I am finishing my basement and I'm basically splitting the basement in half to keep half as a storage area. I currently have 4 lights in the basement wired as shown in the first diagram. I want to control the finished and unfinished lights separately. Do I need to pull a new circuit, or can I share the power between the two light circuits as in the second diagram? I don't know if NEC code allows for light circuits to be shared in parallel, but I believe there will be a problem if both sets of lights are turned on at the same time... i.e. voltage drop, path of least resistance.
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As long as the total load is not greater than the rating for the supply wiring and breaker, parallel loads are fine. Most of your existing lighting is probably already paralleled off a few breakers rather than a breaker for each. Your wall outlets also have several outlets in parallel for each breaker.– robartsdFeb 12, 2015 at 17:26
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1 Answer
There's no problem doing what you want. Just make sure the junction is in a box, and the box is proper size and accessible.