ᐅ Two ovens on one circuit – electrician installed only a single electrical circuit
Created on: 2 Nov 2025 17:26
D
dergert
Hello everyone,
I need your assessment on something that honestly left me speechless.
During our house construction, the electrical installation was done by the builder’s electrician. The oven outlet had initially been simply forgotten and needed to be redone anyway. During the conversation back then, I clearly stated that we planned to install two ovens instead of one – a regular oven with microwave function and a steam oven – and that these obviously each need to be separately protected.
Now that the kitchen is fully installed (including the granite countertop, everything finished), I operated both appliances simultaneously for the first time and the circuit breaker immediately tripped. When I looked in the breaker panel, I saw there was only one “oven” breaker, so apparently both outlets are on the same circuit.
Yes, I know I should have noticed earlier, but unfortunately I didn’t.
From everything I have researched so far (VDE 0100-430 and 0100-520), this is definitely not allowed, because the combined load of both appliances significantly exceeds the permissible continuous load of a 16-A circuit. Can someone with expertise confirm this?
Now I am wondering if the fault clearly lies with the electrician and whether he must correct it at his own cost. Also, I’m interested in who would bear the costs if parts of the kitchen have to be dismantled for the retrofit. And lastly: What is the best way to handle this without the situation escalating into conflict?
I want to clarify this calmly and objectively with the electrician, but honestly, I find it quite incomprehensible – especially since the wiring had to be installed later anyway and it was clear two high-power appliances would be connected.
I look forward to your opinions and experiences.
Best regards
dergert
I need your assessment on something that honestly left me speechless.
During our house construction, the electrical installation was done by the builder’s electrician. The oven outlet had initially been simply forgotten and needed to be redone anyway. During the conversation back then, I clearly stated that we planned to install two ovens instead of one – a regular oven with microwave function and a steam oven – and that these obviously each need to be separately protected.
Now that the kitchen is fully installed (including the granite countertop, everything finished), I operated both appliances simultaneously for the first time and the circuit breaker immediately tripped. When I looked in the breaker panel, I saw there was only one “oven” breaker, so apparently both outlets are on the same circuit.
Yes, I know I should have noticed earlier, but unfortunately I didn’t.
From everything I have researched so far (VDE 0100-430 and 0100-520), this is definitely not allowed, because the combined load of both appliances significantly exceeds the permissible continuous load of a 16-A circuit. Can someone with expertise confirm this?
| Overload protection | Circuit must not be overloaded by two ovens | VDE 0100-430 (433.1) |
| Dimensioning | Circuit must match operating current | VDE 0100-520 (523.1) |
| Separate circuits | Each high-power appliance on its own circuit | DIN 18015-1 (10.1) |
| Compliance | Violation of VDE = violation of EnWG § 49 para. 2 | EnWG |
Now I am wondering if the fault clearly lies with the electrician and whether he must correct it at his own cost. Also, I’m interested in who would bear the costs if parts of the kitchen have to be dismantled for the retrofit. And lastly: What is the best way to handle this without the situation escalating into conflict?
I want to clarify this calmly and objectively with the electrician, but honestly, I find it quite incomprehensible – especially since the wiring had to be installed later anyway and it was clear two high-power appliances would be connected.
I look forward to your opinions and experiences.
Best regards
dergert
Hello again,
After reading Machsselbst’s comment, I quickly looked it up: It does seem that for new installations, every device over 2 kW must be individually protected.
You should verify this for yourself. But if that’s correct, there’s no point in any further discussion.
Run additional wiring, whatever it takes.
Otherwise, you could be in serious trouble if there’s ever a problem with the wiring. (Unlikely) worst case scenario: the oven catches fire first, then the house burns down, and the insurance doesn’t pay because the electrical installation wasn’t compliant with VDE standards.
Best regards,
Andreas
After reading Machsselbst’s comment, I quickly looked it up: It does seem that for new installations, every device over 2 kW must be individually protected.
You should verify this for yourself. But if that’s correct, there’s no point in any further discussion.
Run additional wiring, whatever it takes.
Otherwise, you could be in serious trouble if there’s ever a problem with the wiring. (Unlikely) worst case scenario: the oven catches fire first, then the house burns down, and the insurance doesn’t pay because the electrical installation wasn’t compliant with VDE standards.
Best regards,
Andreas
H
hanghaus20233 Nov 2025 13:11You should never use both at the same time. The electrician should be able to control this with a single switch.
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nordanney3 Nov 2025 13:16MachsSelbst schrieb:
You will definitely overload your circuit with that, because even the refrigerator with its 200 to 300 watts is too much when the oven with rapid preheating requires its full 3.6 kW. The oven has a rated power of 3.3 kW. So you are not overloading (especially if it’s a new refrigerator with 0.1 to 0.2 kW). Compliance with VDE and similar standards is another matter (yes, you are right, but the OP needs a pragmatic solution that works—and unless the oven is running pyrolysis cleaning at the same time the compressor is starting, this is practical).
Another idea: Can a socket circuit be “shared” or used differently? For example, put the refrigerator on one socket circuit and operate the second oven on the refrigerator’s circuit? This complies with all rules. However, here (as with any case when the refrigerator runs on a circuit shared with other devices) a short circuit caused by another device could mean the refrigerator loses power for a whole day sometimes.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
You just have to never use both at the same time. An electrician should be able to control that with a switch. That’s impractical. How often do I have both ovens on? Whether the microwave function is used in parallel or keeping dishes/food warm until the rest is ready, or having different parts of a menu in the oven at the same time.
Hello,
Um... isn't there supposed to be an irony tag here?
You install two ovens in the kitchen because you use them at the same time, not just one on Mondays and the other on Tuesdays...
Best regards,
Andreas
Um... isn't there supposed to be an irony tag here?
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
You just must never use both at the same time. The electrician should be able to control that with a switch.
You install two ovens in the kitchen because you use them at the same time, not just one on Mondays and the other on Tuesdays...
Best regards,
Andreas
andimann schrieb:
Isn’t that almost intentional bodily harm?!? I’d say this: when someone washes their hands with my system, they definitely come out sterile afterward.
No, of course there is a safety feature. If you don’t know what you’re doing, no one can accidentally draw boiling water.
I’m really impressed with this unit. Boiling water, cold sparkling water, available instantly from the tap. Simply cool. Highly recommended!
nordanney schrieb:
That’s impractical nonsense. How often are both of my ovens on? Sometimes the microwave function is used in parallel, or the warming of dishes/food until the rest is ready. Or different meal components are cooking simultaneously in the oven. Exactly. That’s why I planned for two ovens. Otherwise, I’d have just skipped it from the start.
Okay, so I should probably make sure to arrange an additional line. There’s a ceiling opening into the basement beneath the sink, where all the other lines run through. So the effort to install one more line can’t be as astronomical as the electrician was trying to make me believe, right? Wouldn’t it be enough to just run the cable behind the cabinets? It shouldn’t require additional chasing or similar, it just needs to be laid there, or is that also not allowed?
I’ve attached the kitchen installation plan. In the basement, the lines run cased along the ceiling into the utility room to the breaker panel. So it should definitely be possible, or am I misunderstanding something?
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nordanney3 Nov 2025 13:43dergert schrieb:
So it is definitely doable after all, or am I wrong?Yep. I wouldn’t even argue further – it’s not that big of an effort. At most, just a “I’m not interested in doing that.”Similar topics