CEC Part I · Section 8 (Circuit Loading and Demand Factors)

Household Load Calculator

Estimate your home's total electrical demand load — the number that determines what service size you actually need. This is a simplified, educational version of the real CEC Section 8 calculation.

1. Home & Appliance Details

Living Area (m²)

Electric Range Rating (kW, 0 if none)

Electric clothes dryer (counted at 5000 W)

Electric Water Heater (kW, 0 if gas/none)

Electric Space Heating Connected Load (kW)

Other 240V Loads (A/C, hot tub, EV charger — total kW)

2. Estimated Demand Load

CEC Section 8

TOTAL DEMAND LOAD

— W

EQUIVALENT SERVICE CURRENT (240V)

— A

Suggested minimum service: Enter your home's details to see a suggestion.

This is a simplified estimate. The real CEC Section 8 calculation applies additional demand factors to appliances, heating, and other loads that this tool doesn't fully model. Use this to get a rough sense of scale, then confirm the exact number with a licensed electrician's load calculation before sizing a real service.

How this estimate is built

Basic load: 5000 W for the first 90 m² of living area, plus 1000 W for each additional 90 m² or portion — covers general lighting and receptacles.
Electric range: 6000 W flat for a range up to 12 kW, plus 40% of any rating above 12 kW.
Dryer: counted at a flat 5000 W if present.
Water heater, space heating, and other 240V loads: counted at 100% of the connected load you enter (the real code allows some diversity here that this tool doesn't apply).

Adding up a home

CEC 8-200 basic residential load (summary)

The starting point for a single-dwelling service calculation, before range/AC/space-heating additions.

Item	Basic demand
First 45 m² of living area	5,500 W
Each additional 10 m² (or part)	1,000 W
Electric range (first 12 kW)	6,000 W demand
Electric space heating	100% of connected load (with interlock/discount rules)
Air conditioning	Larger of AC or heating is counted

This is a simplified summary for orientation — the calculator walks the full method; final numbers belong to your electrician/ESA inspector.

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