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Continuous load: what it means for the Texas exam

Bonding Jumper editorial teamSources checked 3 min read

A continuous load is a load whose maximum current is expected to flow for three hours or more. Store lighting that burns all day is the classic example. Because heat builds up over hours, the NEC has conductors and overcurrent devices sized for 125% of the continuous part of a load, plus the noncontinuous part.

A bar chart of one branch circuit: a continuous load block stretched to 125 percent with the extra quarter shaded, a noncontinuous block added at full size, and a dashed line showing the total the conductor and breaker must handle
Only the continuous part is stretched by a quarter. The rest is added as is.
Use this diagram

Why 125%

Breakers and conductors are tested and rated in a way that assumes they will not carry their full rating for hours at a time in a hot panel. A standard breaker carrying its full rated current continuously can overheat and trip. Sizing at 125% of the continuous load is the same as loading the device to no more than 80% of its rating continuously. Equipment listed for 100% continuous operation is an exception, and the NEC allows for it.

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A worked example with invented numbers

A branch circuit supplies 24 amperes of continuous lighting and 6 amperes of noncontinuous receptacle load.

  • Continuous part: 24 × 1.25 = 30 amperes.
  • Add the noncontinuous part: 30 + 6 = 36 amperes.

The conductor's adjusted ampacity and the overcurrent protection rating must both be at least 36 amperes. If the question asks for a device rating, round up to the next standard rating listed in Article 240. If it asks for the calculated load, stop at 36.

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Where it is defined

The term is defined in Article 100 of your 2026 NEC, and the 125% rule appears in the branch circuit, feeder and service requirements. Several equipment articles, such as those for electric vehicle charging and storage water heaters, say a load is to be treated as continuous whatever its actual duty. Read the wording of the article that applies.

Common mix-ups

  • Multiplying the whole load by 125%. Only the continuous part is raised.
  • Assuming a load is continuous. If the question does not say it runs three hours or more, and no article treats it as continuous, do not apply the factor.
  • Applying 125% and correction factors to the same number. The 125% raises the required load; the correction and adjustment factors lower the conductor's available ampacity. They sit on opposite sides of the comparison.
  • Rounding before adding. Add first, then round once.

On the Texas journeyman exam

Continuous loads sit in branch circuits and conductors and in feeders, together 20 scored items across both portions under the PSI bulletin, and feed load problems across both portions. Our blog explains the continuous load 125% rule with more traps.

Practice it

The Calculations portion guide shows where this step sits in a full problem. Every term in this set is in the electrical terms glossary.

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Not affiliated with or endorsed by TDLR, PSI or NFPA. NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of NFPA.

Sources

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Facts checked 26 October 2026 against the sources listed above. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it within 2 business days.

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