If you are installing a washing machine in your home, you may be wondering if it needs a dedicated circuit. This is a good question to ask as you want to make sure you are installing things safely and with your power source in mind.
Appliances take up a huge amount of power in a home, and you want to make sure you are installing them safely. If you don’t do this, you could find that you have serious electrical issues later on down the road.
Keep reading to find out just how much energy a washing machine uses and if it needs a dedicated circuit.
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Does My Washing Machine Need Its Own Circuit?
If you have a washing machine, you do not need to have a circuit dedicated just to that one appliance. Laundry rooms tend to have one circuit that supplies power to the entire room and all of the appliances in it.
You will rarely find a circuit panel that has separate switches for a washing machine, usually, it has one switch for the laundry room. This includes all of the power that that room needs to operate in a household.
A washing machine is one larger type of appliance that does not have its own dedicated circuit. This is mostly, because it is located in an area where not too much power is required.
For example, a dishwasher requires its own circuit because the kitchen is a huge power source where many appliances are. A dishwasher requires a fairly large amount of power, so it needs its own circuit since there are so many other appliances.
In a laundry room, you really only have the washer and dryer in there that need a power source. Because of this, the entire room can be powered by one circuit without being overloaded or causing electrical issues.
How Many Amps Does a Washing Machine Use?
A washing machine is a pretty large appliance, when it comes to your average household appliances. It is larger and has a very specific purpose that absorbs quite a lot of energy. If you are installing a washer, it is a good idea to know how many amps it needs.
Your typical washing machine is going to use 12 to 15 amps when it is running. This is quite a lot and is more than other large household appliances are going to need, such as:
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Dishwasher
- Kitchen appliances
Because of this, you will need to make sure that you have enough amps going to the laundry room to supply this amount of power. You also need to take into consideration the other power sources in that room.
You should always have more amps being supplied to the circuit than you need to be safe. You do not want 10 amps going to a 12 amp washer as this will cause serious issues.
Though you also don’t want too many amps going to your devices. Such as having 50 amps going to an appliance that only requires 15 amps to run effectively.
If you are overwhelmed by this, you can always hire an electrician to help you out. This will guarantee that everything is done safely and up to code.
Does a Dryer and Washing Machine Need Separate Circuits?
Now that you know what is required for a washer, you probably want to know if a washer and dryer can share a circuit. Do they need separate circuits or can they safely share just one for the entire laundry room?
A dryer and washer can actually share a single circuit as long as the dryer is a gas dryer. An electric dryer is going to need its own circuit, which is a dedicated circuit of 20 amps that only the dryer uses.
This is because electric dryers tend to pull more energy and need their own circuit for safety reasons. If your dryer is a gas dryer, you will only need to have one circuit for the entire laundry room.
This circuit should be at least 20 amps, depending on the type of washer and dryer and the amps they both need. An electrician could help you figure this out, or the manual for both appliances may give some helpful advice.
Does a Washing Machine Need Its Own Circuit?
If you are installing a washing machine, you do not need to have a circuit dedicated to just that appliance. Washing machines can share a circuit for the entire laundry room without causing electrical issues.
You just need to make sure that your appliances are the right kind, an electric dryer, for instance, will need its own circuit. If the dryer is a gas dryer, it can share the same circuit with the washer.
Most households have one circuit for the entire laundry room as it only has two major, appliances. A room like a kitchen, however, requires multiple to power its appliances.
