# HT Room Power Consumption



## rseynaev (Dec 30, 2010)

I added another subwoofer to my room and it has me thinking about how much power the room is using.

Here are all the things in the room that take power and could potentially be on at the same time:

Lights (9 @ 100W = 7.5A)
PS3 (180W = 1.5A)
Epson 8500UB (3.3A)
Onkyo 805 (9.5A?)
DirectTV DVR (40W = .34A)
Parasound HCA-1500A (2 running mono mode @ 630W = 10.5A?)
MFW-15s (3 @ 350W = 8.75A)
Pop Corn Machine (1350W = 11.25A)
Microwave (1000W = 8.3A)

Total = ~61 Amps .:dizzy:


Do these numbers look right? Am I computing the amps correctly? Amps = (Watts / 120)

I think the room only has a 15 Amp circuit but I'm not sure if the all the outlets are on the same circuit or not. I haven't seen any breakers trip but I also don't usually have everything running full power all the time.

The amp usage from the Onkyo should be much lower than 9.5A since I'm using the Parasounds for the LR and it's only powering the center and sides. I also don't think I drive the Parasounds that hard as well.

I need to get one of those Kill-A-Watt thingys to see what my real power consumption is and also start playing with the breakers to see what circuits everything is on.

For now I think we'll have some rules in place to make sure we run the Popcorn machine or microwave while everything is paused.


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## dane (Aug 30, 2007)

Your receiver will be drawing MUCH less than its rated power. Typical speaker outputs are less than 10W (per channel) for probably >90% of the time so I understand. Your subs are going to be in a similar fashion as well (much less than rated power, most of the time). Light bulbs I think are probably constant drags on power (that's why turning them down/off or using CFL's can save so much money). As for your popcorn machine and microwave, I can't say. I suspect while actually cooking something, they're close to their rated power. But just keeping the "heat lamp" on in the popcorn machine is going to drop that back down to a 100-150W heat lamp type draw. And of course the the microwave is off you're looking at <3W to just keep the display (clock) lit. As for the projector and PS3, I also can't say, but suspect your projector (being lamp-based) is probably pretty constant draw, and your PS3 may or may not draw that much in all modes of operation.

So rather than 61A, what are we down to, probably closer to 15A (not popping corn or microwaving) as a "steady-state power consumption."

But yes, please do get a killawatt and report back your findings!! 

To your other question, you most likely have more than one circuit in the room. Unless you wired it yourself and only put in one circuit and got away with it. Most electrical codes require at least two circuits in a room (the idea being if one circuit blows, it is likely that a lamp on the other circuit will remain on). This of course increases the liklihood of hum when part of an AV system is on one circuit and part (subs) are on another. In our multi-use family/HT room we have I think four circuits. One for the dedicated HT components, two for all the other outlets, and I think the ceiling fan and pictureframe spotlights are on their own circuit as well (along with other lights in the addition)...

cheers,
..dane


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## django1 (Jan 28, 2009)

dane said:


> To your other question, you most likely have more than one circuit in the room. Unless you wired it yourself and only put in one circuit and got away with it. Most electrical codes require at least two circuits in a room


You might be right but that is very dependent on the date the house was built and/or the location. Where I live I've never seen an electrician wire a typical bedroom or living room with more than one circuit unless specifically requested. In older rental units I've seen apartments with only two 15 amp 110 and two 20 amp 220 circuits for the whole place :dizzy:.


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## dane (Aug 30, 2007)

django1 said:


> You might be right but that is very dependent on the date the house was built and/or the location. Where I live I've never seen an electrician wire a typical bedroom or living room with more than one circuit unless specifically requested. In older rental units I've seen apartments with only two 15 amp 110 and two 20 amp 220 circuits for the whole place :dizzy:.


true.. code varies with localle and year built for sure.. and that's not to mention folks that go in and re-wire their own place without proper permits (and therefore without proper inspections)...  Our house is 29+ years old and I think was done quite well. Better attention to detail than our 3-yr old addition, I think. 

..dane


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## rseynaev (Dec 30, 2010)

dane said:


> Your receiver will be drawing MUCH less than its rated power. Typical speaker outputs are less than 10W (per channel) for probably >90% of the time so I understand. Your subs are going to be in a similar fashion as well (much less than rated power, most of the time). Light bulbs I think are probably constant drags on power (that's why turning them down/off or using CFL's can save so much money). As for your popcorn machine and microwave, I can't say. I suspect while actually cooking something, they're close to their rated power. But just keeping the "heat lamp" on in the popcorn machine is going to drop that back down to a 100-150W heat lamp type draw. And of course the the microwave is off you're looking at <3W to just keep the display (clock) lit. As for the projector and PS3, I also can't say, but suspect your projector (being lamp-based) is probably pretty constant draw, and your PS3 may or may not draw that much in all modes of operation.
> 
> So rather than 61A, what are we down to, probably closer to 15A (not popping corn or microwaving) as a "steady-state power consumption."


That's very good to hear! :applause:



dane said:


> But yes, please do get a killawatt and report back your findings!!


Will do.



dane said:


> To your other question, you most likely have more than one circuit in the room. Unless you wired it yourself and only put in one circuit and got away with it. Most electrical codes require at least two circuits in a room (the idea being if one circuit blows, it is likely that a lamp on the other circuit will remain on). This of course increases the liklihood of hum when part of an AV system is on one circuit and part (subs) are on another. In our multi-use family/HT room we have I think four circuits. One for the dedicated HT components, two for all the other outlets, and I think the ceiling fan and pictureframe spotlights are on their own circuit as well (along with other lights in the addition)...
> 
> cheers,
> ..dane


I just did a quick test by turning off the breaker. It looks like the Microwave and Popper are on a different circut then all the rest of the equipment. The lights and all the other stuff are on the same circuit. I think I should be ok. I'll check with my Father-In-Law the next time he visits (he's an Electrician!) to see if he can upgrade the circuit to 20amps or need to make any other changes.

Feeling a lot better now!

Thanks
Randy


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