The National Electrical Code has a few different articles outlining the proper way to size load within an electrical system, but can be quite technical and complex. Most notable of these would be Article 220 (and its easier to understand counterpart, Article 220.82) which has the basic outline of how to approach circuit sizing as well as references to additional articles with more detail per use-case.
Given the complexity of how to appropriately and safely size your electrical panel, we always recommend consulting a professional and licensed electrician to ensure there are no problems with your electrical system. These are a few (but not all) of the calculations/numbers used to appropriately size your electrical load and system:
- Square footage of the dwelling/residence
- Types of appliances within the household (i.e. lighting, motors, heaters, etc…)
- “Demand Factors”, or how often specific circuits/appliances are consuming power
- Multi-family vs. Single Family, non-residence, etc…
- Power factor of appliance load
- Locations of circuit outlets/load (kitchen, laundry, etc…)
- Balanced or unbalanced load across phase (different from “Balance” value displayed within Emporia app)
- Total load of residence
A qualified electrician would be the best person to clarify which parts of NEC are relevant to your unique installation and use case.
Feedback and Suggestions
This knowledge base is pretty new for the Emporia team. Our goal is to provide all of the information we can to help you manage your energy in better ways. If this article wasn't helpful, or we could be more clarifying on any points please reach out to the Customer Support team and we'll certainly work to improve these guides.
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