Originally Posted by
ifirefight
Would it be ok to change a 15 amp circuit breaker in my main electrical panel..with a higher amp like a 20 or 25??? Or is every breaker ran with a corasponding guage wire size???? I would think it would be quite confusing trying to run so many different guage wires during construction of a house...but then again ,I am no electrician.
Sorry to say, but it's easier for electricians to keep it straight, because that's how they do it. It's not so much that it's easy versus difficult to figure it out, but 14 gauge wire is much easier to manipulate and work with than 12, plus it costs far less, so they won't run any wire any bigger than necessary.
Amperages and gauges work out like this for residential:
14 gauge - 15 amp breaker
12 gauge - 20 amp breaker
10 gauge - 25 or 30 amp breaker
There ARE instances where larger wire is used, such as 12 gauge for a 15 amp circuit, but this is generally done where the length of the circuit is so long that voltage drop becomes an issue. This is almost always encountered in commercial, as residences aren't usually big enough to have circuits that long. Regardless, upsizing the breaker in this instance to pull more power through is only going to be wasteful and inefficient.
If you put a 20 amp breaker on a circuit wired with 14 gauge wire, your co-workers may end up coming out for an "unexpected visit."
