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Please let me know if I need the services of an electrician or a normal handyman to facilitate laying down the requirements for 2 x HP Z840's, some LCD monitors and a bunch of laptops.

The wattage I got was about 1700W.

I guess what I am asking is if I can run a cable from the outlets to a few power strips myself, or, do I need a handyman, or do I need an electrician proper?

I am in the US.

Rohit Gupta
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a3kartik
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  • This is in the basement of a house made in 2002. – a3kartik Aug 26 '23 at 23:38
  • Depends on where you are and how confident you are and how neat you want it to look. – Rohit Gupta Aug 27 '23 at 03:17
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    It also depends where in the world you live. In the UK you could run all that off one socket. – Tetsujin Aug 27 '23 at 07:19
  • Not only in the UK, in basically the intirety of Europe you can run that off of one socket – Irsu85 Aug 27 '23 at 09:02
  • Thanks for all the reponses, I am in the USA – a3kartik Aug 27 '23 at 18:09
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    In the US, each socket is typically rated for 15A (1800W). If 1700W is your peak usage, it should be fine. If that is your regular draw (peak may be higher), have an electrician run a dedicated 20A line. – Alphy13 Aug 28 '23 at 20:24
  • This depends where you live, in countries with 240v electricity this is well within the limits of a 15 amp circuit. You can plug in outlet strips yourself, but if the breaker trips you will need an electrician to upgrade you to 12 gauge wire all the way back to the main panel. Putting too many amps(>15) on a 14 guage wire could easily result in a house fire if your circuit breaker fails to trip. In Australia aside from plugging things in everything else REQUIRES an electrician by law. – cybernard Sep 21 '23 at 16:33

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Check your electrical panel. See what breakers are responsible for your basement receptacles. If breakers are 20 amp, you should be good. If only 15 amp, not so good.

15 amp * 120 volt = 1,800 watt; 1,700 watt load is 94%

20 amp * 120 volt = 2,400 watt; 1,700 watt load is 71%

94% load is not only too much by the code - any small additional load can cause your breaker to trip. 71% is a safe load, you will have some "breathing room" with temporary additional loads.

Just don't plug everything into one surge protector. Regular wall receptacles are rated for 15A only (even though the whole circuit can be 20A). Splitting the load between two or more receptacles should be ideal.

If your circuit is only 15A, or if you have additional load on your 20A circuit that you can't permanently disconnect, you'll need help from an electrician. There is a small chance that you have a 240v dryer receptacle in your basement, but I wouldn't count on it.

And don't forget about cooling - running 1,700 watts without proper ventilation can make your basement a very sweaty place.

Alexander
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