Kitchen Electrical and Lighting

The Half of the Remodel That Has to Pass Inspection

A kitchen remodel that moves a counter, adds an island or changes the lighting in Irvine will almost always need a permit, and once there is a permit the electrical work gets inspected. Theweeklytimes plans that work at the start of the job, alongside the layout, so the ceiling, the switches and the panel are settled before any cabinets are ordered.

What the Inspector Is Looking For

Two sets of rules meet in a kitchen. The electrical code covers circuits and protection: at least two 20 amp small appliance circuits serving the countertops, GFCI protection on the countertop receptacles, arc-fault protection on the kitchen circuits, receptacles spaced so a cord can reach from anywhere along the counter, and dedicated circuits for fixed appliances. California’s Title 24 energy code covers the lighting: the fixtures you install need to be high efficacy, recessed fixtures in an insulated ceiling need to be rated for it and sealed against air leakage, and many fixtures need to sit on a dimmer or vacancy sensor.

None of that is unusual, but a lot of kitchens reach rough inspection without it. The most common problems we see on other people’s jobs are LED fixtures bought without the certification marking the inspector wants, under-cabinet lights wired onto the same switch as the ceiling, and an island with no receptacle because nobody planned a path for the cable.

Starting With a Lighting Plan

We draw the lighting in layers. Ambient light from the ceiling gives the room an even base. Task light sits under the upper cabinets and over the sink and range, where your hands are. Accent light, such as a pair of pendants over an island or a strip inside a glass cabinet, is the part people notice, and the part that needs the least wattage.

In practice that usually means fewer recessed downlights than people expect, spaced from the counter edge rather than centered in the room, so the light lands in front of you instead of behind your head. A four inch downlight roughly every four to five feet along a galley is often plenty. The plan also shows every switch location, which switch runs what, and where a dimmer makes sense.

Older Irvine Kitchens

Original kitchens in Woodbridge, Northwood, Turtle Rock and Westpark often have a large fluorescent fixture in a dropped soffit, one or two counter circuits shared with other rooms, and non-grounded or undersized wiring in places. When those kitchens open up we typically remove the soffit where the new cabinet heights allow, run fresh counter and appliance circuits back to the panel, and replace the fixture with airtight IC-rated LED downlights. A few houses from the early seventies have aluminum branch wiring, and that needs a specific plan rather than a patch.

Newer Builder Kitchens

In Portola Springs, Quail Hill and the Great Park neighborhoods the circuits are usually current, and rewiring them would be money wasted. What those kitchens tend to lack is light where the work happens. We add under-cabinet lighting, split the ceiling cans onto more than one switch, and add a dimmer, often without opening more than a few small holes.

The Panel Question

Before you order a range, we do a load calculation on your panel. Induction ranges, double ovens, a second refrigerator and an electric car charger in the garage all draw on the same service. The result can be that nothing needs changing, that a load management device will cover it, or that a subpanel or service upgrade is worth doing while the walls are open.

What Is Included

• A walkthrough with the panel open and a written electrical and lighting scope
• A lighting and switching plan drawn on your new layout
• Permit drawings, and a version suitable for an HOA architectural review
• Rough-in wiring, rough inspection, and coordination with the drywall crew
• Fixture, switch and receptacle trim out, then the final inspection

If you are planning a remodel in Irvine and want to know what the electrical side will involve, call (949) 383-3319.