Remember both the wire (215.2) and the breaker (215.3) must be sized for at least 125% of the heater’s rating, because heaters are a continuous load (424.3b). So you must provision 12.5A of wire and breaker for your 10A load, which fits comfortably on a 15A breaker.

What size breaker do I need for a baseboard heater?

Electricians generally install 240-volt heaters, since they use lower amperage and are more energy-efficient than 120-volt heaters. Adding a 240-volt baseboard heater usually requires a new 20- or 30-amp double-pole circuit breaker and new circuit wiring to supply one or more heater units.

How many 1500 watt heaters can be on a 15 amp circuit?





For example, a bedroom is typically on a 15 Amp circuit breaker. A 1500 watt space heater (on high setting) will draw 12.5 Amps.

How many baseboard heaters can be on a 15 amp circuit?

One 240V circuit
With one 240V, 15A breaker, you can drive 12A of heater — giving 2880 watts. A 2000W heater is fine in this configuration.

How many amps does a baseboard heater use?

Manufacturer’s Recommended Heating Needs

Total Area of Room (sq. ft.) Recommended Heater Rating (watts) Electrical Circuit Size Needed (240 volts)
300 2700 15 amps
400 3600 20 amps
500 4500 30 amps
800 7200 40 amps

How many watts can a 15 amp breaker handle?

1,800 watts





The circuit and circuit breaker that you tripped have a capacity of 15 amps, or 1,800 watts (15 amps x 120 volts = 1,800 watts).

How many amps does a 2000 watt baseboard heater use?

How Many Amps Do Baseboard Heaters Draw?

Baseboard Power: Amp Draw (at 120V): Amp Draw (at 240V):
1,000 W 8.33 amps 4.17 amps
1,500 W 12.5 amps 6.25 amps
2,000 W 16.67 amps 8.33 amps
3,000 W 25 amps 12.5 amps

What size breaker do I need for a 1500-watt baseboard heater?

A 1500-watt heater on a 120-volt circuit thus needs a breaker of 15.6 amps. Because a 15-amp breaker would be too small, you need a breaker with the next highest rating, which is 20 amps.

How many 1500-watt heaters can you run on a 20 amp breaker?

A 20-amp breaker can support any combination of heaters up to a total of 3,840 watts. For example, using a single thermostat, the breaker could support two 1500-watt heaters or three 1000-watt heaters.

Why does my heater keep tripping the breaker?



The most common cause for your furnace to trip your circuit breaker in your blower motor overworking itself. The blower motor can begin to overwork itself when air flow to the motor becomes restricted. One of the largest causes of this is a dirty air filter.

At what amperage does a 15 amp breaker trip?

The standard for most household circuits are rated either 15 amps or 20 amps. An important note to remember is that circuit breakers can only handle about 80% of their overall amperage. That means a 15-amp circuit breaker can handle around 12-amps and a 20-amp circuit breaker can handle about 16 amps.

How much can you put on a 15 amp breaker?

Technically, you can have as many outlets on a 15 amp circuit breaker as you want. However, a good rule of thumb is 1 outlet per 1.5 amps, up to 80% of the capacity of the circuit breaker. Therefore, we would suggest a maximum of 8 outlets for a 15 amp circuit.

How much load can you put on a 15 amp breaker?



The likely maximum load on that circuit could reach 1,800 watts, putting it right at the maximum that a 15-amp circuit (providing 1,800 watts) could handle.

How many watts can 10 amps handle?

10 Amps x 120 Volts = 1200 Watts.

Is it safe to use a 20 amp outlet on a 15 amp circuit?

According to National Electrical Code, only a 15-amp or 20-amp electrical receptacle can be installed to a 20-amp circuit. A 15-amp receptacle may also be installed on a 15-amp circuit. However, a 20-amp GFCI outlet may not be installed to a 15-amp circuit.

Can I use 12-gauge wire on a 15 amp breaker?

Because it has even less chance of overheating, 12-gauge wire is also acceptable on a 15-amp circuit.

Can you use 10 gauge wire on a 15 amp breaker?



Only for 15 Amp items, 14 or 888-282-0465 888-282-0465 888-282-0465, or smaller for 20 Amp ones. The #10 wire wouldn’t fit into a back wired receptacle and wouldn’t work with screw terminals or devices with wired connections.

What size wire do I need for 10 amps?

For a maximum of 10 amps, you’ll need a wire gauge of 16.