How many outlets can be placed in 110v, 20 amp circuit.?

Question

on a 110 volt circiut with a 20 amp breaker how mamy eleectrical outlets can be put in series

Answer 1

Cas has got it right. According to the National Electrical Code 13 receptacles are the max on a 110V 20A branch circuit.

Answer 2

you can put as many outlets as you want ,but you can only have so many applainces plug at the same time that don't draw more than 20 amps total.

Answer 3

i would not put more than a combination of 13 electrical devices, including receptacles and light fixtures... usually each outlet should be counted as 125 watts (national electric code) and should add up to 80% of the capacity of the circuit..... and they are not wired in series, they are paralleled but "daisy chained"

Answer 4

You can have as many as you want.  As long as the circuit beaker is sized to protect the conductor.  If you put too much load on the circuit,  the breaker will then open...but the conductor will be protected from over current.

Good Luck

Answer 5

NEC requires you to allow 180VA (roughly translated 180 watts or 1.5 amps at 120 volts) per receptacle. This would limit you to 13 recepts on a 20a circuit. If you have other things like lights on this same circuit, subtract the amount of these fixed loads before dividing up the rest to get the allowable number of recepts. Also, when you have a mix of recepts and fixed devices, the fixed devices cannot exceed 50% of the circuit capacity.

I realize that you intend to run the cable from the breaker panel to one outlet, then to another, then to another....   This does not mean that they are in series, the recepts are still wired in parallel.

Give consideration to what you intend to plug in. If these are just recepts going around the living room to plug in the TV, computer and a couple lamps, no problem. If you are planning on anything big like a heater, treadmill or other power-hungry device, I would consider adding another circuit. I know copper isn't cheap but I always look at it as an investment in a home you are going to live in for years.