Why should my appliances be on a dedicated circuit?

Question

Why should my appliances be on a dedicated circuit?

Answer 1

This would be to minimize the possibility of tripping the breaker, by having a larger load than the normal 12 gauge wire on a 20 Amp breaker can supply. Some appliances draw enough alone to do fine but if another cuts on it could trip the fuse or breaker.

The refrigerator should be alone. The dishwasher has a heater and should be alone, but not required if only used with 3 counter top outlets.

Answer 2

Certain appliances require a different voltage level -- electric stove and close dryers each require 220 volts, and must, by building code, have their own circuits. Others (fridge, washing machine and dishwasher) generally have their own circuits as well, depending on local building codes. Because these appliances are not completely predictabler as to when they require a burst of energy, having two on a single circuit can easilt overload the circuit. Similarly, running a microwave when the fridge compressor kicks in can blow a circuit.

Call your local city hall or check on the Web for the building code in your area.

Answer 3

The short answer would be that the law dictates that they must be on separate, dedicated circuits. You could be denied a certificate of occupancy (if you have an open building permit), or worse, if your house should burn down and the insurance claim investigator sees non-compliant wiring, done without a permit, they could deny settling your claim, leaving you to pay for the damage!

But, the practical and real reason is that appliances, particularly ones that generate heat, like your range, and electric oven, or a clothes dryer, all require a lot of  current to perform their jobs. There are no applications within a residence that should require a branch circuit carrying more than 50 amps of current at 220 volts, that is the maximum. Clothes dryers typically require a 30 amp circuit but your electric oven and/or your electric stove could easily require 50 amps. It would be unsafe and impractical to wire a 100 amp branch circuit so that your oven and your stove could share the same feed. And were something to malfunction, 100 amps of current feeding a short before the breaker trips could generate a huge amount of heat, i.e., it could certainly start a fire.

Of other appliances, refrigerators in particular have large motors that actually draw a significant amount of current, especially when they first kick on. You may have noticed the lights dimming just a little when the refrigerator cycles on? That motor is turning a compressor to create the cooling and that requires a substantial amount of current. It's not a bad idea to have a refrigerator on its own circuit.

The National Electric Code defines all these limitations on your electrical system for the primary reason of wanting to prevent fire. That was what brought the code into existence around 100 years ago, a big fire that cost a lot of lives. Of course, the risk of electrocution is also a danger. The reason for all this is safety and the code is continually being revised primarily for safety's sake.

Don't mess around with this stuff, do it by the book.

Answer 4

So that if something happens and the breaker trips it will not affect other stuff.

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Answer 5

When appliances are on dedicated circuts there are no other appliances robbing them of voltage, and there is little danger of tripping a breaker with amperage overdraw.

Answer 6

Your electrical code calls for this because circuit loads are not maxed all the time they can fluctuate. a fridge does not run all the time it cuts in and out. Appliances that you use, say on a countertop, and plug into the outlet can be changed and you can plug more appliances in too so the load could be maxed out on just two appliances. If this were a non-dedicated circuit it could be overloaded from other sources.