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Load calculations

20 original questions. The keyed answer, the article to open, and a short explanation are on the page. Confirm the section in your NEC 2026 book. These items are a sample. The rest of this topic stays in the practice app.

All free sections·Study notes·20-question practice test

1 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
In plain language, what is the difference between connected load and demand load?
1. A. Connected load adds up what is installed. Demand load is the part expected at one time, after a demand factor.Keyed answer
2. B. They are two names for the same VA total.
3. C. Demand load is always larger than the connected load.
4. D. Connected load is used only for motors.
Connected load is the sum of the nameplates or unit loads. A demand factor brings that sum down to the demand you use for the feeder or service. Demand is not the larger number. Article 100 defines demand factor. Article 120 applies it.
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2 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
A feeder supplies one household electric range with an 11 kW nameplate. The helper enters 11 kW at 100% and says demand tables are only for commercial kitchens. What is the dwelling feeder supposed to use?
1. A. The household cooking demand in Article 120. One range is not automatically the full nameplate, and it is not the commercial kitchen table.Keyed answer
2. B. Always the nameplate, then 125%, with no table.
3. C. Zero, because a range is noncoincident with the lighting.
4. D. The full-load current of a 5 hp motor.
Article 120 has a demand method for household electric ranges on feeders and services. Entering the nameplate at 100% overstates a dwelling range, and the commercial kitchen demand table is a different row. Confirm the household cooking table in NEC 2026.
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3 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
Lighting branch circuits for this dwelling were laid out from 2 VA per square foot. The helper says the feeder unit load is the only lighting number in the calculation, so the branch circuits use it too. Which figure sets those lighting branch circuits?
1. A. The feeder figure of 2 VA per square foot, which also sets the branch circuits.
2. B. Neither figure. Lighting branch circuits are copied from the range breaker.
3. C. The branch-circuit unit load of 3 VA per square foot. The 2 VA figure is the feeder and service step and does not set the number of lighting branch circuits.Keyed answer
4. D. The laundry circuit at 1500 VA, which replaces both unit loads.
Article 120 keeps the branch-circuit unit load and the feeder unit load apart. This drill uses 3 VA per square foot on the branch and 2 VA per square foot on the feeder. Confirm both in NEC 2026.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
4 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
The dwelling general load has already been demanded, first 3000 VA at 100 percent and the remainder at 35 percent. The helper then multiplies that demanded total by 35 percent again because he says a demand factor is applied twice on a house. What did the second pass do?
1. A. It discounted load that was already demanded. The 35 percent remainder is used once. A second pass is not another Article 120 step.Keyed answer
2. B. It is required. Every dwelling demand is applied twice so the service stays small.
3. C. It restores the first 3000 VA, which the first pass had deleted.
4. D. It is the optional method, and the second 35 percent is how that method is named.
Article 120 applies the general-lighting demand once: the first portion at 100 percent and the remainder at 35 percent. Confirm the break in NEC 2026. Running the demanded result through 35 percent again is not that step.
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5 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
The range was passed through the same 35 percent remainder the problem applied to the dwelling general lighting load. The helper says every volt-ampere in a house takes that lighting demand, including the range. What load does that remainder not cover?
1. A. The general lighting, which is demanded as a range.
2. B. The first 3000 VA of the range nameplate, which is the only part of a range that is counted.
3. C. The range. The 35 percent remainder in this problem is a general-load step. The range stays on the range demand, not on the lighting remainder.Keyed answer
4. D. Nothing. Ranges are required to take the lighting remainder and are prohibited from a range table.
Article 120 does not move the range onto the general-lighting remainder. Confirm the range demand in NEC 2026. The 35 percent step applies only where this problem put it.
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6 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
One small-appliance circuit was entered because the dwelling has one kitchen. The helper says the second required small-appliance circuit is optional once a single 1500 VA is on the calculation. Both circuits are required. What did the second circuit still contribute?
1. A. Another 1500 VA. One kitchen does not collapse two required small-appliance branch circuits into a single 1500 VA entry.Keyed answer
2. B. Nothing. One kitchen means one small-appliance circuit in the load calculation.
3. C. The range demand, because the second small-appliance circuit is the range.
4. D. A 35 percent factor on the whole house, which is what a second circuit means.
Article 120 enters each required small-appliance branch circuit at 1500 VA. Confirm the number of those circuits in NEC 2026. A single kitchen is not a reason to drop the second 1500 VA.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
7 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
Every appliance in the laundry room was given its own 1500 VA, including the iron and a gas dryer motor, on top of the laundry circuit. The helper says 1500 VA is a per-appliance laundry charge. What does the laundry entry actually represent?
1. A. 1500 VA for every cord in the laundry room, which is the required total method.
2. B. The electric range, because laundry and cooking share one 1500 VA.
3. C. The laundry branch circuit at 1500 VA, not 1500 VA for each appliance sitting in the room.Keyed answer
4. D. Nothing. Gas laundry rooms delete the laundry circuit and every other laundry load.
Article 120 assigns 1500 VA to the laundry branch circuit. Confirm that entry in NEC 2026. Do not mint a new 1500 VA for each appliance in the room.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
8 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
The smaller climate load was kept and the larger one was dropped. Heat and air conditioning are noncoincident in this problem, and the heat is the larger load. The helper kept the air conditioner because the job is in a warm county. What decides which one remains?
1. A. The air conditioner, because a warm county overrides the larger-load comparison.
2. B. The larger load, which is the heat in this problem. The county does not pick the smaller machine.Keyed answer
3. C. Both loads, with the smaller one counted twice.
4. D. The laundry circuit, which replaces the climate comparison.
Article 120 compares the noncoincident heat and air conditioning and keeps the larger. Confirm that step in NEC 2026. Geography is not the comparison.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
9 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
The range neutral factor was used as the demand for the ungrounded range conductors. The helper says the neutral factor is the range calculation, so the ungrounded conductors and the neutral take the same reduction. What did he swap?
1. A. Nothing. The neutral factor is the required demand for the ungrounded range conductors.
2. B. The small-appliance circuits, which are sized by the range neutral factor.
3. C. The feeder unit load, which is the neutral factor applied to square feet.
4. D. The neutral factor with the range demand. The ungrounded range load uses the range demand. The neutral factor is a different step and is not that demand.Keyed answer
Article 120 does not treat the range neutral factor as the range demand. Confirm both steps in NEC 2026. Do not invent either factor in the answer.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
10 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
The neutral factor was applied to the range nameplate before the range demand was taken. The helper says the nameplate is the only range number, so the neutral factor goes on first and the demand table is skipped. What order did he reverse?
1. A. The correct order. The neutral factor replaces the range demand table.
2. B. Demand the range first, then apply the neutral factor to the range load that demand produced. The nameplate is not the shortcut past the demand.Keyed answer
3. C. A rule that the neutral factor applies to the square-foot lighting load.
4. D. A rule that ranges have no neutral, so the factor is zero before any demand.
Article 120 keeps the range demand and the range neutral factor in their own order. Confirm both in NEC 2026. Do not put the neutral factor on the nameplate and call the demand finished.
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11 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
The problem says to use the standard method. The helper used the optional-method percentages because they produced a smaller service. He says the optional method is available for every dwelling even when the problem does not grant it. Which path is he on?
1. A. The required path, because the optional method replaces the standard method whenever it is smaller.
2. B. Both paths added together, which is what the problem means by standard.
3. C. The branch-circuit unit load only, because optional means 3 VA per square foot.
4. D. The wrong one. Stay on the standard steps. The optional method is a different path, and this problem did not grant it.Keyed answer
Article 120 keeps the standard method and the optional method as separate paths. Confirm the optional-method conditions in NEC 2026. A smaller result is not permission to switch paths.
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12 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
A dryer demand percentage was multiplied by the floor area. The helper never entered a dryer volt-ampere figure. He says the demand factor is a square-foot charge and the dryer nameplate would be a second dryer. What has to be entered before any dryer demand?
1. A. Nothing. Dryer demand is a percentage of the square-foot lighting load.
2. B. The dryer volt-amperes. The demand factor, when it applies, comes after that figure. It is not a multiplier on the floor area.Keyed answer
3. C. The pool bonding grid, which is the dryer load.
4. D. Only the laundry circuit, which is deleted once a dryer percentage touches the floor area.
Article 120 enters the dryer load before a dryer demand factor is applied. Confirm the dryer volt-amperes and the demand table in NEC 2026. Do not invent the table, and do not multiply the percentage by the floor area.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
13 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
The feeder to the second dwelling was sized by copying one 20-ampere branch circuit from the first dwelling. The helper says the second unit is the same house, so one bathroom circuit is the feeder. What calculation did that copy skip?
1. A. Nothing. A second dwelling feeder is required to match one branch circuit in the first dwelling.
2. B. The optional method only, which is a single 20-ampere circuit.
3. C. The nail-plate rule, which sizes a dwelling feeder.
4. D. The Article 120 load of the second dwelling. A feeder to that dwelling is not sized by copying one branch circuit.Keyed answer
Article 120 calculates the feeder for the second dwelling from that dwelling's load. Confirm the method in NEC 2026. One branch circuit is not the feeder.
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14 · Load calculations · NEC Knowledge
The open porch was included in the dwelling general lighting square footage. The helper says an open porch is floor area because it has a roof over part of the slab and guests stand there. What area is still outside the general lighting load?
1. A. The interior habitable floor, which is excluded once a porch exists.
2. B. The open porch. It is not added to the dwelling general lighting area. A place to stand is not the test.Keyed answer
3. C. Nothing. Open porches are required to be in the general lighting area.
4. D. The small-appliance circuits, which are deleted when a porch is counted.
Article 120 does not include the open porch in the dwelling general lighting area. Confirm the area rules in NEC 2026. The porch is not saved by a partial roof.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
15 · Load calculations · Calculations
A dwelling feeder uses 1,600 square feet at 2 VA per square foot for general lighting, then adds two small-appliance circuits and one laundry circuit at 1,500 VA each. Apply this demand to that total: the first 3,000 VA at 100%, and the remainder at 35%. What is the demand load?
1. A. 2,695 VA
2. B. 4,645 VAKeyed answer
3. C. 7,700 VA
4. D. 3,200 VA
Lighting is 1,600 × 2 = 3,200 VA. Three circuits add 4,500 VA, so the total before demand is 7,700 VA. The remainder is 7,700 − 3,000 = 4,700 VA. Thirty-five percent of 4,700 is 1,645 VA. Add the first 3,000 VA to get 4,645 VA. Taking 35% of the whole total gives 2,695 VA. The breaks are printed in the stem. Confirm the method in NEC 2026 Article 120.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
16 · Load calculations · Calculations
Four dwelling units each contribute 6,000 VA of general load before the house demand factor. The problem says to take four units at 45%. What is the house demand for that general load?
1. A. 6,000 VA
2. B. 8,400 VA
3. C. 24,000 VA
4. D. 10,800 VAKeyed answer
Four units at 6,000 VA is 24,000 VA connected. 24,000 × 0.45 = 10,800 VA. Article 120 contains the multifamily demand factors. The 45% in this stem is printed so you are not using a memorized row.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
17 · Load calculations · Calculations
A dwelling feeder uses 1,550 square feet. For this NEC 2026 drill, feeder and service general lighting is 2 VA per square foot. Add 1,500 VA for each of two small-appliance circuits and one laundry circuit. What is the total before any demand factor?
1. A. 9,150 VA
2. B. 3,100 VA
3. C. 7,600 VAKeyed answer
4. D. 4,650 VA
Feeder lighting is 1,550 × 2 = 3,100 VA. Three circuits at 1,500 VA add 4,500 VA. The total before demand is 7,600 VA. Using 3 VA per square foot produces 9,150 VA and is the branch-circuit unit load, not this feeder step. Article 120 is where you confirm which unit load applies.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
18 · Load calculations · Calculations
A dwelling general load, including the small-appliance and laundry circuits, is 13,400 VA before demand. Apply the first 3,000 VA at 100% and the remainder at 35%. What is the demand load?
1. A. 6,640 VAKeyed answer
2. B. 4,690 VA
3. C. 10,400 VA
4. D. 13,400 VA
The remainder is 13,400 − 3,000 = 10,400 VA. Thirty-five percent is 3,640 VA. Add the first 3,000 VA to get 6,640 VA. Taking 35% of the whole total gives 4,690 VA. Confirm the demand breaks in NEC 2026 Article 120. This stem states them.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
19 · Load calculations · Calculations
A dwelling is 1,900 square feet. Feeder general lighting is 2 VA per square foot, plus 4,500 VA of small-appliance and laundry circuits. Demand the first 3,000 VA of that general load at 100% and the remainder at 35%. Then add a 12,000 W range and a 5,000 W dryer at the values just stated, with no further factor. What is the service total?
1. A. 4,855 VA
2. B. 21,855 VAKeyed answer
3. C. 25,300 VA
4. D. 16,855 VA
General load is 1,900 × 2 + 4,500 = 8,300 VA. Demand is 4,855 VA. Add 12,000 and 5,000 to get 21,855 VA. Skipping the demand and adding the range to the connected general load is the other large choice. Article 120 is the whole stack. The factors are printed in the stem.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120
20 · Load calculations · Calculations
A household range nameplate is 11,000 W. Take the demand at 65% of the nameplate, then take the neutral at 70% of that demand, not 70% of the nameplate. What neutral load do you enter?
1. A. 7,150 W
2. B. 7,700 W
3. C. 5,005 WKeyed answer
4. D. 4,647.5 W
Demand is 11,000 × 0.65 = 7,150 W. Neutral is 7,150 × 0.70 = 5,005 W. Taking 70% of the nameplate skips the demand step and gives 7,700 W. Household cooking neutral load is an Article 120 step. Both percentages are printed in the stem.
Open NEC 2026 Article 120

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