buying a new house question about electrical

[jguerin88]

the house my wife and i are considering has 100 amp with circuit breakers

we both work from home on computers and would prob run a couple acs in the summer.

my question is will a 100 amps be sufficient for for the day to day use and be able to support a 100-150 gallon tank with lights skimmer heaters , etc

 

[Quietman]

Could be but you'll have to make sure not too much load is on any one house circuit. I had a 1913 bungalow (100 amp) we had an central air, electric stove/oven, electric dryer, electric hot water (gas heat though) and a lot computers/network equipment (low amps) But there were certain outlets that we couldn't put a toaster on without me having to go into the basement and reset the breaker.

 

[W1ngz]

In total, if your tank is pulling more than 4-5amps something is wrong unless you're running metal halide lamps. Unless your air conditioners are power sucking relics from the 80s, I think you'll be fine.

 

[Quietman]

You can map out all the circuits, the breakers size and the load it's drawing (I did, fun project really - colored pencils, graph paper and everything - look up home electrical DIY)

To be sure though, consult an electrician. And he may recommend installing a separate circuit (very good practice).

 

[Nick30G]

Your biggest power suckers are probably going to be your Heaters and Lights. Modern DC and AC pumps are so efficient now a days their power draw is less then a regular lightbulb easily in most cases. Obviously the bigger your tank, the more electricity its going to need.

 

[motortrendz]

You should probably have a dedicated circuit for your tank... if you run an 800w heater, that's 7 running amps by itself. Which should basically have a3 amp buffer so figure 10amps for the heater and another 5-7A for everything else if your running a dc pump, skimmer and led lights. A dedicated 20A circuit would be ideal, Or 2- 15a circuits put in before you start your build.

 

[Bacon505]

Just have a circuit breaker alone for the tank. 30amp is plenty. Make sure the outlet is GFCI equipped. If you run helid or T5, remember to run smaller gauge extension cord to prevent fire on high drawn power equipments.

 

[theMeat]

Just have a circuit breaker alone for the tank. 30amp is plenty. Make sure the outlet is GFCI equipped. If you run helid or T5, remember to run smaller gauge extension cord to prevent fire on high drawn power equipments.

A smaller number equals bigger diameter wire. So make sure to use fat extension cords if need be. Better not to.
You can’t just replace a breaker to 30 amp in breaker box. The gauge of the wire must be sufficient. As an example, a 15 amp breaker can have 14 gauge, a 20 amp must have 12 gauge, etc.
100 amp service should be enough, and if it’s not than the 5 amps or less your tank is using isn’t much of an issue

 

[johnston]

typically a 100 amp will run most houses or we would all be broke from electric bills biggest question is electric stove electric dryer electric heat those could cause a slight dim in power on initial start up I would suggest upgrading the main breaker if your incoming power line is large enough to handle it best thing is to ask a electrician to look at it knowing he is gonna try and sell work