Thursday, September 15, 2011

How can I work out what the wattage is on an appliance using the volts given?

I need to work out that the wattage is an appliance i have but it only gives me volts can I work out what wattage this is using the voltage given?|||Unfortunately, you have an unknown in the equation for power disspation, and that is the current draw of that appliance. Watts (W) = Volts (V) x Amps (I), and the current draw in Amperes is the missing component.





As a very rough-and-ready guide, assuming a 240V UK standard supply, a 100W light bulb draws about 0.5A. A 500W security light pulls about 2A. A three bar electric fire will pull about 13A. An electric kettle about 5A. A colour televison about 4A. Items like digital clocks will pull very small amounts of current, as low as 20 milliamperes, or even less.





All of those current draws are very approximate, and very variable according to appliance type and fluctuations in voltage, but they give an indication of what sort of current draws to expect.|||if you know the current then multiply the current and the voltage and that will tell you the power in watts.|||Multiply the volts by the amps to get the wattage. A 12 amp toaster plugged into a 120 volt line is 1,440 watts.|||Radio Shack sells an Appliance indicator that you plug into the wall outlet and to the appliance you want to know the usage of, I think it sells for 29.99. It's good for window air conditioners, wash mashines and the like. I believe it tells the Wattage, Current and Volts, but with all three you can tell what the Resistance is !

No comments:

Post a Comment