Kitchen Outlet Code

This request was made on behalf of a well known electrical labor association.

Kitchen outlet code. Most of it however originates from people who work in the field. Jim a student from rapid city. If you are planning for a kitchen remodel big trends tend to take the drivers seat for design and planning. In the kitchen countertop outlets should be no.

There can be no part of the countertop farther than 24 inches from an outlet which means that the maximum spacing between countertop receptacles is 48 inches. When planning big picture design electrical outlets should be carefully planned placed with thought and purpose. Most of the code rules for kitchens deal with electrical circuits and devices and most local codes follow the nec the only model electrical code in the u s. One prime example of this is with outlet spacing.

Standard kitchen electrical codes cover circuits for outlets receptacles lighting and switches and appliances. The code requires two or more 20 ampere circuits for all receptacle outlets for the small appliance loads including refrigeration equipment in the kitchen dining room pantry and breakfast room of a dwelling unit. When breaks occur in countertop spaces for rangetops refrigerators or sinks each countertop space is considered as a separate. Your kitchen is an electrical outlet hub that has various needs for different tasks.

Electricians contractors and other industry professionals. Whereas some electrical codes require 6 to 12 foot spacing between wall outlets a much closer 4 foot gap is required for outlets mounted above kitchen countertops. A public input was received by nec code making panel 2 cmp 2 on the number of receptacle outlets for kitchen island locations in a dwelling unit. Substantiation was offered that receptacle outlet availability for large islands in kitchens needed the attention of cmp 2.

Does this mean that a circuit needs to have 2 supplies or 2 or more receptacles per circuit. The nec 210 52 code states that receptacles installed in the kitchen to serve counter top surfaces shall be supplied by not less than two separate small appliance branch circuits. Electrical code basics and recommended practices for kitchen renovation often seem like pointless rules cooked up in an office boardroom as electrical code eventually does get hammered out across conference tables. Far from being arbitrary electrical code as it relates to outlets tends to yield to practicality.

Electrical code specifies how electrical outlets should be spaced and which types of outlets to use in general areas bathrooms and kitchens. The nec doesn t specify the number of receptacle outlets you must have in the kitchen but it does have a specific requirement for outlets serving counter spaces more than 12 inches long. Further these same codes may specify that all of the outlets above the countertop must be divided into at least two different circuits. The countertop receptacle outlets in kitchens must be supplied by no fewer than two small appliance.