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How much power does my audio actually draw?
I've been trying to calculate my power consumption on all the devices in my home and I'm having trouble finding a straight answer on the home stereo. I am using a Denon X4100W receiver which is rated for 670 watts I believe, powering all 150 watt RMS Klipsch speakers (5.1 surround), and I have an SVS PB1000 subwoofer that is 300 watts RMS. Of course this is RMS...not peak which is much higher.
Now in typical usage these are all powered on for regular tv viewing at a moderately low volume. I'm obviously not using max wattage in this scenario, but what am I using? Is there any way of really knowing?
I ask because the electrical in our place is garbage. If it were mine I'd rip it out and rewire, but we rent. We are constantly tripping breakers because there is just not enough circuits, so I'm tying to spread out the loads as efficiently as possible and cut down my footprint where I can. If the power draw on this system is consistently close to max I may downsize...Its probably overkill for this place anyway lol.
Now in typical usage these are all powered on for regular tv viewing at a moderately low volume. I'm obviously not using max wattage in this scenario, but what am I using? Is there any way of really knowing?
I ask because the electrical in our place is garbage. If it were mine I'd rip it out and rewire, but we rent. We are constantly tripping breakers because there is just not enough circuits, so I'm tying to spread out the loads as efficiently as possible and cut down my footprint where I can. If the power draw on this system is consistently close to max I may downsize...Its probably overkill for this place anyway lol.
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Oohhh, that's cool. I could spend a whole day with that thing lol.
At peak you might be pulling between 8 and 12 amps on a 15amp/120V circuit.
What else is on the same circuit? Keep on mind that same circuit doesn't always mean same room or even floor!
What else is on the same circuit? Keep on mind that same circuit doesn't always mean same room or even floor!
So many things...our whole place, with the exception of the washer/dryer, furnace, bathroom gfci's, and stove, is on 3 15A breakers. It's 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, office, laundry room...it's just ridiculous. Right now I have the home theatre, main desktop computer, 1 bathroom, 1 bedroom, and half the kitchen on the same circuit. If I use the microwave or coffee maker, home theatre and computer have to be shut down.
The rest of the house is on 2 15's, that includes my office with a couple computers, bedrooms, bathroom, laundry room, and the other half of the kitchen with the dishwasher and fridge.
The rest of the house is on 2 15's, that includes my office with a couple computers, bedrooms, bathroom, laundry room, and the other half of the kitchen with the dishwasher and fridge.
I should add the whole reasoning behind cutting the power usage down is my kids now want their own PC...I just don't think the circuit could handle it unless properly arranged and my usage is cut down. There's multiple tvs and xboxes and what not as well...I'm up against it lol.
Can't wait to move...but other than the electrical it's a nice place and it's cheap.
Can't wait to move...but other than the electrical it's a nice place and it's cheap.
Adding a PC? That shouldn't be more than a few hundred Watts, unless you're getting some sort of monstrous gaming PC. I suppose that if the breakers are always popping, they'd open more.I should add the whole reasoning behind cutting the power usage down is my kids now want their own PC...I just don't think the circuit could handle it unless properly arranged and my usage is cut down. There's multiple tvs and xboxes and what not as well...I'm up against it lol.
Can't wait to move...but other than the electrical it's a nice place and it's cheap.
A desktop replacement laptop, maybe? (I know a guy who buys them on eBay. 17" screen, heavy, pretty cheap.)
Wow, when was that house built? I'm in a 3BR/2.5BA townhouse/condo, and have more breakers than that. :-\
Yup house is only like 10 years old...everything is shoddy. They've already had a couple electrical issues. If it were my house I'd redo everything, but it's not something they want to get into I guess.
I popped out and grabbed a power bar that monitors usage and sends it to my phone...pretty cool. Tried it out on a few things and seems like it's reasonably accurate. Receiver and sub are only drawing 80 watts/about 1 amp on normal load. That's much better than I was expecting.
As for the PC...it's a fairly high end gaming PC. Power calculator puts it around 500 watts; plus 70ish for the monitor. I'm curious to see what it's actually pulling with this thing.
I popped out and grabbed a power bar that monitors usage and sends it to my phone...pretty cool. Tried it out on a few things and seems like it's reasonably accurate. Receiver and sub are only drawing 80 watts/about 1 amp on normal load. That's much better than I was expecting.
As for the PC...it's a fairly high end gaming PC. Power calculator puts it around 500 watts; plus 70ish for the monitor. I'm curious to see what it's actually pulling with this thing.
My 50 year old ranch style shares the back wall with patio. One 15amp circuit there. Small 115V hot tub right outside. Entertainment center just inside further down wall. Way too much. Had to run the hot tub up into attic to different circuit. All breakers and GFI did their job. Nothing like sitting in a giant bowl of water when you hear stuff kicking off and a breaker tripping! All safe now
Pay attention to see if your circuit breakers are tripping on transients - likely when an appliance like an iron, or vacuum cleaner is switched on. In that case connecting that appliance to a surge protector can help.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
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