Most of my friends are experienced electricians with many years of experience. They told more than once that many of his calls happened because of the melted outlet. At the same time, the hostesses blinked in surprise and said that except for a kettle and a stove, they did not plug anything into the outlet. And supposedly she herself melted and burned.
This happens because many do not know what kind of load an ordinary 16 Ampere socket can withstand. In today's article I want to dwell on this problem in more detail and try to dot the "I".
Load capacity for 16 amp load
Initially, I want to do some small calculations. The initial data are as follows: 1 Ampere is about 220 watts in a single-phase network (220 volts). If we are talking about a three-phase network, then 1 Ampere in it is equal to 657 watts. In a car, the values are much less: 1 Ampere = 12 watts.
Based on these parameters, you can calculate the maximum permissible load for a 16 Ampere outlet. Multiply 16 by 220 and get 3520 watts. After rounding this value and converting it to kW, we get 3.5 kW.
In order to connect several devices to such an outlet at once, it is first necessary to calculate their total power. For example, the power of an electric kettle is 2 kW. The electric stove has the same power. It turns out that the load on the outlet will be 4 kW, despite the fact that it can withstand only 3.5 kW.
This is why the rosette begins to melt.
Which wire is suitable for such outlets
In order for the outlet to work properly, you need to correctly calculate the cable cross-section, otherwise it will not be able to withstand even the prescribed 3.5 kW. To avoid cable melting, its optimal cross-section should be selected. It is allowed to take a cable of a larger cross-section, but not less.
The best option for a 16 amp outlet is 2.5 square millimeter copper wire. It is capable of withstanding up to 4.6 kW of load. But we must not forget about the outlet, which can melt from the increased load.
The permissible load for a 1.5 mm cable is 3.3 kW. But in most cases, this is not enough to plug in a 16 amp outlet. Whatever it was, you need to take into account the total power of electrical appliances connected to the outlet. It makes no sense to purchase a thicker and more expensive cable if it contradicts existing standards.
Permissible load for cables of different cross-sections
Note that all the values below are valid for a single-phase network. If the network has 3 phases, then cables of a smaller cross-section can be connected to it. In the case of 1 phase, I highly recommend buying suitable cables without saving on them.
In the following table, you can see what loads a copper wire with different cross sections can withstand.
This table will allow you to calculate what kind of load a 16 Ampere outlet will withstand, as well as understand which cable you need to connect to it. This will protect yourself, as well as extend the life of outlets and switches.
Thank you for reading the article to the end! Hope you find this information useful.
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