Does a countertop microwave require a dedicated circuit?

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asked Dec 27, 2020 in Other-Home/Garden by Southernky7 (320 points)
Does a countertop microwave require a dedicated circuit?

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answered Dec 27, 2020 by Sarandra (1,420 points)
A countertop microwave does not require a dedicated circuit.

However it's best for the countertop microwave to have a dedicated circuit because the microwave uses quite a bit of power.

A microwave could dim lights or trip breakers if other appliances are on the same circuit.

I have a dedicated circuit in my kitchen for my microwave which is much better.

A countertop microwave should easily be able to run on a 15 amp circuit.

I lived in a mobile home that had 15 amp electrical circuits in the kitchen and I ran my countertop microwave on the 15 amp circuit just fine.

Although having a 20 amp electrical circuit would be much better but a 15 amp electrical circuit will be good enough to handle the microwave.

But if possible it's best to have a dedicated 20 amp circuit to handle the power of the microwave without dimming lights.

I now live in a regular home that has 20 amp circuits and a dedicated 20 amp electrical outlet in the kitchen for the microwave.

It's much better that way but you can run the microwave on the non dedicated circuit whether a 15 amp circuit or 20 amp circuit.

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