Dedicated Circuit
A circuit serving exactly one appliance, with its own breaker and nothing else sharing the wire. Code requires them for fixed appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, dishwashers and HVAC equipment.
The logic is reliability and headroom: a refrigerator sharing a circuit with countertop appliances gets tripped off by the air fryer, and food spoils. Major appliances get their own line so no unrelated load can take them down, and so their startup surges do not dim the rest of the house. Modern code expects dedicated circuits for each fixed appliance plus two 20-amp small-appliance circuits for kitchen counters.
In older homes, missing dedicated circuits is one of the most common upgrade requests: the microwave that trips the kitchen, the garage freezer on a string of outlets, the new induction range that needs its own 50-amp feed. Each one is a defined, quotable job.
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- GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) : The outlet with TEST and RESET buttons.
- NEMA 14-50 : The heavy 240-volt, 50-amp receptacle used for ranges, RV hookups and plug-in EV charging: four slots, rated for the most power a standard residential outlet delivers.
- Three-Way Switch : A switch pair controlling one light from two locations, like both ends of a hallway or stairs.
- Dimmer Switch : A switch that varies light brightness by chopping the AC waveform.