Wiring electric cooker circuits

There are a lot of different types of cookers that can be used in modern day to day kitchens. There are combination cookers with gas and electric or just plain gas or electric cookers. But even gas cookers still require electricity to work as some of them have electric fans and gas igniters in them. For a standard electric oven (3Kw) it can be wired onto a 3 pin plug and be plugged into a socket. Gas hobs can be wired in the exact same way although they won’t use nearly as much electricity as an electric oven would use.

Most free standing electrical cookers and hobs almost defiantly need their own circuit.

Shown below are items that would need their own circuits.

A radial cooker circuit starts at the fuse board (consumer unit/distribution board/MCB). The wire should be thick enough to carry the required amount of electricity to the appliance and the wires should only be ran in the permitted zones. (if your uncertain on the wire thickness then you should seek professional advice from a qualified electrician). The cooker wire will then go to a double pole isolating switch that contains a neon indicator (This is known as a CCU for short and cooker control unit for long). This switch cannot be placed straight over the appliance but needs to be within 2 metres of the appliance. Usually the appliance will be wired directly into the CCU (cooker control unit). But in some cases you may see the appliances wired into a CCU that is below the kitchen worktop. (this in turn will make changing an appliance a lot easier).

Shown above is a normal arrangement for a free standing electrical cooker. As you can see the wiring comes from the fuse board (consumer unit/distribution board/MCB) to the CCU then to the connector unit and then last but not least into the appliance.

Sometimes a cooker circuit will supply 2 or more appliances like above. The single switch can be used to control both the electric hob and the cooker as long as they are within 2 metres of the switch.

If you decide to install a cooker circuit from new then you should choose a CCU. A CCU can be available with or without the socket outlet.

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