Cooker circuits sized for what you’re fitting.
Electric cookers, ovens and induction hobs connected and certified — including the awkward cases where the existing circuit won’t carry what you’ve bought.
Check before it’s delivered
The most common problem isn’t the connection, it’s discovering on delivery day that the new appliance needs more than the existing circuit provides. Induction hobs are the usual surprise — a large induction hob can draw considerably more than the old ceramic one it’s replacing, and the existing cooker circuit may not have been generous to begin with.
Send us the model or the rating plate before it arrives and we’ll tell you whether the existing circuit will carry it. That five-minute check prevents a kitchen full of appliances nobody can turn on.
What determines the answer
- The appliance rating in kW, and whether hob and oven are separate or combined.
- The existing circuit — cable size, protective device rating, and the length of the run.
- Board capacity — whether there’s a spare way and suitable protection. Sometimes the honest answer is a consumer unit upgrade.
- Diversity. Cooking appliances are never all at full output at once, and the regulations allow for that in the calculation. It’s why a 13kW range doesn’t need a 56A supply — but the calculation still has to be done rather than assumed.
Plug in, or hard wired?
Freestanding cookers up to a modest rating can sometimes run from a standard socket, and manufacturers state this clearly. Anything larger needs a dedicated circuit to a cooker connection unit. A hardwired appliance on an undersized circuit is one of the more common serious findings on an EICR.
Kitchen fitters aren’t always electricians. Appliances get connected during kitchen installs by whoever is on site, and the certification often never appears. If you’ve had a kitchen fitted and never received an electrical certificate for the cooker circuit, that’s worth resolving before you sell or let the property.
Also worth doing at the same time
While the appliance is out and the circuit is off, it’s the cheap moment to sort adjacent work — worktop sockets, an extractor or cooker hood, or under-cabinet lighting. Doing it in one visit costs far less than three separate ones.
Things people ask
Can my existing circuit take an induction hob?
Often but not always — induction hobs commonly draw more than the ceramic hobs they replace. Send us the rating plate or model number before delivery and we’ll confirm rather than guess.
Can a cooker just be plugged in?
Smaller freestanding cookers sometimes can, where the manufacturer states it. Larger appliances and most hobs need a dedicated circuit to a cooker connection unit.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. A new or altered cooker circuit is certified, and notifiable work is registered. If a kitchen fitter connected yours without paperwork, we can test and certify it.
Do you take the old appliance away?
We disconnect and make safe. Disposal of the old appliance is usually handled by whoever delivers the new one, which is normally free — worth arranging when you order.