If you are doing some bathroom remodeling and are looking to add an electrical outlet, you must be wondering if you should use a 15 or 20 amp gfci in the bathroom?

Well, it is recommended you use 20 amp gfci outlets to power your bathroom appliances properly. This is to ensure safety for your appliances you will be using, to ensure the appliances get enough power to run them and enable the circuit to handle the plugged in load.

If you choose to set up a 15 amp gfci you will be putting your home in danger and you might require to replace the outlet later. You will rather do it right now rather than spend more money later.

In this article we will discuss how to determine whether to use 15 or 20 gfci amp outlets in the bathroom.

How To Determine Whether To Use 15 or 20 amp gfci in Bathroom

The following are the factors one needs to consider when choosing gfci outlets for their bathroom to ensure you set up everything according to the electrical codes.

Power Output

Have you ever plugged in an appliance into an outlet and then power in the house when out? Well that is what we call a short circuit, the power being drawn from the outlet was less than what the appliance needed to run it.

This is why you must consider the power output that an outlet will provide for your appliances when choosing between 15 or 20 amp gfci for the bathroom.

It is safer to go for the higher power output gfci. This will ensure the appliances are loaded with enough power and avoid low power.

In some cases, overdrawing power from the circuit by an appliance could end up damaging your appliance.

Safety

When it comes to your safety, safety of your appliances that you have spent your hard earned money on and the general safety of your home. You cannot compromise when choosing whether to use 15 or 20 amp gfci in the bathroom.

This is because if you overload a 15 amp gfci with a higher load appliance you increase the chances of a spark which can escalate to a fire.

In addition, we would want to cause damage to our appliances, better safe than sorry.

That is why it’s important to put into consideration the safety ratings of the appliances that you will be using in that bathroom. Hence settling for a 20 amp gfci is a better choice rather than 15 amp gfci.

15 amp gfci are mostly used for general lighting equipment and not for outlets that connect to appliances.

Usage

You will need to consider the kind of appliances that you will be plugging in the outlet to settle on whether to consider 15 or 20 amp gfci in the bathroom.

The common appliances that you will be using in the bathroom include a hair dryer and a curling iron. And sometimes you will have both plugged in.

Which means it’s important to ensure that the outlet is able to meet the amp usage required by the appliances.

Otherwise you will find that you cannot operate your appliances in the bathroom due to overloading of the circuit. That is why it is recommended to have at least two 20 amp gfci outlets in the bathroom.

Moreover, sometimes you can be two people using the bathroom at the same time preparing for work and you end.

Final Words

When doing a remodel in your bathroom, the electrical remodeling must be handled with utmost precision and care. Hence the question whether you should use 15 or 20 amp gfci in the bathroom?

The answer is that it is advised to use 20 amp gfci in the bathroom so that you ensure that your appliances are powered properly.

The general factors considered in choosing between using 15 or 20 amp gfci for the bathroom. You must consider the power output that the appliance that will be loaded will require.

Hence it’s better to go for 20 amp gfci as it will handle more load as compared to 15 amp gfci. You do not want a short circuit occurring each time you load your dryer or curling iron in the bathroom.

The other factor to consider is safety which is super important. You want your appliances not damaged either incase of a spark caused by overheating or you getting electrocuted trying to fix the issue.

Going forward it’s clear that for your bathrooms always go for 20 amp gfci and not 15 amps.