House wiring question, track lighting

[1993SSP]

Anyone here up to par on house wiring?? I was wondering if 1 switch is sufficient to wire up 3 sets of track lighting, each track has 3 bulbs, each bulb is 50 watts. Also if one switch is sufficient, how many amp breaker will the switch need?

 

[sweet88gt]

Your total wattage is only 450. One switch will be fine. I assume you will be using an exsiting circiut for your power to switch and will need to determine what size breaker it is on. Probably a 15 amp. Next determine what is on that circuit by turning it off and locating all items that are off. Then its up to you to do some general math to find out if the circuit will handle the new load. Normally a small project like yours should not be an issue, but check anyway. Hope that helps.

 

[1993SSP]

thanks, currently there is only one light on the switch, i'll double check the breaker to make sure it's 15A, thanks again!

 

[DocG]

While one switch will work just fine....you might want to consider where these lights are going and what your purpose is for the lighting. Is it to highlight certain things....just provide general lighting....etc.

It may be more work, but depending on your purpose.....you may find it nice in the long run having a separate switch for each set. Plus....with track lights....I'd recommend wiring them to a dimmer switch. If you decide to wire each one to a separate switch....you could still use the same circuit without problem.

Surprising you actually have a run of wire in your house with only one existing light on it! The way they built my house....the wiring is nutty. Works just fine, but I had to figure out what did what when I finished my basement, I almost went bananas.

 

[1993SSP]

these will be only to accent a room, nice thought on the dimmer switch, may look into that

 

[madspeed]

most 15 amp switches can handle 600 watts. you're good to go, I would suggest the dimmer as well. look at th rating, better quality ones can handle more like 1000 watts