For the last several months, my husband and I have been in the process of renovating an old 1917 Russian Orthodox church into a home. The former altar area is our kitchen, the main chapel is our living room, and from entryway to the back of the stage there are all of three electrical outlets. We're finally ready to look at electricity so our question to you is — How many outlets would you like to have in your own kitchen?
For the last several months we've had a small table in our entryway (right next to a fan, pile of lumber, bottle of ice melt and a planter I planned to finish spray painting before the snow came and never got around to it), that holds our toaster oven. In the actual kitchen we have an extension cord so we can run one small appliance at a time. We switch back and forth between our electric skillet, hot plate, electric kettle and so forth.
When you think dream renovation a toaster oven in your entryway isn't on the list!This obviously hasn't been ideal, but it's worked to keep fuses from blowing and as long as you don't burn something in the toaster oven, there's usually a nice smell to greet you when you enter. We have a backlog of things that require electricity in our kitchen and we're finally ready to tackle the task of rewiring, but we don't want to sell ourselves short, or look like crazy people at the same time.
We know we'll need outlets for the garbage disposal, dishwasher, refrigerator, deep freezer (when your kitchen is that big you can keep it in plain sight without it looking like an elephant), instant hot water heater, and two or three small appliances. We'd potentially like a spare outlet or two for a lamp.
But before we commit to anything, how many outlets do you wish you had in your own kitchen? Are you always running short somewhere?
We're all ears, so let us know in the comments below!
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Comments (27)
When we remolded our kitchen, I wish we had put mulit outlets in the kitchen--I now have one of those ugly mulit plugs in outlets for everyone to see. Also, I wish I had put one more outlet in our island. You will be surprised how many outlets you really need. Go out and buy one of those canned fuel burners for an extra hot plate to use while you are remodeling. They are great.
When I remodeled my the kitchen in my 1916 bungalow I added custom cut hardwired outlet strips (plugmold) along the top of the backsplash right underneath the upper cabinets. This provides me with an outlet every 5" or so. It's probably overkill, but after living with a single awkwardly placed outlet it makes me very happy.
The only issue is if you keep appliances on your countertop plugged in. Then the cords leading up to the outlet strip are more noticeable. Otherwise, they are nearly invisible and allow for a seamless backsplash.
Just make sure that your wiring accommodates all those appliances and doesn't trip the circuit breaker!
I'd say a minimum of one-outlet per counterspace that you may be prepping at. And one near the stove. And that doesn't include the outlets for things that are always plugged in.
I have three duplex outlets above the counters, which seems to be sufficient for my needs. It's basically one duplex outlet on each wall (U-shaped kitchen).
One side has the toaster oven and a spare outlet. One side has the coffeemaker and grinder. And the other has the stand mixer. None of them stay plugged in while not in use, but I'd still have spare sockets if they had been. There's another 5 duplex outlets scattered near floor level throughout the rest of the kitchen non-counter area. Pretty much overkill for my needs, but it is nice to be able to plug in just about anywhere.
It's not just the number, but the placement. In our tiny kitchen, we have four 2-plug outlets, but two of them are so inconveniently located as to be unusable: one is inches above the only counter big enough to hold a dishdrainer, and the other is chest-high on a wall in the entry.
Lesson learned: when planning a dream kitchen, think not only about how many plugs, but about how the space is likely to be used.
The outlets aren't the only concern, of course: how many circuits does your dream kitchen have. My husband and I are indefinitely stuck with a mostly renovated kitchen (the baby came). We have a circuit for lights, a circuit for the fridge, a few for small appliances (the dishwasher is on one and the gas range is on another), and we have a circuit for an electric range if we ever want to go back to that. I would still like a dedicated circuit for the range (the manual recommends but does not require one). All told, we have 8 receptacles, five of which are on the counter for small appliances (the dishwasher is hardwired).
One thing I did in the kitchen I just designed (haven't moved in yet!) is have outlets installed in the tall pantry cabinets with slide out drawers...that way I can plug in things that I want to keep off the counter tops. Maybe a coffee grinder, an ice cream machine, blender, microwave if I can find a small enough one, etc.
You always need one more than you have...
In Canada, the minimum requirement in the electrical code is something like one standard duplex outlet per 3 feet of counter AND any section of counter that's over a foot long must have at least one outlet. (Eg. if you've got a little piece of counter between the fridge and the stove, being less than 3 feet doesn't mean it doesn't have to have an outlet.) This makes for a pretty usable result.
I think it depends on the size of the kitchen though. If you only have 2 possible work spaces (that's if I count the kitchen table) then you don't need a lot of outlets, and you have to learn to put your toaster away when you aren't using it. In a larger kitchen it'd be nice to have a few more.
I'd guesstimate 1 outlet for 3 feet of counter space? And one near the kitchen table. For plugging the laptop in when you need to look up a recipe or watch 30 Rock while you make dinner.
Our kitchen has two 4-outlet groups on the main counter, and two 2-outlet groups on the side counter. I never use all 4 outlets in one group, though, so I kind of wish we'd split them up more evenly spaced. That way I could reach the stovetop with the immersion blender!
I agree with Jenny - for those appliances that need a lot of power (usually the cooktop / range and the oven) you need separate circuits. Modern fridges consume surprisingly small amount of power, but microwave ovens can sometimes surprise you.
As far as outlets are concerned, be sure to have them distributed over the worktop and not in one cluster. Also, keep them away from the sink or the cooktop where you might incidentally spill water into them...
I'm an architect that works a lot on kitchens. As scruloose (love the handle!) said, one duplex per 3 feet of counter is a good rule of thumb. We also like to specify that each wall of the kitchen be on a separate circuit. That being said, I find the plugs that are integrated into my range to be very useful.
@a_a_svensson: my parents did the exact same thing in their recent kitchen remodel--plugs along the stainless steel backspash every 5 or 6 inches. I know that it has made them very, very happy.
I love for plugs to be near a range too, like @Michelle of Montreal so that an immersion blender or electric beater can be used on the stovestop for soupmaking, etc.!
@scruloose- that sounds fabulous! I wish that were the case here, I'd have 3 more outlets in my kitchen!
Luckily, the house we moved into was previously owned by an electrician - It seems there's an outlet about every 2 feet no matter what part of the house you're in.. If only we were as lucky as far as the distance from our house to the train.. :(
Ditto on the outlet strip all around the backsplash - we have an outlet every 8 inches or so all the way around a loooong countertop, so there are plenty. I would totally retrofit this into any future kitchen because I like it so much.
Another vote for the separate circuits - if you plan to use an espresso machine or a coffee bean roaster, it's critical to have plenty of juice flowing through each circuit in order for those machines to function well.
In terms of numbers and placement mine are ok -- one by each of the main prep areas. However, I do wish there was one near the stove for when I use my immersion blender. Right now I have to move the boiling hot pot of whatever over to the counter and put it on top of some hot pads while I blend.
Oh, gosh. My old apartment had two two-plug outlets, one of which had the refrigerator plugged into it, with the stove plugged into the other! We had a power strip so we could have the toaster and microwave plugged in, but it would blow the fuse if the fridge switched on while I was running the microwave!
At any rate, does the electrical code in your city require a certain number of outlets per foot? I know someone who re-did their kitchen recently and they had to put in what seemed like a ridiculous number of outlets to meet code.
When we remodeled our kitchen, I found that the code (Fla.) generally took care of the number of outlets distributed around the kitchen, but I added even more for special convenience. I find particularly useful the outlet I had installed under the sink (charges dustbuster hanging on inside of the cabinet), those I had installed along a shelf in my pantry (charging batteries and rechargeable devices), the two just under the counter edge on either end of my kitchen island, and the one I had installed just under the counter on the end of the eating peninsula, which comes in very handy for using my netbook in the kitchen.
On a related topic---
When working in the UK I have noticed and admired their outlets, which have a switch to turn on and off the outlet itself. That means that you don't have to unplug everything all the time.
Why don't we do that here? Are those available in the US?
so sad about the church :(
WOW! Unless you want that dear old building to burn down around your ears you have to immediately get an electrician in there and REWIRE the building up to code and then you can put as many outlets as you want in there. Old buildings have wires chewed up by mice that are just waiting to combust and are easily ...already!...overloaded. You are being extremely reckless if you don't hire an electrician IMMEDIATELY!! I wish you safety and enjoyment in your new home!
We just did the wiring plan for our new kitchen last night and I think we put in about 10 or 12 sockets plus all the ones under the worksurface for appliances. I hope that's enough, though I will go back and look again to check we have one near enough the stove for a blender.
How odd, just yesterday I was laughing about the outlets in my kitchen. We have a small kitchen, but we must have 6* double outlets! We use maybe one. It operates our iHome and, occasionally, a food processor.
<I>*Of the ones visible; I'm not counting the one behind the fridge.</I>
We have a 4 plug outlet on either side of the stove, a 2 plug outlet at the end of the countertop (where the phone charges) and a 2 plug outlet at the end of the island. For our use this is just perfect. Of course it depends on how many gadgets you have out. We always have the coffeemaker, bean grinder and toaster plugged in.