Electric range and cooktop load calculations

What the code requires

Table 220.55 may be used to set the demand load for household electric ranges, wall-mounted ovens, counter-mounted cooktops and similar appliances rated over 1¾ kW. Column C covers appliances rated up to 12 kW: the maximum demand is 8 kW for one range, 11 kW for two, 14 kW for three, 17 kW for four and 20 kW for five.

Note 1: where the ranges are all the same rating, over 12 kW up to 27 kW, the Column C value goes up 5% for each kW, or major fraction of a kW, above 12 kW. Note 2 covers ranges of unequal ratings.

Note 3: appliances rated 1¾ to 8¾ kW may use Column A (under 3½ kW) or Column B (3½ to 8¾ kW) instead. For one appliance, both columns are 80% of the nameplate rating.

Notes 4 through 6 cover branch circuits: one range may be figured from the table; one wall oven or one cooktop counts at its nameplate rating; and a cooktop plus up to two wall ovens on one branch circuit in the same room are added together and treated as one range. Note 7 extends the table to household cooking appliances over 1¾ kW used in instructional programs.

On the job

• Example: a 12,000-VA range counts as 8,000 VA in the calculation.
• The neutral (unbalanced) load for ranges and other cooking appliances is figured separately under 220.61(B)(1), which allows a reduction from the full cooking demand.
• Have the nameplate kW of a new range, oven or cooktop on hand early; the table and its notes depend on it.
• The optional calculation in 220.82 does not use this table; it adds ranges, wall ovens and cooktops at their nameplate ratings within the general loads.

In California

In new one- and two-family homes, the 2025 CEC (422.3) requires a dedicated electric-cooktop circuit as specified in Energy Code 150.0(u); new multifamily units follow Energy Code 160.9(b).

Related sections

• NEC 210.19: Branch-circuit wire size and minimum ampacity
• NEC 220.61
• NEC 220.82: Optional load calculation for a single home
• NEC 220.54: Electric clothes dryer load (5,000 VA minimum)
• NEC 422.3: California: electric-ready water heater, cooktop, dryer

Where this comes from

• 2014 NEC Article 220 text (IEEE section copy)
• Electrician U: Dwelling unit service load calculations, standard method (2023 NEC)
• Mike Holt, EC&M: Load calculations, part 2
• Mike Holt: Summary of the 2023 changes to the NEC
• Read the official NEC free at NFPA