How Many Amps Does an Oven Use?

Ovens are versatile cooking appliances available in various forms, from electric ovens to gas ovens to microwave ovens. It’s important to know how many amps an oven uses as it allows you to use it safely without overloading the power supply and tripping the circuit breaker.

In this article, we look at how many amps different types of ovens use based on their power rating and the voltage used in your country. We will show you how the calculations work so you’ll have a solid grasp of what amps are and how many your oven uses.

A brief explanation of electrical units

To understand how many amps an oven uses, it helps to know what the three main electrical units are and how they relate to each other:

Amps
Watts
Volts

Amps are the unit of electrical current, meaning they measure how much electric charge is flowing through the circuit. Volts are the electrical unit of potential, meaning they measure how much force (potential) is pushing the electricity through the circuit. Finally, watts are the electrical unit of power, meaning they measure the rate at which electrical energy is used in the circuit.

Electrical unit calculations

You can work out how many amps, volts, or watts are being used if you know the value of the other two electrical units. By that, we mean that if you know how many volts and watts your oven uses, you can calculate how many amps it uses, and if you know the volts and amps, you can calculate the watts, etc.

Here’s how it works. For demonstration’s sake, let’s say you have a 3000-watt oven plugged into a 240-volt outlet. You can work out the amps by dividing the watts by the volts:

3000 watts ÷ 240 volts = 12.5 amps

Here’s how to work out the volts if you already know the amps and watts:

3000 watts ÷ 12.5 amps = 240 volts

And finally, here’s how to work out the watts if you know the amps and volts:

12.5 amps x 240 volts = 3000 watts

How many amps do ovens use?

How many amps an oven uses depends on the type of oven, its size, and how you use it.

Electric ovens and ranges

Electric ovens and ranges generally use between 2000 and 5000 watts of electricity; however, the total power usage can be between 7000 to 12,000 watts when you have the oven and multiple burners running simultaneously. Convection ovens also tend to use a bit more power than conventional ovens.

Due to their significant need for power, ovens plug into a 240-volt outlet in the US since it allows them to draw more power without increasing the amps too much. You can calculate how many amps ovens and ranges use like this:

2000 to 12,000 watts ÷ 240 volts = 8.33 to 50 amps

This is why most ovens and ranges require a 30- to 60-amp circuit breaker to ensure the electrical circuit isn’t overloaded.

If you live outside of the US and Canada, such as in Europe, the UK, New Zealand, or Australia, you’ll use a 230-volt outlet instead of a 240-volt one, meaning the amps used are slightly higher:

2000 to 12,000 watts ÷ 230 volts = 8.70 to 52.17 amps

Electric stoves

Electric stoves usually use between 1000 and 3000 watts of electricity, depending on the model and heat setting you use. However, the maximum power usage can be between 7000 to 9500 watts.

That means they use this many amps:

1000 to 9500 watts ÷ 240 volts = 4.17 to 39.58 amps

Electric stoves generally need a 20- to 50-amp circuit breaker to ensure the electrical circuit isn’t overloaded.

In Europe, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, electric stoves use:

1000 to 9500 watts ÷ 230 volts = 4.35 to 41.30 amps

Gas ovens

Since gas ovens and ranges use a gas flame as the heat source rather than an electric heating element, they use hardly any power compared to electric ovens. They also plug into a standard 120-volt outlet in the US and Canada rather than a 240-volt outlet.

However, since modern ranges use some power for the display, clock, lights, and other components, they still use around 120 to 300 watts. This means they generally use this many amps:

120 to 300 watts ÷ 120 volts = 1 to 2.5 amps

However, this depends on whether your gas oven has features like electric convection fans as this will increase the watt and amp usage. Also, some portable gas stoves require no electricity as they ignite using a match or lighter.

On a 230-volt supply, gas ovens generally use:

120 to 300 watts ÷ 230 volts = 0.52 to 1.3 amps

Microwave ovens

Microwaves typically run on the standard 120-volts rather than 240-volts required for large ovens and ranges. The amps they use depend on how many watts the microwave is. Here’s a look at some of the most common wattages for microwaves and how many amps they use: