How Do You Wire Electric Baseboard Heaters?
Baseboard heaters are a fast and cheap way to supplement the heat in your house. The number you need depends on how cold your climate is and how well your house is insulated. The usual location to install baseboard heat is under your windows, making sure that the heaters run at least the length of the window–just be careful not to install them behind any furniture. Buy 240-volt heaters with internal thermostats–they use less current and are much easier to install. Divide the total wattage of your heaters by 240 to determine how many amps of current you will need. For example, if the heaters add up to 4,000 watts and you divide that by 240, you get just over 16 amps. In this case, you will need to install two separate 20-amp circuits for the heaters, because you can’t safely draw more than 16 amps over 12-gauge cable. You can use 10-gauge cable on a 30-amp circuit instead, but you will find it much more to difficult to run the wire due to its thickness. Run the cable from the service
