Practice: commercial kitchen equipment demand
Each problem uses new numbers, so you practice the method rather than memorizing an answer.
Pick the answer: sizes and ratings come from your code book.
Worked solution
Formula
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| n | Number of kitchen equipment units (not counting HVAC or ventilation) | |
| Factor | Table 120.56 demand factor for n units | % |
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?
- Connected load: 7 × 10.5 kW = 73.5 kW.
- Look up Table 120.56 for 7 units: 65%.
- Demand: 73.5 kW × 65% = 47.78 kW.
- 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
Commercial kitchen equipment demand, explained
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.
How to solve it on the exam
- List the kitchen equipment. Cross off HVAC and ventilating equipment.
- Count the units and add their nameplate ratings.
- Multiply by the Table 120.56 factor for that number of units.
- Compare with the two largest units added together and use the larger value.
- 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.
Commercial kitchen equipment demand calculator
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
About the tables: DLI gives you an untabbed 2026 NEC at the exam. These problems cite the section and table so you practice finding them in the book. We never print NEC text or tables.