Circuits and amperage

[Spartan611]

Ok well I was just talking to my dad about everything I am going to put into my room for my PC setup. He said that all 4 bedrooms run on the same circuit. He also said that the circuit has a max of 15 or 20 amps.

I will tell you everything that is in my room and I need you guys (Haven't taken chemistry in a year and haven't taken physics yet) to help me calculate how much amperage I will be drawing from the circuit. This is all in North America so I believe the volts are the same or around the same.

Samsung 26" LN-S2651D LCD HDTV
A monitor with a resolution of 1680x1050 or above (Haven't bought yet)
A computer with a Silverstone Zeus 750 watt Power Supply OR Silverstone Zeus 850 Watt Power Supply (Haven't bought yet)
A Fan
Logitech Z-5500 Speakers
Xbox 360
Lighting
Cable Box
Various little things

How much amperage does that draw by itself?
Will I blow out the circuit if I have that in my room and in the other rooms:lighting, fans, computers, and TV's? Like 1 computer and 1 TV in each room along with a fan and lighting. One of the rooms has 2 TV's (One Plasma, one tube).

So with all that running on the same circuit, will I blow it out if I add my computer and another monitor?

I really need to know this guys. Thanks and I appreciate it.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Go for it. It's not like it's my stuff. Seriously, all that junk will draw less than 20A, even while you're using it.

I simultaneously ran my 43" RPTV, dual-core PC, 17" LCD, cable box, 5 channel reciever, DVD player, 1000W sub, all on the same 20A circuit and it popped only when I started to vacuum the rug.

When in doubt, check the power listings in the specs and add them up.

Edit: I'm assuming other rooms are on their own circuits.
The power output capacity of a PC power supply has nothing to do with the power consumed by the system.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article28-page1.html

 

[krotchy]

depending on the Power factor of things the calculations can get tricky. But if you determine the wattage of everything and divide by 120, youll get the amperage your room draws.

So 840W CPU = 7 Amps (Full Load, which is tough to achieve) , 120 Watt LCD = 1 AMP. Speakers maybe 2 Amps? Everything else, 3 at most. Multiply times 1.4 for safety. Thats 13 amps, maybe 15 if im wrong somewhere. So at full load, assuming a pretty bad PFC, you might hit 20 amps, but its doubtful.

you get around 20 amps at most vif you run everything at max, and I probably overshot the "Everything else" calculation as well, and your comp may have a 850W power supply, but you rarely if ever will maximize it.

I would guess your fine.

 

[duragezic]

I don't know, people seem to be ignoring the fact that you are sharing that with 3 other bedrooms.

That's a lot of sh*t in all of those rooms!! A 750W or 850W PSU? Are you fvcking nuts?

Anyway you can do this yourself. Just about every one of those devices has specs directly on the device (a sticker or sometimes its written on the AC-DC converter you plug into the wall) or in a manual. Look for Watts and divide by 120 for a OK approximation, or even better is the Amps used by the device. Note that many will have peak/typical/etc loads so take the middle or just average a little higher in general. I would estimate your room drawing up to 10 A, so yes if the other bedrooms were all using their stuff, a single 15 or 20 A circuit is not adequate or you guys got way too much stuff. Electric bill should be fun..

 

[Peter]

... and since this is "Highly Technical" here, the term isn't "amperage". What you measure in Ampère is called current, and what you measure in Watts is power.

 

[flyboy84]

amperage is a valid word to describe current, which is measured in Amperes or amps

 

[BrownTown]

Yes, especially given that he is worried about tripping an overcurrent breaker which is rated in amps. However, i'd say just go for it and see what happens, worst thing would be tripping the breaker (unless of course you have ****** wiring and it overheats and starts your house on fire ).

 

[oynaz]

A bit off-topic, but still:

Avoid using made-up words like "amperage" when discussing technical terms. You might well end up discussing something technical terms with a person who do not speak English as their native language. Such terms can cause confusion, which can sometimes be very expensive.
I am an Danish engineer, and while I understand "amperage", some of my Japanese collegues certainly do not.
Just a bit of advice.

 

[oynaz]

... And now for something completely different:

What are you going to do with a 850W PSU? Run a vacuum cleaner off the USB port? You probably have a good reason, I am just curious.

 

[Spartan611]

Ok so what should I do? Should I go for it? And try it with a 750 watt PSU?

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: Spartan611
Ok so what should I do? Should I go for it? And try it with a 750 watt PSU?

Purchase a fire extinguisher

 

[oynaz]

You should try it. The worst that can happen is that you blow a fuse.

 

[Pulsar]

oynaz, I suggest you look up "amperage" in any english dictionary.

It is not a made up word. I'm not sure where you got that idea.

 

[Mark R]

Amperage is a non-technical term. The technical term is 'current'. Interestingly, I've only started hearing the term 'amperage' recently.

In fact, when I was at high school my physic teacher used to tell us: There's no such thing as 'voltage' - it's 'potential difference'. No one says 'amperage', they say 'current'. So why do the same for potential difference?

 

[oynaz]

I got the idea that "amperage" was a made-up word from, among others, the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary:


"
Results

amperage was not found in the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary

amperage was found in the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary in the following entries:
"

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: oynaz
I got the idea that "amperage" was a made-up word from, among others, the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary:


"
Results

amperage was not found in the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary

amperage was found in the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary in the following entries:
"

Well, my Webster's Dictionary has an entry for amperage. So to Cambridge.

 

[magomago]

Originally posted by: Mark R
Amperage is a non-technical term. The technical term is 'current'. Interestingly, I've only started hearing the term 'amperage' recently.

In fact, when I was at high school my physic teacher used to tell us: There's no such thing as 'voltage' - it's 'potential difference'. No one says 'amperage', they say 'current'. So why do the same for potential difference?

I was under the impression that you can say what is the voltage between two points. Also, if I, or someone else tells me "what is the voltage" then I assume that the second point is a ground...unless its obvious what I'm measuring voltage with respect to

I've also never heard of Amperage...just current measured in amps ;0