Continuous Load Definition for Feeder Wire
Under the NEC there is no differentiation between residential and non-residential with regard to continuous loads. A continuous load has a very clear definition that most people interpret wrong. It's not any load that "is on" for a certain amount of time. It is a load that is expected to run at maximum current for a certain amount of time, three hours. 


  Continuous Load.
  
  A load where the maximum current is expected to continue for 3 hours or more.


The key words here are "expected" and "maximum current".