Hey everyone! I just bought an older home from the 1920s, and I've noticed that the circuit breakers aren't labeled properly. I found out that my fridge shares a circuit with a portion of the house—specifically, it's on the same circuit as my living room and mudroom. Sometimes, the lights flicker in the living room when the fridge kicks on, but nothing has tripped the breaker so far, even when everything is running at once. I'm wondering if it's okay to keep things as they are. I heard the latest NEC update suggests that refrigerators should be on their own dedicated circuit. Thoughts?
1 Answer
Honestly, if everything's working fine and you haven't had any issues, you might not need to rush to change it. Just be aware that the NEC guidelines suggest separate circuits for fridges to prevent accidental trips that could spoil your food. Since you mentioned you're in the process of renovations, if there's any chance you're opening up walls, it might be a good opportunity to get a dedicated line for the fridge, but if it’s not causing problems, you're probably okay for now.
I totally get that. I'm just curious why they didn't put in a dedicated line during the renovations since the fridge is right above the breaker panel. I’m not a fan of cutting into walls, but if it means easier access to power, it might be worth it.