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What Size Breaker for Mini Split Ac? (Quick Answers)

If you are living in a hot climate area, having an air conditioner is important to maintain the temperature inside your house.

That is why people tend to have different types of air conditioning units in their houses. In today’s article, we will discuss what size Breaker is ideal to use for a mini split air conditioning unit. 

Mini split AC breaker size 

Generally, depending on the requirements, mini split air conditioning units are available in different capacities. Generally, it is recommended to use a minimum of 25amps breaker for mini split ac up to two tons. For a larger unit like 5 tons, you can use a 50 amps breaker. 

The air conditioning unit is an important part of the House. If you’re living in a cold climate area. Generally, air conditioning units are used to maintain the temperature inside the house.

Depending on capacity, and area, a variety of air conditioning units are available. However, it is important to be careful when installing an air conditioning unit in your House because it is a large-sized household appliance.

It is important to choose the right sized breaker for your air conditioning unit so that the ac can run properly.

If you do not choose the right size breaker for your air conditioning unit, it will not be able to provide the AC with the proper power supply.

In addition to that, using the wrong sized circuit breaker can cause significant damage to the electrical circuit as well as the air conditioning unit components.

As a result, it can lead to the burning of electrical circuits if you use the wrong size breaker for your air conditioning unit.

That is why it is important to know what size breaker is important to use for a mini split air conditioning unit to operate efficiently. Below is a brief discussion on the breaker size for different sized mini split air conditioning units:

9000 btu mini split ac: 

Generally, in 9000 BTU Mini split air conditioning unit requires a 15 amps circuit breaker to run the air conditioning unit efficiently.

12000 btu mini split ac:  

If you want to run a 12,000 BTU mini split air conditioning unit you can use a 15 amps circuit breaker to run the air conditioning unit. Generally, the 12,000 BTU mini split air conditioning unit is a 1-ton air conditioning unit.

18000 btu mini split ac:  

If you want to install an 18,000 BTU or a one and half ton air conditioning unit. You need to use a 20 amps circuit breaker to run the air conditioning unit efficiently.

24000 btu mini split ac:  

Generally, it is recommended to use a 20 amps circuit breaker for a 24,000 btu mini split air conditioning unit.

27000 btu mini split ac:  

You can use a 30 amps circuit breaker for Mini split air conditioning systems that have a capacity of 27000 btu.

30000 btu mini split ac:

Generally, a 30000 btu mini split air conditioning unit can be easily run using a 30 amps circuit breaker.

36000 btu mini split ac:  

Generally, any mini split air conditioning unit has an operational capacity of up to 36000 btu and can be easily run using a 30 amps circuit breaker without any issue.

Mini split power requirements 

Whenever you install an air conditioning unit inside your house, you need to keep a few factors in your mind when choosing the circuit breaker. Generally, it is recommended to use a 25 amps breaker for mini split systems up to two tons.

On the other hand, for a 3 tons Mini split air conditioning system, the requirement for a breaker is 30 amps. Finally, for a five-ton air conditioning unit, it is recommended to use a 50 amps breaker. In addition to that, the Mini splits the air conditioning unit.

Power requirements enable them to depend on the model and size. Most of the mini split air conditioning units require power or electricity requirements of 220 volts or higher than that.

In addition to that, there are some 9000 to 12000 thousand BTU mini split air conditioning systems that may require only 110 Volt service. However, you need to be very careful when choosing the right size for the breaker for the air conditioning units.

How many amps does mini split use?

Mini split air conditioning units are considered one of the most efficient and convenient types of air conditioning units that you can use in your household.

In addition to that, the Mini split air conditioning units are a good investment for many commercial structures as well. These air conditioning units allow you to spot heating and cooling that will help to operate independently of a central system.

Which makes the Mini split air conditioning unit an efficient, economical, and advanced air conditioning unit for only those occupied areas.

However, the amperage consumption capacity of a mini split air conditioning unit ranges between 15 to 45 amps.

This is about 120 to 240 volts of electricity requirements. Generally, anything that runs on amps must have a circuit that will prevent overload. As a result, it will trip the circuit breaker, and your power to go out.

3 factors that determine the breaker size for mini split ac 

Mini split air conditioning units are considered compact-sized air conditioning units that are highly suitable to use in the personal house and commercial structures as well.

Generally, whenever you decide to install a mini split air conditioning unit in your house, you need to keep in mind a few factors. These factors will help you to determine the size of breaker that is suitable to use for the mini split air conditioning unit.

It is important to choose the right size breaker for the Mini split air conditioning unit. A wrong size breaker can cause the electric circuit to get significantly damaged.

In addition to that, it can lead to a circuit burn as well. Below is a brief discussion on a few factors that will help you to determine the breaker size for mini split AC: 

Unit requirements: 

It is very important to calculate and determine the unit requirements before installing a mini split air conditioning unit circuit breaker. This will help you to figure out what size Circuit Breaker is suitable for the ac to run. 

Voltage requirements: 

Generally, most of the Mini split air conditioning unit voltage requirements range between 120 to 240 volts. Where to install a circuit breaker that is suitable to the voltage requirements. 

Required amperage: 

There are different sizes of mini split air conditioning units that have different requirements for amperage.

You need to install a circuit breaker based on the amperage requirements. Determining these factors will ease the circuit installation for the mini split air conditioning unit.

How to choose the breaker size for your mini split ac? 

Whenever you install a mini split air conditioning unit in your house, you need to determine the size of the circuit breaker that is suitable for the air conditioning unit. It is important to determine the right sized breaker for your air conditioning unit.

Using the wrong size, a circuit breaker can cause significant damage to the electrical circuit board.

In addition to that, it can even lead to circuit burn. Trying to avoid unexpected and expensive repairs for the circuit board, you need to choose the right sized circuit breaker for the mini split air conditioning unit.

A mini split air conditioning unit consists of multiple components. If you increase the size of the system, it will increase the amount of electricity needed to operate it.

Based on that, you need to choose the right-sized breaker for the minutes played air conditioning unit. To calculate the breaker size for a mini split air conditioning unit, you can simply follow the steps below: 

Figure out the wattage: 

The first thing you need to do to calculate the properly sized breaker for your mini split air conditioning unit is to figure out the wattage of your air conditioning unit.

You can easily check the label for maximum wattage or you can use a watt-meter. 

Apply NEC rule: 

Generally, you need to apply the National Electric code rule to calculate the breaker size for your air conditioning unit.

The general rule of NEC mentions that the calculated amp draw should represent at most 80% of the total ampacity of the breaker. 

Pick a slightly large sized breaker: 

Once you’re done calculating the wattage and applying the NEC rule, you need to pick a slightly large-sized breaker so that it does not interrupt the electric power supply. 

Final thoughts

Different types of mini split air conditioning units come in different sizes. Generally, it is recommended to use a 25 amps breaker for the mini split systems, up to two tons. You can use a maximum of 50 amps breaker to use on air conditioning units, up to five tons.