bluerealm

I'm a new home buyer and my new house has a media room. Right now it has 4 outlets and 4 canned lights. I'm planning on building 4 wall columns and installing 4 wall sconces on them. The room is setup perfect for wiring the sconces as two of the walls are exposed on the other side since they are adjacent to the walk in attic space. I also have an above attic space to get access to the other wall for the other two sconces. I would really like to tackle the wiring myself but having never run wiring I want to make sure my thoughts and findings are correct.

Solution B
Since there are only 4 recessed lights in the ceiling I should be able to just continue that circuit with 14 gauge wire to the 4 new sconces, right? This would of course limit my sconces to be tied to the same switch that controls the four recessed lights, but that’s not big deal. I figured this would be ok since the 15 amp wire would still be under 80% running 8 (75watt) fixtures.

Solution B (Preferred)
With the same lighting setup, if I wanted to have a separate switch control the sconces separate from the recessed lights I could theoretically split the power (in-line) to two switches and run 14 gauge from the new added switch to the 4 new sconces. Is this right?

I’m very new to wiring and based on my reading and research I’ve come up with these two possible solutions. If I’m way off base please let me know. Thank you in advance for any thoughts you may have on my topic.

kok328

Your pretty much on track with a few assumptions that you'll need to investigate prior to the installation.
1. Don't assume you can use 14AWG without checking what the amperage is of the breaker supplying the circuit.
2. Don't assume that this room is the only load on the circuit and that your amperage calculations are limited to the fixtures in this room.

bluerealm

Thanks for the reply.

1. I just assumed it was 14awg because the wiring to the recessed lights are all wired with 14awg.

2. I read that you should check the amps at the breaker to see what is actually being used to determine if it will have enough to allow for additions. Is this correct? Should I check at the breaker or could I test at the switch?

handyguys

Check the breaker and as was said, dont assume the recessed lights are the only thing on that circuit.

I would want the sconces on a separate switch for sure. I have recessed lights in my media room and every time I watch a movie I wish I had them. Make them dim-able too. Adding them is on my honey do list.

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kok328

definitely at the breaker but, make sure that all that is on that circuit is turned on.
don't assume 14AWG just because someone else ran 14AWG. Maybe they weren't as smart as you to check with someone before installing 14AWG. If you trace these lights back to a 15amp breaker then 14AWG will be fine.