Quick Hits

⚡ NEC Article 120 — Load Calcs Won't Kill You

🍳 Episode 48 — The Freestanding Range Table + One Last Shortcut

Article: 120 — Load Calculations
Part: Part IX — Mobile and Manufactured Homes
Section: 120.140(B), 120.140(C)
Format: Quick Hit

🎯 What You'll Learn

We've already built most of the mobile-home load calculation.

Now it's time for one specific load that gets its own dedicated table:

🍳 The freestanding range

Section 120.140(B) directs us to Table 120.140(B) to determine the calculated load for a freestanding range.

And then, just before the mobile-home calculation wraps up, 120.140(C) gives us one last shortcut that takes us all the way back to 120.82.

📖 The Quick Hit

🍳 Table 120.140(B) — Freestanding Range Load

Freestanding ranges aren't simply added at their full nameplate rating.

Instead, Table 120.140(B) provides a calculated load based on the range's nameplate rating.

And there's an interesting twist:

The first tier uses a percentage, while the higher tiers use specific flat VA values.

⚡ 0–10,000 Watts

For a freestanding range with a nameplate rating of 10,000 watts or less:

➡️ 80% of the rating

For example:

8,000 W × 80% = 6,400 VA

So an 8,000-watt range contributes:

➡️ 6,400 VA

to the calculated mobile-home load.

⚡ Over 10,000–12,500 Watts

For a range rated over 10,000 watts but not over 12,500 watts:

➡️ 8,000 VA

Notice that we're no longer simply multiplying the nameplate rating by a percentage.

The table gives us a flat calculated value.

⚡ Over 12,500–13,500 Watts

➡️ 8,400 VA

⚡ Over 13,500–14,500 Watts

➡️ 8,800 VA

⚡ Over 14,500–15,500 Watts

➡️ 9,200 VA

⚡ Over 15,500–16,500 Watts

➡️ 9,600 VA

⚡ Over 16,500–17,500 Watts

➡️ 10,000 VA

📊 The Table at a Glance

Freestanding Range Nameplate

Calculated Load

0–10,000 W

80% of rating

Over 10,000–12,500 W

8,000 VA

Over 12,500–13,500 W

8,400 VA

Over 13,500–14,500 W

8,800 VA

Over 14,500–15,500 W

9,200 VA

Over 15,500–16,500 W

9,600 VA

Over 16,500–17,500 W

10,000 VA

🧠 A Different Kind of Demand Table

Most of the demand-factor tables we've encountered throughout Article 120 have followed a familiar pattern:

Connected load × demand factor = calculated load

Table 120.140(B) changes things up.

For the higher range ratings, the table gives us flat VA values instead of simply applying a percentage.

That's an important detail because you don't want to look at a 12,000-watt range and automatically try to calculate 80% of 12,000.

The table tells you the calculated value.

🔢 Worked Example

A mobile home has a freestanding range with a nameplate rating of:

8,000 watts

The rating falls within the 0–10,000 W tier.

Therefore:

8,000 W × 80% = 6,400 VA

Final calculated range load:

6,400 VA

That's the number that gets carried into the overall mobile-home load calculation.

🔄 120.140(C) — One Last Shortcut

After working through the mobile-home calculation, there's another option worth knowing.

Section 120.140(C) permits the use of the 120.82 optional dwelling-unit method for the lighting and appliance load portion.

If you've followed this series from the beginning, you've already seen 120.82.

We spent five episodes breaking down that optional dwelling method.

Now it comes back around in the mobile-home calculation.

🔁 Full Circle

Earlier in the series:

120.82

⬇️

Optional dwelling-unit method

⬇️

General loads + heating/AC + EVSE

⬇️

Now:

120.140(C)

⬇️

The 120.82 method can be used for the applicable lighting and appliance load portion of the mobile-home calculation.

Everything connects.

🧠 Exam Takeaway

When you see Table 120.140(B), think:

🍳 Freestanding range

📊 Dedicated range load table

⚡ 0–10,000 W → 80%

➡️ Higher ratings use specific flat VA values

And when you see 120.140(C):

🔄 Think 120.82 optional dwelling-unit method

That's the shortcut that brings the series almost full circle.

🎯 Test Yourself

Per Table 120.140(B), a freestanding range has a nameplate rating of 8,000 watts.

What is the calculated "use" value?

A) 8,000 VA flat
B) 6,400 VA (80% of rating)
C) 8,400 VA
D) 4,000 VA

✅ Answer

B) 6,400 VA (80% of rating)

The 8,000-watt range falls within the 0–10,000 W tier.

So:

8,000 W × 80% = 6,400 VA

📚 Keep Exploring

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View Sources & References:
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🔎 NEC References

Primary: Article 120, 120.140(B)

Related: Table 120.140(B) — Freestanding Range Load

Related: 120.140(C) — Optional Dwelling-Unit Method

Related: 120.82 — Optional Dwelling-Unit Calculation Method

⚡ Series Progress

Article 120 — Load Calcs Won't Kill You

🏠 Part IX — Mobile and Manufactured Homes

Episode 46: Mobile Homes: A Whole Different Calculation System
Episode 47: Mobile Homes: Everything Else Gets Added On
Episode 48: The Freestanding Range Table + One Last Shortcut

➡️ NEXT UP — THE TRUE SERIES FINALE

We've now covered:

🏠 The mobile-home calculation system
➕ The additional mobile-home loads
🍳 The freestanding range table
🔄 The 120.82 shortcut

But we're not finished yet.

One final section remains.

🎉 Episode 49 — The TRUE Series Finale

Next up: mobile-home parks and the final demand-factor rules that bring Article 120 to its conclusion.

One last table.

One last calculation.

One last Quick Hit.

⚡ Let's finish Article 120.