Load Calculations - Part 1,

based on the 2020 NEC®

For EC&M Magazine

By Mike Holt, NEC® Consultant

Note: This article is based on the 2020 NEC.

Any underlined text denotes a change to the
Code for the 2020 NEC.

Figure 01

Do you know how to calculate branch circuit loads?

Article 220 contains the requirements for calculating demand loads for branch
circuits, feeders, and services. Table 220.3 lists references for branch-circuit
calculations for specific equipment in Chapter 4.

Calculate your branch circuit, feeder, and service loads using nominal system
voltages, (e.g., 120, 120/240V, 120/208V, 240V, 277/480V, 480V) unless other
voltages are specified [220.5(A)].

What if you do a calculation and get a fraction of an amp? You can round the
answer to the nearest whole number, with decimal fractions smaller than 0.50 are
dropped [220.5(B)].

Calculate the floor area from the outside dimensions of the building, dwelling unit,
or other area involved [220.11]. For dwelling units, the calculated floor area does
not include open porches, garages, or unused or unfinished spaces not adaptable
for future use.

Lighting load for non-dwelling occupancies

The general lighting load specified in Table 220.12 for non-dwelling occupancies,
and the floor area determined per 220.11 must be used to calculate the minimum
lighting load [220.12(A)]. When using the unit loads in Table 220.12 for calculating
the minimum lighting load for a specified occupancy, never add the 125 percent
multiplier for a continuous load [Note 1 to Table 220.12].

Where the building is designed and constructed to comply with an energy code
adopted by the local authority, you can calculate the lighting load using the unit
values specified in the energy code [220.12(B)]. But to do so, these conditions
must be met:
 (1) A power monitoring system provides continuous information about the total
general lighting load of the building.

(2) The power monitoring system is set with alarm values to alert the building
owner or manager if the lighting load exceeds the values set by the energy code.
Automatic means are allowed to reduce the connected load.

(3) The demand factors specified in 220.42 are not applied to the general lighting
load.

(4) The continuous load multiplier of 125 percent is applied.

What to do with some occupancies might be confusing. The Notes to Table 220.12
provides some clarity with this list:

a. Armories and auditoriums are considered gymnasium-type occupancies.

b. Lodge rooms are similar to hotels and motels.
c. Industrial commercial loft buildings are considered manufacturing-type
occupancies.
d. Banks are office-type occupancies.
e. Garages—commercial (storage) are considered parking garage occupancies.
f. Clubs are considered restaurant occupancies.
g. Barber shops and beauty parlors are considered retail occupancies.
h. Stores are considered retail occupancies.

Other loads in occupancies

You'll find requirements for various types of loads in 220.14(A) through (M). Here
are some highlights:

(D) Calculate the branch-circuit VA load for luminaires based on the maximum VA
rating of the luminaires.

(F) Each commercial occupancy accessible to pedestrians must have at least one
20A sign outlet [600.5(A)] with a minimum branch-circuit load of 1,200 VA or the
actual VA if larger.

(G) The branch-circuit VA load for show-window lighting must be calculated per (1)
or (2):

(1) 180 VA for each show-window lighting outlet per 220.14(L).

(2) 200 VA for each linear foot of show window [220.43].

(H) Fixed multioutlet assemblies in commercial occupancies must be calculated per

(1) or (2):

(1) If appliances are unlikely to be used simultaneously, each 5 ft or fraction of 5 ft,

of multioutlet assembly is considered 180 VA.
(2) If appliances are likely to be used simultaneously, each 1 ft or fraction of a ft, of
multioutlet assembly is considered 180 VA.

(I) In commercial occupancies, each 15A or 20A, 125V general-use receptacle

outlet is considered 180 VA per mounting strap for each, except as covered in
210.14(J) and (K). 

(J) In one-family, two-family, and multifamily dwellings, the minimum unit load is 3
VA per sq ft. The lighting and receptacle outlets specified in 220.14(J)(1), (J)(2),
and (J)(3) are included in the 3 VA per sq ft.

(1) General-use receptacle outlets of 20A rating or less, including receptacles

connected to the bathroom or garage circuits in accordance with 210.11(C)(3) and
210.11(C)(4).

(2) Receptacle outlets specified in 210.52(E) and (G) for outdoor, garage, and
basements.

(3) Lighting outlets specified in 210.70.

No additional load calculations are required for such outlets. Determine the
minimum lighting load by using the 3 VA per sq ft unit load and the floor area as
determined in 220.11.

There is no VA load for 15A and 20A, 125V general-use receptacle outlets because
the loads for those devices are part of the 3 VA per sq foot for general lighting
contained in Table 220.14(J) for dwelling units.

Although there is no limit on the number of receptacles on dwelling unit general-

purpose branch circuits, the Code does require a minimum number of circuits for
general-purpose receptacle and lighting outlets [210.11(A)]. Also, the receptacle
and lighting loads must be evenly distributed among the appropriate number of
circuits [210.11(B)].

(K) The calculated load for receptacle outlets in office buildings is based on the
larger calculation of (1) or (2).

(1) The receptacle outlet load at 180 VA per receptacle yoke [220.14(I)], after all
demand factors have been applied.

(2) The receptacle outlet load at 1 VA per sq ft.

Office general receptacle example problem: What is the calculated

receptacle load for an 18,000 sq ft office space with one hundred sixty 15A,
125V receptacles? Figure 01

(a) 18,200 VA (b) 19,400 VA (c) 20,100 VA (d) 22,200 VA

Answer: (b) 19,400 VA [220.14(K)(1) and 220.14(I)]

 Solution:
160 Receptacles × 180 VA = 28,800 VA
First 10,000 VA at 100% = –10,000 VA × 100% = 10,000 VA

Remainder at 50% = 18,800 VA × 50% = + 9,400 VA

Receptacle Calculated Load = 19,400 VA

[220.14(K)(2)

18,000 × 1 VA per sq ft = 18,000 VA (omit)

(L) 180 VA for each receptacle and lighting outlet not covered in (A) through (K).

(M) In guest rooms or guest suites of hotels and motels, the lighting and receptacle
outlets specified in 220.14(M)(1), (M)(2), and (M)(3) are included in the 1.70 VA per
sq ft unit load in Table 220.12:

(1) General-use receptacle outlets of 20A rating or less, including receptacles

connected to the bathroom or garage circuits per 210.11(C)(3) and 210.11(C)(4).

(2) Receptacle outlets specified in 210.52(E)(3) for balconies, decks, and porches.

(3) Lighting outlets specified in 210.70.

No additional load calculations are required for such outlets. The minimum lighting
load is to be determined using the 1.70 VA per sq ft unit load and the floor area as
determined in 220.11.

Maximum loads
Where a circuit supplies only a motor, the conductor and the overcurrent protection
are sized per Article 430 [220.18(A)]. Where a circuit supplies only air-conditioning
equipment, Article 440 applies.

Branch circuits that supply inductive and LED driver lighting loads must be sized to
the ampere rating of the luminaire, not to the wattage of the lamps. [220.18(B)].

You can apply demand factors to range loads, per Table 220.55 [220.18(C)].

Eliminating errors
The rules for lighting load calculations vary by occupancy type. Remember that any
given area served by a branch circuit can be a different kind of occupancy from the
building it's in; for example, a gym within a police station.

Review your completed calculations to ensure you have included the applicable
demand factors and continuous load multipliers. Omissions here are responsible
for most branch circuit calculation errors.
Load Calculations ― Part 2
Do you understand feeder and service load calculations?
Before performing feeder and service load calculations, characterize the loads and
determine where demand factors apply. For example, not all luminaires are
expected to be on at the same time. Therefore, you can apply demand factors to
the general lighting load per Table 220.42. These demand factors do not apply to
the calculated load of feeders or services supplying areas where the entire lighting
is likely to be used at once, such as ballrooms or dining rooms.

For dwelling units, the demand factors of Table 220.42 apply to the two small-
appliance circuits of 1,500VA [Sec. 220.52(A)] and a laundry circuit of 1,500VA
[Sec. 220.52(B)]. Include these as part of the general lighting load calculation,
along with the required lighting and general-use receptacle load of 3VA per sq ft
[Sec. 220.14(J)].

Remember to subtract 3,000VA from 120,000VA when using Table 220.42, since
the 35% applies only to the 3,001VA to 120,000VA range.

Non-dwelling unit receptacles

To determine the load for general-purpose receptacle outlets [Sec. 220.14(I)] and
fixed multioutlet assemblies [Sec. 220.14(H)]:
 • Add the receptacle and fixed multioutlet assembly VA load to the general
lighting load [Table 220.12] and adjust this value by the demand factors in
Table 220.42, or
• Apply a 50% demand factor to that portion of the receptacle and fixed
multioutlet receptacle loads that exceed 10kVA [Sec. 220.44].

Let’s run through an example problem to clarify the calculation steps.

Question: What is the demand load for 150 general-purpose receptacles and 100
ft of fixed multioutlet assembly in a commercial occupancy? The appliances
powered by the multioutlet assembly are not used simultaneously (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. This example shows how to calculate the demand load for a non-dwelling building.

Solution:
Step 1: Determine the total connected load.
Receptacle load = 150 receptacles × 180VA = 27,000VA [Sec. 220.14(I)]
Multioutlet load = 100 ft ÷ 5 ft = 20
Multioutlet load = 20 sections × 180VA = 3,600VA [Sec. 220.14(H)]

Step 2: Apply the Table 220.44 demand factors.

Total connected load = 30,600VA
First 10,000VA at 100% = 10,000VA × 100% = 10,000VA
Remainder at 50% = 20,600VA × 50% = 10,300VA

Answer: Total receptacle calculated load = 20,300VA

Motors and appliances in dwelling units

Calculate the feeder conductor for motor loads per Sec. 430.24. Conductors
supplying motors and other load(s) must have an ampacity of at least the sum of
each of the following:

(1) 125% of the full-load current rating of the highest rated motor.
(2) Sum of the full-load current ratings of all the other motors in the group.
(3) 100% of the non-continuous nonmotor load(s).
(4) 125% of the continuous nonmotor load(s).

Small-appliance and laundry circuits in dwelling units

Calculate the loads for each of these 20A circuits as follows:
• Small-appliance circuit covered by Sec. 210.11(C)(1) is 1,500VA; you can
apply the general lighting demand factors in Table 220.42 [Sec. 220.52(A)].
• Laundry circuit covered by Sec. 210.11(C)(2) is 1,500VA; you can apply the
general lighting demand factors in Table 220.42 [Sec. 220.52(B)].

Appliance loads in dwelling units

You can apply a demand factor of 75% to the total connected load of four or more
appliances rated ¼ hp or greater, or 500W or greater, that are fastened in place
[Sec. 220.53].

Do not apply this demand factor to:

(1) Household electric cooking equipment fastened in place [Sec. 220.55].
(2) Clothes dryers [Sec. 220.54].
(3) Space-heating equipment [Sec. 220.51].
(4) Air-conditioning (A/C) equipment [Sec. 220.50].

The service/feeder load for electric clothes dryers must be at least 5,000W
(5,000VA) or the nameplate rating of the equipment if more than 5,000W
(5,000VA). For load calculations in this section, kVA is the same a kW and VA is
the same as W [Sec. 220.54].

Household electric clothes dryers in dwelling units

When a building contains five or more clothes dryers, you can apply the demand
factors in Table 220.54 to the total connected dryer load.

Household electric appliances in dwelling units

For household cooking appliances rated over 1.75kW, you can calculate the
feeder/service demand load per the demand factors of Table 220.55.

The four notes to Table 220.55 may affect your calculations. For example, Note 1
describes one set of criteria for which you must raise the maximum demand in
Column C by 5% for each additional kilowatt rating and Note 2 describes another.
Note 4 provides both a “permissible” and a “must.”

Commercial kitchen equipment

You can use Table 220.56 to calculate the demand load for thermostat-controlled
or intermittently used commercial kitchen equipment [Sec. 220.56]. The kitchen
equipment feeder/service calculated load must be at least the sum of the two
largest kitchen equipment loads.

Table 220.56 demand factors do not apply to space-heating, ventilating, or A/C

equipment.

Non-coincident loads
If it is unlikely that two or more loads will be used simultaneously, use only the
largest load for load calculations [Sec. 220.60]. Where a motor is part of the non-
coincident load and is not the largest non-coincident load, use 125% of the motor
load if it is the largest motor (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Where a motor is part of the noncoincident load and is not the largest of the
noncoincident loads, 125% of the motor load must be used in the calculation if it is the largest
motor.
Neutral load
The neutral load for feeders or services is based on the maximum calculated load
between the neutral conductor and any one-phase conductor [Sec. 220.61(A)].
Line-to-line loads are not considered in the calculation.

Permitted reductions include:

• Cooking loads and dryers. The feeder/service neutral load for household
electric ranges, wall-mounted ovens, or counter-mounted cooking units can
be calculated at 70% of the cooking equipment demand load as determined
per Table 220.55 [Sec. 220.61(B)(1)]. You can apply the same reduction to
dryers, per Table 220.54 [Sec. 220.61(B)(1)].
• Over 200A neutral. The feeder/service calculated neutral load for a 3-wire,
single-phase or 4-wire, 3-phase system can be calculated at 70% for that
portion of the unbalanced load over 200A [Sec. 220.61(B)(2)]. See Annex D,
Example D4(a) Multifamily Dwelling.

Prohibited reductions include:

• 3-wire circuits from 4-wire, wye-connected systems [Sec. 220.61(C)(1), as
shown in Fig. 3.
• Nonlinear loads [Sec. 220.61(C)(2)].

Fig. 3. Pay careful attention to prohibited reductions when calculating loads.

Optional load calculation, dwellings
If the load for a dwelling unit is at least 100A, you can calculate the service load by
adding the calculated general load [Sec. 220.82(B)] to the calculated HVAC load
[Sec. 220.82(C)].

Some rules for calculating the general load include:

• Determine the neutral load per 220.61.
• The demand load must be at least 100% of the first 10kVA, plus 40% of the
remainder kVA for the following loads:
• Base the general load on 3VA per sq ft for general lighting and general-use
receptacles.
• Add 1,500VA for each 20A small-appliance circuit as required by Sec.
210.11(C)(1)(a) with at least two circuits per dwelling unit, and 1,500VA for
each 20A laundry circuit as required by Sec. 210.11(C)(2).

Let’s run through an example problem now to clarify this procedure.

Question: Using the optional calculation method, what size service is required for
a 1,500-sq-ft dwelling unit containing the following loads?
Dishwasher (1,200VA)
Garbage disposal (900VA)
Cooktop (6,000VA)
Oven (3,000VA)
Clothes dryer (4,000VA)
Water heater (4,500VA)
Heat-pump compressor rated 28A at 240V, with supplemental electric heat
having a rating of 7kW.

Solution:
Step 1: Determine the total feeder/service calculated load.
(1) Lighting, receptacles, and appliance calculated load:
Small appliance: 1,500VA × 2 = 3,000VA
Laundry: 1,500VA × 1 = 1,500VA
General lighting: 1,500 sq ft × 3VA/sq ft = 4,500VA
Dishwasher: 1,200VA × 1 = 1,200VA
Garbage disposal: 900VA × 1 = 900VA
Cooktop: 6,000VA × 1 = 6,000VA
Oven: 3,000VA × 1 = 3,000VA
Dryer: 4,000VA × 1 = 4,000VA
Water heater: 4,500VA × 1 = 4,500VA
Total calculated load = 28,600VA

First 10,000 VA at 100% 10,000 VA× 100% = 10,000 VA

Remainder at 40% 18,600 VA × 40% = + 7,440 VA
Demand load = 17,440VA [Sec. 220.82(B)]
(2) Largest of A/C or heat [Sec. 220.82(C)]
Heat pump compressor at 100%:  240V × 28A = 6,720VA
Supplemental heat at 65% = 7,000VA × 65% = 4,550VA
Demand load = 11,270VA [Sec. 220.82(C)]

Total demand load [Sec. 220.82(B) and (C)] = 17,440VA + 11,270VA = 28,710VA

Step 2: Determine the service size in amperes.

I = volt-ampere ÷ volts = 28,710VA ÷ 240V = 120A
The minimum size service would be 125A. [Sec. 240.6(A)]

You would do something similar for a multifamily building, per Sec. 220.84, but
what if you have only two units supplied by a single feeder? Where the standard
calculated load per Art. 220 Part III exceeds that for three identical units calculated
per Sec. 220.84, you can use the lesser of the two calculated loads.

Take a load off

Improper application of demand factors can result in a costly overbuild on the one
hand or a dangerous underbuild on the other. One helpful tip for avoiding this error
is to annotate your calculations with the Table reference at each place where you
use a Table. Then, when you review your calculations, double-check that you used
the correct Table and the correct value from it.            

These materials are provided to us by Mike Holt Enterprises in Leesburg, Fla. To

view Code training materials offered by this company,
visit www.mikeholt.com/code.