I want to put in a 500W baseboard heater running on 120volts (Dimplex - Home Page » Home Heating » Linear Convector Baseboards » Products » Linear Proportional Convector) and I'm wondering if its possible to wire it up to an existing 15 amp circuit in my house using 14-2 wire? This circuit has 5 lights and 2 receptacles. Only 2 of those lights and one receptacle will be used often. I want it put it in the front entrance way of my house that doesn't have a source of heat and I want to wire it up to a light switch I have in there that controls the entrance way light and outside front door light. Since its only 500W and 120v can I get away with this without overloading the circuit and can I use 14-2 wire without the wire heating up too much? I think the draw on the heater is 4-6 amps. I think most of the lights are using 60W bulbs which don't even draw 1 amp. Basically the thing I'm concerned with the most is if I use 14-2 wire which is what the rest of the circuit is using, will it heat up too much because its not 12-2?

 

You're in Canada, so check you local codes, but if the circuit is on a 15 amp breaker, the 14-2 wiring will not be a problem, amperage wise. Your code people may require a dedicated circuit. Since it has its own switching, I would not separately switch it, but leave it hardwired through its incorporated thermostat.

 

Yeah I'm not sure what the code is I'm just wondering whats safe I guess and if the wire leading up to the heater would get too hot. But yeah it would be running on a 15 amp breaker with the rest of the circuit.

 

Your code would dictate the actual wiring method but the heater on that circuit would not be unsafe.

 

On a 15A circuit wires with 14AWG conductors, you should use 14-2/G cable, not 12-2. If any of the wiring is going to overheat it will be the home run to the panel, not the part connecting this new load. The thermal overload protection provided by the circuit is designed to protect against having that go too high.

A 500W load on a 120V circuit is 500W. It doesn't matter what size light bulbs you're using or how often the lights will be on. What matters is how much current they could draw if they were all on and each one had the largest bulb it was rated for in it. Let's say that's another 500W. The standard estimating value for a duplex receptacle is 1.5A, or 180W. Two of those is another 360W. So you should have 1,360W of load connected to this circuit, total.

A 15A circuit can supply up to 1,440W of continuous load. Your circuit should be able to handle everything safely, so long as you don't plug a space heater or hair dryer into one of the receptacles.

Do check with your local jurisdiction. They're the only people who can tell you what their standards are.