When you begin designing a home theater, you may be concerned with the size of the room, how big your screen should be, the layout of the seating, and other components.
However, you also need to be aware of the electrical things to consider. You must evaluate the home theater’s power sourcing, power supply, audio or video humming, and other electrical components.
Power Sourcing
When building your home theater, ensure you have enough outlets, power, and lines for lighting.
You need to be able to have the lights on, sound on, the screen on, audio presenting through the speakers, and extra outlets for charging phones and a popcorn machine or whatever you may want in this theater.
Ensure all your lighting and electronics function properly, reliably, and conveniently. You don’t want wires to tangle or be exposed and cause a potential safety hazard.
Make sure that you have enough outlets, switches, and anything else of the like to get the theater that you dream of.
Power Supply To Your Audio-Video Gear
When designing your home theater, you must have enough power to supply your audio-video gear. This means you won’t overload the circuit by running all aspects needed for the at-home theater simultaneously.
A theater will be a more extensive system that needs bigger amplifiers or separate components, so you should do some math to be sure that you don’t cause a circuit overload.
If the components or things on the circuit draw too much power and exceed the power rating of the breaker based on your math, then you will need to make some changes.
You can either remove any unnecessary components on the circuit, such as unplugging a freezer that is never used or place a new circuit in the theater that is dedicated to the theater alone.
How To Do The Math
Most home breakers are 15 amps. Note the wattages of the components in the circuit (they should be on the rear panel, or you can look them up online). Add all the wattages together and (if you’re in the USA) divide by 120. This answer is the amps in use by the circuit. You can use this circuit if the answer is less than 15.
Audio and or Video Hum
Usually, breakers across from each other are on the same leg and circuit. Still, it’s possible that a subwoofer on a different wall or video bars on a television or projector isn’t on the same circuit. This is not an issue until the humming begins.
When two objects being used simultaneously are on two different circuits, a hum emits from one group of these opposing objects, which is immensely distracting from the theater experience.
Additionally, having different pieces of a theater connected to other legs can cause all kinds of problems with the breakers.
Other Electrical Things To Consider When Designing A Home Theater
Another component that you want to be aware of is noise from other electrical systems.
All the different electrical motors throughout the household, such as refrigerators, microwave ovens, or dimmer light switches, can add noise to your system. This can create an auditory buzzing in the background of your home or interfere with your electrical line.
To prevent this from occurring, you may want a circuit that is dedicated to your home theater. This circuit would only be used for the intended purpose of the home theater. If you need multiple dedicated circuits, you must ensure they are all on the same leg.
Can Teague Electric Help Me In Designing A Home Theater?
If you live in the Kansas City metro area and are designing your home theater, we would love to assist with your electric needs at Teague Electric.
Whether your new theater will be remodeled in the basement or another location, a new add-on entirely, or being built-in as your new home is constructed, our qualified electricians are prepared to help.
We want to ensure that your theater has enough power sources, power supplies, and no annoying audio or video hums so that you can sit back and relax. Let us do the hard work for you.
Contact Teague Electric today to receive advice on designing a home theater!
