Warmer lighting is fine for most tasks, if you're having issues with task visibility you probably just need more lights. Most people I see with this issue are relying on a few ceiling lights to do all of the lighting work - minimal ceiling lighting will generally be there to provide ambient light, and should be supplemented with additional lighting for tasks. Lamps in locations where you're reading or writing, pendants or cans in kitchen areas over countertops etc.

I run into this pretty frequently, a customer will have one boob light on the ceiling cranked to 5000k so they can do tasks in the area, when layered, task specific lighting to supplement would make the space a lot more functional without a glaring, cool ceiling light completely dominating the space.

It's all personal preference of course, but I think most people associate overly cool light with hospitals and offices. Really my biggest pet peeve is people who have an assortment of different colors like they just randomly bought whatever bulb was in front of them (which is frequently the case). I can't stand multiple can lights that all have a different color. You can layer in different color lights if it's done with some intention, but man I usually think it looks horrible.

Nope, 2011. Neutral isn't required if there is conduit or the box knockouts are accessible. Basically, if it's easy to add a neutral later it isn't required.

Your calculator is wrong. Max you can bring into a single gang box with a device is 8awg, 40 amps. Max you can splice and continue through is 10Awg, with no device. Also, I said UK, not Europe.

Or because I think it's interesting, and maybe someone else wants to know why the neutral requirement exists? I'm just elaborating on the intent behind the code, obviously it's pretty rare that hazard would ever exist. Just wanted to point out why it's there to clarify that it isn't a pointless rule.

Wasn't trying to insult you, when you said you weren't a journeyman I just thought you might be an apprentice.

> Can that circuit handle the current as it is? It's close, but it falls under 80% with nothing else drawing current under the written load requirements.

Never said they shouldn't pull a dedicated circuit, they absolutely should.

>It seems like you have a lot to learn about how a normal person can screw up electrical shit, especially with joining wires. Solid conductors require a lot of surface area for the splice to have less resistance than the conductor. So if they are in the US they probably shouldn't be using twist connectors unless they have seen some burnt and melted so they can see how not to use them. A single run will prevent the possibility of messing up a join. Safety always.

I've seen plenty of failed splices. And in my opinion, if you can't aplice properly, you shouldn't be doing electrical work. But you're taking the harm reduction approach, and that's fine too. It just reads as odd advice on my end.

>10 milliamps is enough to make muscles uncontrollable. 1 amp can easily start a fire. 13 amps is actually a lot of current. You are probably used to dealing with 3 phase panels so it's not a big deal. When Harry the homeowner starts getting the idea about putting 20 amps in a wall, it's best for them to have it in their head that it's a sizable amount, because it is. Safety always.

My point was that 13A is boilerplate, basic electrical work, and if they can't handle that then this is outside of their capabilities.

>At the very beginning I stated that I wasn't a journeyman, which if you were worth your salt, you would have put that bit together. So before you start attacking my experience with people who mess up projects and my intelligence, maybe you should have first checked to see if electrical boxes have current ratings... Because they do. Don't be pedantic to bring me down, just to feel smart, or appear more helpful. You should be worried about them. I'm not the one you should be working on. Keep your eyes on the danger. Safety always.

Wasn't trying to insult your intelligence. Apparently boxes have current ratings in the UK, I don't know if that's where you are. But in the US, boxes absolutely do not have current ratings. Here's a link to a cutsheet with common residential boxes. Ampacity isn't mentioned once, because box volume is how you keep a box from overheating, not branch circuit ampacity.

Wasn't trying to correct you, was just elaborating for anyone else who comes across this thread.

Just to caveat, it is a hazard if switches everywhere in a building don't have neutrals. The reason for the neutral requirements is any switch using the ground for a neutral (ie an occ sensor) will put up to 1/2mA on the ground. Harmless if it's one, but if you have 10 on a circuit, all of a sudden you have 5mA on the ground. Point being, it isn't purely a design consideration, there is a hypothetical safety concern. But yeah, it's incredibly unlikely to be one here.

What you're describing is fine as long as there aren't box fill issues, and pretty standard.

Are you an apprentice? No offense, but I'd refrain from giving advice until you get further along. Assuming you're in the US anyways.

>I also believe that your box has a rating on it, and you can't put more current in it than it's rated for, and that rating should be around 20 amps.

Boxes don't have current ratings. There's no current running through boxes. They do have fill limitations however, based on number of devices, connectors, and conductors.

>If you are going to be pulling a ton of current then you should preferably avoid splices if you don't have to use them.

13 amps isn't a ton of current, and sure, it's better overall if you avoid splices because it's one less potential point of failure. But if you're concerned OP's splices can't handle 13A, they shouldn't be doing any electrical work whatsoever. Any good splice should have better ampacity than the conductor itself.

You're right, it is overkill, I outlined the load calcs in another comment.

A) There are no code limits to how many general use receptacles can be on a residential circuit. This is actually contentious, many people will say they must be calculated at 180VA, but the 180VA number is derived from calculations for non-residential feeder demand. I'm on the "It's not code enforceable" side of the fence, but I still size circuits at 180VA per receptacle. Basically, in my opinion, it's a design question, which is ostensibly outside of the scope of the NEC.

B) Let's say you do think it's code enforceable, cool, 180VA gets you max 13 receptacles per circuit. So, 8 is totally fine. If these are general receptacles with unknown loads. If you do know the loads, add those up and calculate 180VA for the rest of the receptacles that are general use. There's a little more that can go into it depending on the space and how it's being used, but generally speaking 8 on a 20 is perfectly fine.

C) NECA is the National Electrical Contractor's Association, the NEC is the National Electrical Code.

Never heard it called that and I've been in the trade a while, but every area has its own trade terminology

What the other guy said. The main breaker shuts off everything downstream, but everything upstream of the main breaker in the panel is hot (ie the lugs). And they're pretty easy to hit. You'd have to pull the meter to fully deenergize the enclosure, and that's a pain in the ass to deal with. Generally, you need to call the utility, although you can always break that rule, but pulling meters isn't something I'd recommend to a DIYer because depending on the state of the meter base, there's serious risk of pulling a lug off and arcing it to the can.

Hey, if you decide to buy a fish tape and try this do not get a metal one. Fiberglass only. Unless you're absolutely sure where it goes, you may wind up pushing a fish tape directly into your panel, and if you're pushing a metal one you're liable to get hurt. And unless you can visually or physically verify it's the same conduit, you shouldn't be sure where it goes.

Generally I'd say hire an electrician, but I'm an electrician, so I'm biased. Right now, if that conduit isn't connected to your electrical system in any way, it's just a pipe in your walls, nothing special about it. The problem is confirming that. Frankly, I'm not recommending you shove even a fiberglass fish tape through, just saying if you decide to push something down an unverified conduit, make sure it isn't conductive.

If you've got a vacuum on hand, might as well vacuum it instead of buying a fish stick you'll never use again. Vacuuming in lines is standard practice for long conduit runs, it'd be even easier here (although honestly if it's short with few bends you can just push it).

In this case, OP is going up 2 stories through a lot of bends, at that point they'll need a full fishtape, not sticks.

The problem with this run is it's probably emt with set screw connectors, which will lose vacuum. I'd try the vacuum route, then buy a fish tape and return it.