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Bones93

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Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and an avid DIY’er. I have recently become a new home owner and noticed that we have an outdoor electrical panel. I plan on installing a doorbell to our home which has no pre-existing wiring for one. My question is as follows:
Would I route the 16V transformer into my crawl space or install the transformer outside in a weatherproof housing unit? I tried to research the local codes which didn’t return any good results. I would love some advice if any. I plan to purchase the transformer, bell wire, and chime unit in the future to carry out this task. I just need an idea how to finish this last step, of connecting to the panel, once all is said and done.
Thanks in advance
 
Traditional doorbells have the advantage of no batteries to change. And no stupid smart features that fail is Amazon has an outage, etc!

You might find one of the USA electricians such as @Megawatt has better advice as most folk here are more UK-based in terms of how some details are done.

For example, here you would probably have a 6A or less circuit breaker in your panel (here called a fuse box, or CU = consumer unit, or DB = distribution board in an industrial setting) to feed the transformer or, depending on the location and existing house wiring, take it off an existing circuit with a FCU (fused connection unit) that has a 3A fuse in it for protection.

I have seen the transformers in all sorts of places internally, typically in the area of the CU, but also sometimes high up on walls, etc. Putting one outside would be unusual here in the UK, and in that case we would expect the power feed to it to be RCD-protected (GFCI in USA terms).

Without seeing your options it is hard to say, but I would avoid putting it outside if you can just for peace of mind and not depending on a good waterproof enclosure.
 
Also to add: here in the UK adding a new circuit to a panel is (in England and Wales) covered by building regulations as "notifiable work" so really needs to be done by a professional.

I don't know what your local codes are like, nor if your house insurance has any restrictions, but I would strongly advise that you get a professional electrician in to add any new breakers or similar to your panel.
 
Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and an avid DIY’er. I have recently become a new home owner and noticed that we have an outdoor electrical panel. I plan on installing a doorbell to our home which has no pre-existing wiring for one. My question is as follows:
Would I route the 16V transformer into my crawl space or install the transformer outside in a weatherproof housing unit? I tried to research the local codes which didn’t return any good results. I would love some advice if any. I plan to purchase the transformer, bell wire, and chime unit in the future to carry out this task. I just need an idea how to finish this last step, of connecting to the panel, once all is said and done.
Thanks in advance
Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and an avid DIY’er. I have recently become a new home owner and noticed that we have an outdoor electrical panel. I plan on installing a doorbell to our home which has no pre-existing wiring for one. My question is as follows:
Would I route the 16V transformer into my crawl space or install the transformer outside in a weatherproof housing unit? I tried to research the local codes which didn’t return any good results. I would love some advice if any. I plan to purchase the transformer, bell wire, and chime unit in the future to carry out this task. I just need an idea how to finish this last step, of connecting to the panel, once all is said and done.
Thanks in advance
[/Q
Also to add: here in the UK adding a new circuit to a panel is (in England and Wales) covered by building regulations as "notifiable work" so really needs to be done by a professional.

I don't know what your local codes are like, nor if your house insurance has any restrictions, but I would strongly advise that you get a professional electrician in to add any new breakers or similar to your panel.
It needs to be installed in the attic and never install it out doors. As stated above from other members you being a DIY when it comes to getting power from the transformer to the panel you by code have to hire a licensed electrician. Good luck
 
Thanks for the information, I do intend to have an electrician inspect and make the final connections for legality reasons. I do intend to do much of the dirty work (literally under crawl space) for the low voltage end. I’ll be sure to check back.
 

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