"How many breakers does a two-bedroom apartment need?" doesn't have a single right answer, because it depends less on the number of rooms and more on how the load in those rooms is distributed. A 60 m² apartment with an electric stove, washing machine, and air conditioner needs more circuit groups than an apartment of the same size without that kind of equipment.
Here's the logic behind splitting circuits into groups, plus rough figures by room — so you know what to ask for in a panel layout instead of guessing.
Why one breaker for the whole apartment is a bad idea
Technically, you could protect an entire apartment with a single breaker at the entry point, and it would "work." But that setup has three practical downsides. First, an overload or short circuit anywhere in the apartment cuts power everywhere, not just in one room. Second, fixing an outlet or replacing a light fixture means cutting power to the whole home instead of one circuit. Third, a breaker rated to handle the apartment's entire combined load is usually too coarse to react in time to a small local problem — an overheating outlet, say — on one specific line.
The logic: grouped by load, not by room
Splitting into groups is built around the type of load first, and which room it happens to be in second. Lighting and outlets are almost always wired as separate circuits: the cable feeding lighting is typically thinner and rated for less current than the cable feeding outlets. High-power fixed appliances — an electric stove, oven, washing machine, water heater, air conditioner — each get their own dedicated circuit sized to that specific appliance, not an oversized one "just in case."
Rooms without heavy equipment — bedrooms, a living room, a kid's room — can be grouped more freely, as long as the combined load stays within reason for one breaker.
How many breakers per room — a reference
| Room | Typical circuits | Typical breaker rating |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | Lighting, outlets, a dedicated line for the stove or oven | 10 A — lighting, 16 A — outlets, 25-32 A — stove |
| Bathroom | Lighting, an RCD-protected outlet, a dedicated line for a water heater if fitted | 10 A — lighting, 16 A — outlet, 16-25 A — water heater |
| Living room | Lighting, outlets | 10 A — lighting, 16 A — outlets |
| Bedroom | Lighting, outlets | 10 A — lighting, 16 A — outlets |
| Entryway / hallway | Lighting, often shared with an adjacent area | 10 A |
A typical 2-3 bedroom apartment usually ends up with 8-12 groups in total. The exact ratings depend on wire gauge, circuit length, and the actual load — this table is a starting point for a conversation with an electrician, not a finished design.
What always needs its own dedicated breaker
Some appliances need a dedicated circuit as a baseline safety requirement, not a luxury: an electric stove and oven, a washing machine and dishwasher, a water heater, an air conditioner, and any fixed high-power heater. The reason is simple — these draw far more current than a lamp or a phone charger, and feeding them from a shared outlet circuit risks a wire being chronically overloaded even if the breaker itself never technically trips.
For damp areas — a bathroom, or a kitchen circuit near the sink — an RCD is added on top, since it reacts to current leakage rather than overload, which matters most exactly where water is close by.
Why lighting and outlets get separated
A dedicated lighting circuit isn't just a formality. Lighting cable is usually rated for less current than outlet cable, and is protected by a lower-rated breaker — typically 10 A against 16 A for outlets. If lighting and outlets share one breaker sized for outlets, an overload on the outlet side may not trip fast enough to protect the thinner lighting wire.
The practical upside of separate circuits shows up day to day too: if the kitchen outlet breaker trips, the room's lighting stays on, so you're not searching for a switch in the dark.
How to avoid overpaying or overcomplicating the panel
There's no need to put every single outlet on its own breaker — that doesn't add safety, it just inflates the panel and the installation cost. A sensible approach is to group similar loads within one room or a couple of small adjoining rooms, and split out dedicated circuits only where an appliance's power draw or a room's humidity actually calls for it.
The final breaker count and ratings are best worked out with an electrician for your specific apartment and appliance list, rather than copying a neighbor's finished layout — layouts and equipment differ from one home to the next.