# Commercial kitchen equipment demand (2026 NEC Table 120.56)

> For three or more pieces of commercial cooking, dishwashing and similar kitchen equipment, add the nameplate ratings and multiply by the Table 120.56 factor for the number of units (90% for 3, 80% for 4, 70% for 5, 65% for 6 or more). The result may not be less than the two largest units added together.

Exams: Class A Journeyworker Electrician, Class A Master Electrician. Commercial load calculations.

## Formula

    Demand (kW) = Sum of nameplates × Table 120.56 factor (%)
    Demand is not less than the two largest units added together

## Variables

- **n**: Number of kitchen equipment units (not counting HVAC or ventilation)
- **Factor**: Table 120.56 demand factor for n units (%)

## Open your 2026 NEC to

- 120.56, Table 120.56 (2023: 220.56, Table 220.56): Demand factors for thermostatically controlled or intermittent-use commercial kitchen equipment. 2026 number follows the kept-suffix pattern; confirm in your book
- 120.56 (2023: 220.56): The demand may not be less than the sum of the two largest kitchen loads; no factor for space heating, ventilating or AC

Restaurants, schools and hospitals have many electric cooking appliances that cycle on and off with thermostats. Table 120.56 (Table 220.56 in 2023) lets you reduce their combined load on a feeder or service. It applies to commercial electric cooking equipment, dishwasher booster heaters, water heaters and similar kitchen equipment that is thermostatically controlled or used only now and then.

Count the units, add their nameplates, and read the factor for that count: one or two units 100%, three 90%, four 80%, five 70% and six or more 65%. Leave out space heating, ventilating and air-conditioning equipment such as a hood exhaust fan. Those do not count toward the number of units and get no demand factor.

There is one check at the end: the demand load may not be less than the sum of the two largest kitchen loads. With two big ovens and a few small items, that minimum often governs.

The 2026 NEC moved this from Article 220 to Article 120. The number 120.56 follows the same pattern as its neighbors 120.55 and 120.57; confirm it in your own 2026 book. Dwelling ranges are not in this table. They use Table 120.55.

## Worked example

A commercial kitchen has 7 pieces of thermostatically controlled cooking equipment, each rated 10.5 kW. Using Table 120.56, what is the demand load for the kitchen equipment on the feeder?

1. Connected load: 7 × 10.5 kW = 73.5 kW.
2. Look up Table 120.56 for 7 units: 65%.
3. Demand: 73.5 kW × 65% = 47.78 kW.
4. Check the minimum: the demand may not be less than the two largest units, 21.0 kW. Demand load = 47.78 kW.

**Answer: 47.78 kW**

## How to solve it on the exam

1. List the kitchen equipment. Cross off HVAC and ventilating equipment.
2. Count the units and add their nameplate ratings.
3. Multiply by the Table 120.56 factor for that number of units.
4. Compare with the two largest units added together and use the larger value.
5. For amperes on a 3-phase feeder, divide the VA by the voltage times 1.732.

## Common mistakes

- Counting the hood exhaust fan or other ventilating equipment as a kitchen unit.
- Forgetting the two-largest-units minimum.
- Using 65% for every kitchen without checking the number of units.
- Using Table 120.55 (household ranges) for commercial cooking equipment.
- Leaving out 1.732 when converting a 3-phase load to amperes.

## Exam tips

- Write the units in a column with the two largest at the top. The minimum check is then one addition.
- If an answer choice equals the sum of the two largest units exactly, check whether the minimum rule governs before you reject it.

## Questions people ask

### What are the commercial kitchen demand factors?

100% for one or two units, 90% for three, 80% for four, 70% for five and 65% for six or more (Table 120.56 in the 2026 NEC, Table 220.56 in 2023).

### Does the exhaust hood fan count as kitchen equipment?

No. The kitchen demand factors do not apply to space-heating, ventilating or air-conditioning equipment, so leave the hood fan out of the count.

### What is the two largest units rule?

The kitchen demand load may not be less than the sum of the two largest kitchen equipment loads. If the table result is lower, use the two largest units added together.

## Sources

- [Minnesota DLI: Electrical license examination guide (2026 NEC)](https://www.dli.mn.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/LicensingExaminationGuide.pdf)

Interactive practice: https://minnesotaelectricianexam.com/calculations/kitchen-equipment-demand/