During the remodel, clients and customers asked me a lot of questions. Recently, I was asked about the rules for the mounting height of receptacles, receptacles, and switches. There are some rules regarding the placement of receptacles, however, the height of a receptacle or wall switch is not part of the NEC code. At the very least, the code avoids rules about standard heights for switches and receptacles.
General rule of thumb for outlet spacing
The main rule is the so-called 6'/12' rule. NEC 210-52 specifies the following (abbreviated for ease of understanding):
Every room in your home needs outlets so that no point on the wall is more than 6 feet from the outlet. This means you need an outlet within 6 feet of a doorway or fireplace. However, there may be 12 feet between the exits of a long wall. Any outlet higher than 5' 6" cannot be counted in this equation. Floor outlets that are less than 18" from the wall can.
There are other guidelines to follow as well. For example:
- Each hallway should have at least one container if the length is 10 feet or more
- Countertop receptacles require at least two 20-amp circuits and must be GFCI protected. The distance between countertop outlets must not exceed 4 feet.
Now comes the point of this article. As for typical heights, this isn't very well regulated (and we're happy about that). Typically, you want to install the outlet box with the bottom about 16 inches off the ground. Coincidentally, this is roughly equal to the height of your garden variety 22 oz frame hammer. However, we still recommend using a ruler.
The installation height of the kitchen container
For countertops, the height at which the outlets will be installed depends on your layout. There are no height guidelines other than keeping them under a maximum of 20 inches. This seems obvious since the top cabinets start at 18"). Placement depends somewhat on how you plan to do the tailgate. If you install the bottom of the box about 2-3 inches above the tile, solid surface, or stone backsplash, you'll have a well-placed and easily accessible outlet.
With refrigerators, you have some flexibility. Typically, we mount these receptacles about 48 inches from the floor.
How high will you mount the light switch?
Typically, you mount light switches about 48 inches above the ground (center). This can vary, but we've found that it's a good rule of thumb and is very consistent with builders and subcontractors in our area. We also tend to run them as dedicated 15A or 20A circuits, although the code may not require that.
Editor's Note: We know a guy who sets all the switches 30 inches off the ground. At first we thought it was some kind of accommodation for disabled people in the family. Upon further questioning, we found out that this just allows him to turn on the lights in each room without raising his arm… While there's nothing technically wrong with this, we wouldn't recommend screwing your potential resale value back to laziness based Or try a trendy decision that stands out! Follow implicit standards.
final thoughts
A building plan might have measurements indicating center, top, or even bottom measurements. Just double check your work to make sure everything makes sense and you have enough ergonomics to activate all switches and access your outlets efficiently. Hopefully, knowing how high to mount outlets and switches will allow you to move on to more important layout and design tasks!