In typical residential installations, the maximum available short‑circuit (fault) current at the service entrance is usually on the order of about 10 kA (10,000 A).

Typical residential fault levels

Most residential circuit breakers and panels are selected with interrupting ratings around 6 kA to 10 kA, because that covers the expected maximum prospective short‑circuit current for normal homes. Many study and quiz references that address this specific question give 10,000 A as the “normally” highest short‑circuit current in residential applications.

Variations and practical considerations

The actual fault current at a given house depends on factors such as the utility transformer size and impedance, service voltage, and the length and size of service conductors, but for design and equipment rating purposes, 10 kA is commonly treated as the upper bound in standard residential practice. Because of this, common practice is to use breakers whose interrupting rating is at least equal to, and often slightly above, this expected maximum fault current.