fla vs mca...
- Thread starter jmoreno
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Lockport, IL
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrical Engineer
Re: fla vs mca...
You don?t use MCA in calculating the load. The manufacturer will have calculated (or measured) the load that the machine will draw, and will have determined the minimum size wire needed for the branch circuit conductors. That minimum size is posted as the MCA. They know the rules about continuous loads and largest motors and such. We don?t need to second guess the methods they use to get the MCA number. It would have no meaning to add any 25% factor to that number.
If you need to determine the load for a service or feeder calculation, then you need to go through Article 430. It has a set of rules (somewhat confusing rules, to be sure) that tell you how to figure the load.
You don?t use MCA in calculating the load. The manufacturer will have calculated (or measured) the load that the machine will draw, and will have determined the minimum size wire needed for the branch circuit conductors. That minimum size is posted as the MCA. They know the rules about continuous loads and largest motors and such. We don?t need to second guess the methods they use to get the MCA number. It would have no meaning to add any 25% factor to that number.
If you need to determine the load for a service or feeder calculation, then you need to go through Article 430. It has a set of rules (somewhat confusing rules, to be sure) that tell you how to figure the load.
- Status