A method is provided for selecting wiring components for a circuit including at least one predetermined load. A user identifies a fuse type. A target current needed to achieve a desired fuse blow time for the identified fuse type is obtained from a lookup table. A minimum wire size for supporting steady state operation of the circuit is also obtained from a lookup table. The user identifies one or more wire segments to be included in the circuit, including specifying each respective wire length. An aggregate circuit resistance including each identified wire segment is calculated, wherein when a wire segment is first identified it is assigned the minimum wire size and its resistance is determined based on its respective length. A provisional short circuit current is calculated in response to the aggregate circuit resistance. The provisional short circuit current is compared to the target current. If the provisional short circuit current is less than the target current, the user is prompted to select an increased wire size for at least one wire segment. Otherwise, an optimized circuit is indicated to the user.