Refrigerator - Electrical Requirements and Breaker Size

The Owner's Manual or Installation Instructions for a Refrigerator will have the electrical requirements listed along with safety requirements for electrical usage. It is important to have the correct electrical supply for your Refrigerator.

Determining the Correct Electrical Requirement for a Refrigerator

Electrical Requirements and Breaker Size for Refrigerators, Compact Refrigerators, Wine Chillers, Beverage Centers, Double-Drawer Refrigerators and Standalone Icemakers are as follows.

• A 115-volt or 120-volt, individual, properly grounded branch circuit with a 3-prong grounding type receptacle, protected by a 15 or 20 amp circuit breaker or time-delay fuse.
• Should be on a dedicated circuit. This is recommended for best performance and to prevent overloading house wiring circuits.

Refrigerators should be on a dedicated circuit. However, the exact running amperage or wattage may be needed for determining use on generators and other similar applications.

• The rating plate on the appliance has this information. View Refrigerator rating plate locations.

• To determine wattage, use the equation: Volts x Amps = Wattage.

• Start-up amps and watts are usually 3 times more than the running amps or watts.

 

For model specific electrical requirements, consult the Installation Instruction for the model you own.

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