[aalvilla]

I am contemplating switching my 15AMP breaker into a 20AMP breaker because the lights flicker in my home office because my computer and printer eat up a lot of power.

If I switch breakers, will this help my power problem? Or I am limited to the gauge of the wires in the wall? Thanks for the help.

[tkrussell]

You can only replace a 15 amp breaker with a 20 amp breaker if the wire is a minimum of #12 copper wire through out the entire circuit.

Changing the breaker will not stop the flickering you are experiencing either.

Shut off this breaker and check all the outlets, lights, and appliances in the home to see what exactly is on this circuit, along with the computer. I suspect you will find something like the refrigerator, freezer, or some other appliance that operates automatically that is causing the lights to flicker.

Depending on the printer you have, it may be causing the lights to flicker also.

But the PC at the most draws 200-300 watts,which is only 2.5 amps. There is a much larger load on the circuit causing the flickering.

[aalvilla]

The problem is the printer. It uses on average 600W of power up to max of 1100w. That doesn't leave much if a 15A breaker displaces 1440w of power. I checked and my wire is 14/2 so changing my breaker is a no go. I will have to look for a printer that eats up less power.

[TerryB]

If it's only the flickering lights that's bothering you, try hooking up the printer through a good UPS. It should filter out the temporary additional load.

[Rover88]

Most UPS manufacturers recommend against plugging laser printers into their product. I assume this is a laser you're talking about?

[Cobraguy]

You may have to look into a dedicated 20A circuit to your office. I have one dedicated 20A circuit for my receptacles and a general 15A lighting circuit for the lights.

[tkrussell]

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