that even though no two homes and no two clients are the same, there are general rules regarding what people look for in terms of electrical needs per room. The kitchen and study will almost always be places where bright lighting is high in demand, whereas bedrooms will almost always be places that need less electrical capacity than kitchens. The specifics, however, depend mostly on the client, which is why a good electrician will always listen to what the customer wants.