I have done some wiring in my house.
I had someone helping that new more about what type of wiring
for what reasons.

I am wanting to daisy chain a light from an existing electric outlet with a switch in between.
I am wanting to know how to figure out what type of wire I need.
Would a 20 AMP wire be fine?

How do I figure this out? Is there a table on the net for calculating the type of wire to use? I plan to wire a lot more
so I want to know how to figure future needs also.

Thanks,
Michael

 

Couple of factors here, the two most obvious being, (1) what loads you will be placing on those circuits, and (2) what size breaker the circuit runs from. Generally you'll find 2 most common circuits will be 15amp using #14 wire/romex or 20amp using #12. Likely most of what you'll want to do will be 15a/#14 - lights, receptacles, ceiling fans, etc. Larger circuits would be for things like major appliances, heating and cooling, etc. Don't mix and match the wiring, i.e. you shouldn't branch off a 20a circuit with #14 wire or vice versa.

For running the circuit you mentioned, check the breaker the circuit is on, likely 15a with #14 wire (14-2 nm-b romex). Run your wire from the outlet to the switch location and a separate cable to the light. At the switch box, connect the two white wires together, the two ground wires together, and the two black wires go on the switch terminals. Use wire nuts for the connections

WARNING: Ensure power is off!