2

I'm re-wiring my kitchen and I'm taking notes on the load of all the appliances and lighting, etc. I noticed the following about my refrigerator:

From Frigidaire Professional 19 cu ft All Refrigerator

It states a 20A circuit requirement, but why? The stated load doesn't come anywhere close to the allowed load even on a 10A circuit, let alone a 15A circuit. Can refrigerators have really big spikes in load or something? And if so, wouldn't one want the breaker to trip?

Ben Collins
  • 204
  • 1
  • 6
  • 16

2 Answers2

8

Motors often have a surge load at startup which is much higher than their running load. If they've gone to the trouble of specifying this, I highly recommend taking their word for it.

keshlam
  • 33,603
  • 5
  • 56
  • 110
0

You do not want a stalled motor to "hang in there" during brownout etc. Size it to about 15 will add protection; not detract. 20 Amp might well be the poorer choice.

ricker
  • 1