5 Electrical Upgrades to Request When Building a New House
Building a new house is always a fun, but challenging experience. There are many decisions that need to be made quickly. Decisions about electrical upgrades, however, need to be made early in the process, well before the drywall is installed. Think about how you plan to use your home and talk to your builder to add electrical upgrades that will fill your needs.
1. Ceiling Lights
Most new homes do not automatically have lights installed in bedroom ceilings. It is a simple, low-cost upgrade that first-time home builders may not be aware of.
2. Recessed Lighting
In addition to ceiling lights, consider adding recessed lighting, or 'pot' lights, to the entertaining areas of your home. Instead of task lighting, these lights are used to add ambiance to a room or to highlight architectural features and artwork.
3. Light in the Shower
Showers can get dark. Having the ability to turn on a light during early morning showers or just to simply see well enough to shave can make a big difference. Luckily, adding a light to a shower is a simple request that your builder can easily assist with, if you ask early enough in the construction process.
4. Outlets for Holiday Displays
Whether you create a gruesome haunted house every year or set up holiday lights that rival Clark Griswold's masterpiece in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", you will need to map out additional electrical outlets to accommodate your display. This could include outlets located along the roofline or in the middle of the yard as well as extra, dedicated circuits in your electrical panel. Think of how much easier Clark's life would have been with a dedicated circuit.
5. Future Plans
While a brand new, 12-person hot tub may not fit into your budget today, it is smart to at least plan for its electrical needs now. Stoves, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and — yes — future hot tubs all require a dedicated, 220V electrical line. If you think you will need the extra lines in the future, it is much easier — and less expensive — to add them to your electrical panel now, rather than realizing you need to upgrade your entire panel later.
Electrical upgrades are not expensive if you plan for them in advance when building a new home. Contact local home builders to learn more about other upgrades and considerations to make during the process.