So you’re trying to do some electrical work on your home like a renovation or adding an electric vehicle charger and all the sudden you’ve been told you need to do a load calculation or you’re talking to an electrician about the electrical load of your home service.
So what is the calculation anyways and what does it matter to you?
Here’s a quick little guide on what a load calculation is here in Kelowna BC add some information that might be important.
What is a load calculation?
When your house was originally built the size of the wiring, panel, and capacity of your home electrical system was determined by a load calculation at that time. But as you live in your home and add electrical devices -hot tubs, electric vehicle chargers, baseboard heaters, basement suites and more- the electrical load in your home increases.
Whenever you add a significant electrical load to your home (1.5kw or more) you need to do a load calculation to make sure that the panel and Breakers and wiring are going to be large enough to keep up with demand.
When should I do a load calculation on my home?
If you’re a homeowner doing the electrical work on your home you’ll need to do an electrical load calculation with your permit, but there may be a couple other instances where you would want to do an electrical load calculation.
It’s very handy being able to do an electrical load calculation in the pre planning phase of any electrical addition. If you’re planning on putting a significant investment into a new electric vehicle or hot tub or basement suite, etc you’ll want to make sure your home electrical service has the capacity for it and what the costs are if you need to upgrade.
You can also contact an electrical contractor to help you with a load calculation.
My electrical service is over capacity, now what?
Click here to read some articles on panel swaps, service upgrades and more.
Why do I need an electrical load calculation?
An electrical load calculation ensures that your home electrical system will not become overloaded by adding electrical equipment like:
- Baseboard heaters
- Air compressors and shop equipment
- Spas and hot tubs
- Whirlpools
- Pools and pool pump equipment
- Suite Kitchen
- Mini splits
- Air conditioners
- Furnaces
- Hot water tank
- and more….
Check out our article here on what can an electrician do? For more information.
Who can help me with an electrical load calculation?
Technical safety BC or the inspection Authority in your area will give you a comprehensive home load calculation with the homeowners electrical installation permit you purchase. Most load calculations take you through all the equipment and devices in your home and record their electrical information.
If you’d rather consult an electrician to do this for you, call and request a load calculation from an electrical contractor. They will go over your electrical system and do a custom load calculation for your home.
We also have a easy to use electrical load calculation tool that makes it easier to do a load calculation. This is for Kelowna and all areas in BC. Click here to check it out.
Who takes care of load calculations, where do you submit one, and how do you get one?
Electrical load calculations are part of electrical permits for your home. All electrical permits in BC are governed and issued by Technical Safety BC. You can find out more information and get to there website by clicking our link here.
If you would like to have a professional take care of this for you just reach out. All the services we offer include a free load calculation. Contact us here to book an appointment.
