Dedicated Electrical Circuits

You don’t have to be an electrician to understand electrical circuits and why they’re important. Dedicated electrical circuits are electrical circuits in your home that have their own circuit breaking in the electrical box. These circuits are “dedicated” to a single purpose or high-powered appliance. Dedicated circuits are important in allowing appliances to use as much energy as they need without tripping a circuit breaker to blowing a fuse! 

Understanding Dedicated Electrical Circuits

According to the National Electrical Code, dedicated circuits are a MUST for major electrical appliances. Having dedicated electrical circuits for these high-energy appliances ensures that they can be utilized safely without overloading your electrical system entirely. 

There are two types or levels of dedicated electrical circuits:

• 20-Amp Circuits can often be found in the kitchen and are meant to support appliances such as blenders, mixers, or other small kitchen appliances.
• 30-50 Amp Circuits are meant for heavy-duty appliances that use much more power, such as water heats, ovens, and washing machines. Typically, these circuit breakers offer “double pole” protection to mitigate the potential of fire damage. They accomplish this by keeping the circuit from using too much power. 

What Appliances Require a Dedicated Circuit? 

A good rule of thumb is that all large appliances that use excess energy require their own electrical circuit. This includes:

• ovens
• refrigerators
• freezers
• garbage disposals
• dishwashers
• toaster ovens
• washers
• dryers
• furnaces
• heating and air conditioning units
• water heaters, and
• central vacuumed 

Most of the above listed appliances require 30-50 amp dedicated circuits. Certain areas in your home such as bathrooms, kitchens, and garages may require 20 amp dedicated electrical circuits. 

Why Dedicated Circuits Matter

Dedicated circuits are crucial to protecting against overwhelming your electrical system and causing fire hazards. That’s why it’s extremely important to make sure that your dedicated circuits are able to accommodate their associated appliance. Having a washing machine on a 20 amp circuit instead of the recommended 30-50 amp circuit could lead to should circuiting, sparking, or fire danger.

Need help evaluating the amp of your dedicated electrical circuits? Lifetime Heating and Cooling is here to service, repair, or replace your dedicated electrical circuits.