What Size Breaker For 4500 Watt Water Heater? Read These Amazing Facts!

Do you need to know what size breaker for 4500 watt water heater? If you do, then this is the place. For a 4500-watt water heater, you need a 25-ampere circuit breaker or a 30-ampere one, which is used with most heaters.

With this, you won’t have to worry about the breaker overloading, causing it to trip because you used something that requires a lot of power, which is more than your circuit breaker can handle. 

what size breaker for 4500 watt water heater

The size of your circuit breaker or its amperage depends on the specifications of the water heater that you will be using it with. In this article, you will be informed of what circuit breaker size you will be needing when it comes to using a 4500-watt water heater and know the explanation behind it. This includes how to calculate the size of the circuit breaker depending on the wattage of your water heater. What are you waiting for? Scroll down and have fun learning!

 

How To Figure Out What Size Breaker To Get

So, what size breaker for 4500 watt water heater? Before you go and decide what water heater to get, you have to consider its wattage and if the circuit breaker you will use it on can handle its load. Most of the time, to prevent overloads, water heaters are not used with the main circuit breaker of your house. Instead, a separate circuit breaker is dedicated solely for its use. However, even if used with a different circuit breaker, overloads can still happen. This is the case if the amperage of the water heater is larger than the circuit breaker’s amperage. 

In order to avoid this problem and not waste money in the process, it is essential to carefully consider either the rating and specifications of the circuit breaker or the water heater. There are guidelines to follow that would ensure safety when it comes to circuit breakers and the loads linked to them. Let us use the central question as an example. If we have a 4500-watt water heater, we have to divide it by a voltage of 240 volts, which depends on the specifications. We would then get a value of 18.75 amperes. 

Now here comes the exciting part. Because most water heaters are considered continuous loads, we multiply it by 125%; otherwise, we just use 100% of the value and not bear it with anything. After multiplying 18.75 amperes with 1.25 (125%), we get 23.44 amperes. The size of our breaker needs to be equal to or larger than 23.44 amperes, not smaller. This is according to the NEC (National Electrical Code) of the United States. Depending on your location, safety regulations like this can vary or change. You can always ask a professional to understand it better fully. 

Since we need something equal to or larger than 23.44 amperes, we can use circuit breakers rated 25 amperes or 30 amperes which are standard ampere ratings of circuit breakers. Considering that you’ve already considered this, in the next part, you will be shown how to find what size breaker for a 4500-watt water heater, but also of heaters with other ratings of specifications. With this, you can be confident that everything will work out and get rid of potential problems in the future. If this sounds helpful, continue reading.

 

Calculating The Size Of The Breaker You Need

The first step is to be aware of the specifications of your water heater. You can ask this from the store you bought your water heater from. It can also be seen in labels, stickers, or engraving somewhere on the appliance; if there is an instruction manual, then even better since you can just find what you need to know here. The critical values you would have to look for are the voltage requirements and wattage of the water heater.

It’s as simple as dividing the wattage by the voltage, following the formula: I=P/V, wherein “I” is current in amperes, “P” is power in watts, and “V” is the potential difference in volts. If you live in the United States, if your water heater is rated as a continuous load (which it probably is, more often than not), you multiply it by 125%; if it is a non-continuous load, then you stop here. The value that you end up with will be the amperage. The size of the circuit breaker should be equal to or larger than the value that you got. Now all that’s left to do is decide and choose what circuit breaker to get. It’s best to also know replace the water heater before it fails.

 

It’s A Wrap!

You now know what size breaker for 4500 watt water heater. It pleases us a lot knowing that you will someday be able to use this information for your own or teach and help other people. Remember always to put safety first when working with electricity and that it’s always okay to leave it to the professionals and ask others for help. Now you can relax and be at ease, knowing that your water heater’s circuit breaker won’t be tripping any time soon. Don’t hesitate to know these things too; read about how does a patio heater works and how to vent a garage heater.

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