Designing And Installing Electrical Wiring For Your Workshop

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Propane was one source of energy that we overlooked when we were building our cabin at our campground. We decided to use wood to heat the cabin and electric for everything else. What we didn't count on was the power going out at the cabin often. When the power goes out, we have no way to cook or heat the water. That is why I started looking for an alternative energy source. After talking with some other owners of camps in the area, I found out that many of them rely on propane to heat, cook with and heat the water in their cabins. Find out how propane can make building a camping cabin a little easier and more reliable.

Designing And Installing Electrical Wiring For Your Workshop

27 July 2021
 Categories: , Blog

Whether you're building a whole new outbuilding or remodeling an existing shed into a workshop space, you'll want to add some amenities such as lighting, electrical outlets, and insulation. Since electricity can be hazardous, you need to have a professional do any electrical work. Your electrical contractor can help design and install electrical wiring for the building.

Here are some of the basics of designing and installing an electrical wiring system for your workshop.

Install an electrical panel

First of all, your shed will need its own electrical panel, either independent of your home or feeding off of the electrical panel already installed in your home (called a subpanel). Your electrician can help you decide what size of panel your shed will need and whether an independent panel or subpanel will work best. Then, they'll lay wires below ground to supply power to the shed's panel.

Consider the building's electrical needs

If your workshop is very small, you may need just one light and one or two outlets. But if you're going to have a space heater or portable AC unit running at the same time as several power tools, you may want to have several circuits to safely handle everything that's drawing electricity at the same time. Before your electrician starts installing wiring circuits, you'll need to carefully consider how much electrical capacity you need in the building.

Design circuits and wiring layout

The wiring process will involve laying wires from the circuits in the electrical panel to the points in the workshop where you'll have electrical outlets, lighting, ventilation fans, and other electrical features. Depending on the size of the workshop and how many electrical tools and devices you'll need to run at a time, you may need just one or two circuits or you may need several.

Include GFCI protection

In some situations, outlets are required to have GFCI protection to reduce the chances of electrical shock. Outbuildings such as sheds and garages are typically required to have this type of protection. Your contractor can either install GFCI outlets at each receptacle spot or can install one GFCI outlet in such a way that it can protect multiple other outlets in the building.

These are some of the steps you'll have to take once you've found a great electric contractor to install electricity in your outdoor workshop. Get in touch with your local electrician today to learn more about the process of installing a brand-new wiring system in your new workshop building.