Dear all,

I'm pulling a new wire from DB for my induction cooker. Not decided which hob model, but should be 3.5-5 kW type.

1) may i know if 4mm wire is sufficient?

2) When someone says 4mm, he means 4mm² cross sectional of copper part or 4mm diameter?

3) what rating mcb should I use, 20 or 32A?

4) can I tap from this new cable to power the kitchen hood and a new SSO?

5) should I go for 6mm cable to future-proof? Maybe future hobs are more power hungry or I can further tap off power from this line to install built-in oven? Is installing 6mm vs 4mm cable much more difficult and costly?

6)EDIT: electrical contractor suggests pulling 2 sets of 2.5mm² wires to give load of 30A. Is this type of "parallel" cabling common?
Thank you.

This post has been edited by mushigen: Mar 15 2023, 11:31 AM

How about running 2 sets of 2.5mm² wires as suggested by contractor? Contractor says this combo can give 30A and also 6mm² cables are more difficult/expensive to source.

I think this is definitely more than what my small kitchen requires.
My concern with running 2x cables is what if there's a discontinuity or uneven load carrying capability in one of the cables - loose connection, cable fault/breakage, etc? Before the MCB trips, the wire that supports more load may overheat.

That's what I think too. But costs almost double that of 4mm² . Rather having just one set of wires (either 4mm or 6mm) than the messy 2x2.5mm² system (6 wires to pull).
Internet research gives varying load of 4mm² wires, on paper it's sufficient for the present needs. So I wonder if it's too kiasu to go for 6mm².

Understand that 6mm² is overkill. Cable quality aside, what's the usual guideline on the max current 4mm² wires can take?
Also, do we use 220, 230 or 240V in calculation of current vs wattage?

Is 2x2.5mm² laying cost (material plus labour) cheaper than 4mm²? With 4mm², only need to pull 3 wires vs 6 for 2.5mm² per my conversation with the contractor.