All About Getting a Pop Up Electrical Outlet on Your Kitchen Countertop
Kitchens inside the home are designed to provide functionality with design elements that make it stand out from the rest. A lot of work goes on in the kitchen, apart from just cooking. If you have more than one person who does the cooking, one person would be handling or preparing all the ingredients while the other is in charge of cooking them.
Nowadays, there are a lot of kitchen appliances that are designed to make our lives easier and also save time. Be it the grinder, chopper, or food processor, all of them have become a necessary part of our lives. This also means that you need reliable power sockets to plug them in so that you can quickly get your work done.
However, if you have a kitchen island, it would be difficult to find a socket near it. Or if you need to plug in multiple appliances and have only one socket, it can become quite difficult for you. To solve this problem, many people are adapting to a new solution: pop up an electrical outlet on the kitchen countertop. Not only is this functional in terms of design and installation, but it also helps you get your work done easily.
Let’s dive deeper into the topic and see how you can get an electrician in Vancouver to install a pop-up electrical outlet in your kitchen.
How is a Pop-Up Electrical Outlet Installed in Your Kitchen Countertop?
A pop-up electrical outlet refers to an outlet that is concealed underneath the surface of your wood countertops or kitchen islands and can be pressed or rotated to “pop-out”, providing you with a variety of power sockets and even USB ports that you can use to charge your devices.
They have become very popular recently, and solve a major problem that most people are facing in their kitchens. Most homeowners opt for pop-up electrical outlets in place of standard outlets when they are remodeling their kitchen.
Not only are they hidden from view when not needed, but they also provide you with a safe and reliable source of power for your kitchen appliances, which consume a lot of electricity. Now, you don’t need traditional wall outlets or excessively long extension cables to multiply the number of power sockets you need.
Installing a pop-up electrical outlet in your kitchen countertop is very easy, and any experienced electrician in Vancouver can easily do it within a few hours. Let’s go over the general installation process so that you can also understand it better. If you are trying to install the outlet yourself, be careful while you are dealing with wires. One wrongly connected wire can do a lot of damage.
Selecting the Location
The first and most important step in the installation of a pop-out electrical outlet is the selection of a location where you want to install it. Ideally, it should be placed where you normally keep your kitchen appliances, or on the countertop that has the most space, so that you can easily place multiple appliances at the same time. Make sure to select a spot that is away from your sink and dishwasher, as moisture can be bad for electrical outlets. Keeping it away from the stove and oven is also advisable so that it doesn’t get affected by any spills or splashes.
If you have a kitchen island, you can also place your pop-up electrical outlet on it, as it is far away from all the action and also provides you with suitable space for keeping your appliances. Keep in mind that this electrical outlet will have to be connected to the nearest wall outlet to supply power to it, so if you choose a spot that is too far away, it will increase the cost of wiring, as well as the complexity of the job.
When selecting a location for your electrical outlet, you also have to make sure your decision complies with the National Electric Code (NEC), which states that you should place an outlet within the first 9 square feet of your countertop, and install additional outlets for every 18 square feet. So, if you have a bigger kitchen, you can install multiple pop-up electrical outlets that are spaced evenly apart for maximum convenience and utility.
Making the Space
Once you have zeroed in on the location where you want your electrical outlet to be, the next step involves cutting an opening for it on the wood countertop or kitchen island. This step is much more critical and requires precision and care, as you wouldn’t want your beautiful countertops to be ruined by scratches and cuts.
An electrician will use the appropriate tools for this job. One thing to keep in mind is that before you get to cutting the enclosure for your pop-up electrical outlet, make sure you know how much space it will take so that you don’t end up cutting too much or too little of a space. Not only will it be counterproductive, but the unit won’t fit properly and thus you won’t be able to pop it in and out the way it should.
For this purpose, it is best that you go out and buy a pop-up electrical outlet before you call your electrician. They will be able to examine the entire unit and measure it before making any cutouts. This way, not only your time but your money will be saved, and your precious countertops won’t be damaged too.
Once the cutout is done, the electrician can place the pop-up electrical outlet in place to check if the cutting is done right. Then, they can remove it to progress to the next step.
Installing the Pop Up Unit
The last step involves installing the pop-up electrical outlet, which is much more than placing the unit in the cutout. More important than this is to lay down the wiring for your new unit. The wires will have to be concealed underneath the unit and carried over to the nearest wall outlet so that they are not visible and don’t ruin the aesthetics of your kitchen.
This is one of the hardest things to do, and an electrician in Vancouver is the only person that can get this step right. As mentioned above, if your location for the pop-up outlet is quite far from the nearest wall socket, then you will have to get more wiring, which can incur an additional cost.
Once the wiring is done, the electrician will connect it to the unit first. Next, they will unscrew the wall socket to expose its wiring, and connect the unit’s wires to them. The wall socket will act as a receptacle and supply power to your newly installed pop-up electrical outlet. When the wiring is secured, the electrician just has to pop the unit in place, fasten the screws tightly. and the installation is complete.
The National Electric Code also states that when a pop-up electrical outlet is being installed, homeowners must ask their electricians to install a ground fault circuit interrupter with it. It plays a major role in detecting any ground faults or short circuits in your system and will protect your kitchen appliances from overheating and malfunctioning by shutting off power to the outlet, thus saving you from being electrocuted as well.
These are the basic steps involved in the installation of a pop-up electrical outlet, and you can install it on any countertop or surface on your kitchen island. Just make sure to choose a suitable place that is far from moisture or spillages, and where you get enough space to keep your appliances properly. Also ensure that you comply with the NEC guidelines that have been mentioned above and that you hire a professional experienced electrician in Vancouver for this job, rather than taking the DIY route.
How is the Pop Up Electrical Outlet Tested after Installation?
Once your electrician has installed the pop-up electrical outlet on your kitchen countertop, their work simply doesn’t end here. Make sure to ask them to test the outlet as well, so that if there are any faults, they can be fixed before it causes a major issue to your electrical system. One of the things that they have to check is whether the circuit is overloaded.
To check for an overloaded circuit, electricians plugin as many appliances as they can in the pop-up electrical outlet, and turn them on one by one. If your kitchen’s circuit breaker trips at any point during this step, then you will get an idea of how many appliances you can safely use at the same time. Moreover, if the circuit breaker trips at just one or two appliances, then you should also get your circuit breaker replaced with one that can handle the load easily.
Another thing that should be tested is the “pop up” mechanism of the electrical outlet, and even you can do it by pressing the top of the electrical outlet to see if it pops out smoothly. If there is any hurdle or it doesn’t come out the whole way, your electrician may have to take it out and check it properly.
Since you are getting everything tested, make sure to also check the wall socket you are using as a receptacle. Often, kitchen sockets are subjected to heat and moisture, and this causes their wires to come loose, increasing the chances of a short circuit. It could also be that if your circuit breaker is tripping when you plug in the appliances, the problem lies in the wall socket and not in the breaker. It will only cost you a few dollars to replace the wall socket with a new one as well so that you can have peace of mind.
Why Shouldn’t You Install a Pop-Up Electrical Outlet Yourself?
Although the electrical installation may seem easy, it can be quite dangerous and fatal, and a slight mistake can have a devastating effect. If you don’t pay attention while you are connecting wires, you are at a major risk of getting electrocuted, and this can lead to permanent damage or even death. If you install your pop-up electrical outlet incorrectly and turn on the wall socket you have connected it to, it could cause a short circuit that can overheat the entire wiring of your kitchen, leading to higher costs.
Therefore, it is always a wise decision to enlist the services of a professional electrician who knows their work inside out and would also be able to do it for you much faster than you can.
Reasons to Get Your Pop Up Electrical Outlet Installed Right Away
If you are intrigued by pop-up electrical outlets and their usefulness, you might be tempted to go out and get one right now, and call your electrician to come to install it as soon as possible. There is no harm in this plan at all. Here are some reasons why you should get a pop-up electrical outlet installed quickly.
Kitchen Islands have a Unique Electrical Code
We have discussed the National Electrical Code above, which governs your usage and installation of electrical fittings around the house. Typically, kitchen islands have one receptacle that is installed to its side, but according to new additions to the NEC, most states are now making it mandatory for homeowners to install pop-up electrical outlets in their kitchen islands instead of wall sockets.
Wall Outlets Restrict Space
According to the NEC, your kitchen should have a wall outlet installed every 48 inches, which means that there will be space constraints for other elements in your kitchen, such as the sink, windows, etc. This means that you have to maintain a clearance of 18 inches between your wall and sink if a socket is present behind it, and a clearance of 24 inches between your cooking range and the wall. This gives you very little space to work with, so you can swap out your wall outlets for pop-up electrical outlets to solve this issue.
Easier Wire Management
Naturally, when you are using kitchen appliances that plugged into a wall outlet or receptacle on your kitchen island, there are dangling cords here and there, especially if you are using an extension. These are a safety hazard for you, as well as your children. With pop-up electrical outlets, wire management becomes much easier.
Charge Your Devices
Are you a forgetful person who forgets to charge their smartphone when they are busy in the kitchen? If that is the case, all you need is a pop-up electrical outlet that also has USB charging ports. This way, your phone is charging while you cook, and it is also near you, so you don’t miss any calls or notifications. Some electrical outlets also provide wireless charging, so you don’t even have to plug in your charging cable to charge your phone.
Freedom to Install a Backsplash
Since the electrical code requires you to have a wall outlet every 48 inches, this often means that you have an outlet behind your cooking range, and this is why most people can’t install backsplashes, even if they want to. As a result, not only does space look less appealing, but it also gets quite dirty from all of the splashes caused by cooking. With pop-up electrical outlets, you don’t have to worry about this, as you can remove your wall outlet and install any backsplash that you need to protect your walls and add to the aesthetic value of your kitchen.
Access to Multiple Sockets
Another added benefit of installing pop-up electrical outlets on your kitchen countertop is that they can provide you anywhere between two to six power sockets, as well as two or three USB ports, depending on which one you buy. On the other hand, wall outlets mostly have only one socket, so you can’t plug in multiple appliances at the same time in them. Therefore, not only do you get more sockets with pop-up outlets, but you also get to save time.
This brings our article to an end. We hope that you understand the usefulness and benefits of installing a pop-up electrical outlet in your kitchen. They are highly functional and provide you with an ample number of sockets for all your power needs. Moreover, you can hide them from view when they are not being used, which maintains the clean and elegant exterior of your kitchen.
Whenever you are getting a pop-up electrical outlet installed, make sure that you follow the above guidelines to comply with the National Electrical Code, and also ensure safety for you and your family. By hiring an electrician in Vancouver, not only will you be able to get your work done professionally, but they will also be able to guide you with which model to buy, and also help you understand the electrical codes that have to be followed.