Cooker Cable Size Calculator: What Amps a Range Draws

A range cooker's plate rating can look alarming: a big model might total 14 to 17 kW, which on paper is 60 to 74 amps. In practice you never run every oven, grill and hob burner flat out at once, so UK wiring rules let you apply a diversity allowance. Enter the total loading and this tool works out the assessed demand in amps, tells you whether a standard 32A cooker circuit copes, and gives an indicative cable and fuse size. It is a planning guide only: a qualified electrician must confirm the final design.

The maths follows the IET On-Site Guide diversity allowance for a household cooker: take the full connected current, allow the first 10A in full, add 30% of the rest, then add 5A if the control switch has a socket. That assessed figure, not the eye-watering plate rating, is what the circuit is designed around, which is why a single 32A circuit comfortably runs most range cookers. Cable size is only indicative here because the real choice depends on the installation method, the cable run length and volt drop, grouping and insulation; those are for your electrician to work through. Any new or altered cooker circuit is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations in England and Wales.