Help me decide what I need
An overloaded circuit can heat up to extreme temperatures creating a serious fire hazard and a threat to life and property. To protect against an overload, make sure that the power your equipment needs does not surpass the amp rating of the breaker(s) feeding your area. To calculate your overall needs, multiply the amp requirements of your equipment by the voltage of the circuit or:
Products Amps X Product Voltage = Product Wattage
For a typical 120 volt circuit, with a 20 amp breaker, you will be provided 2400 watts capacity. The total load from your equipment should not exceed 80% of this total, or 1920 watts, per 20 amp breaker.
To determine how much power you need, calculate the load of all the devices you will be plugging into your circuits. Add the watts drawn by each device, for example, a circuit with 2 x blenders (600 Watts), 4 x 45" LED TV (180 Watts) and six lamps with 60 watt bulbs (360 Watts) adds up to 1140 watts if all these devices are running at the highest speed, all at the same time. This is only 60% of the available capacity for a 20 amp/120 volt circuit, so you are safe with those requirements. However, if you wanted to add a microwave (1500 watts) to this same system, then you would surpass the 1920 watt threshold and require an additional 20 amp, 120 volt electrical outlet.
Finding the Amperage/Wattage for Products
The amperage/wattage rating information for a particular device may be on a label or imprinted on the back/bottom of the product.
If no amperage/wattage rating is displayed, the chart below lists common household appliances and the average watts drawn for each to aid in calculating the load of a circuit.
Electronics | Watts | Amps |
Boombox | 10 | 0.1 |
Cable TV Box | 20 | 0.2 |
CD Player | 10 | 0.1 |
Clock | 5 | 0.0 |
Desktop Computer | 150 | 1.3 |
DVD Player / DVR | 30 | 0.3 |
Laptop | 60 | 0.5 |
LCD TV - 19" | 22 | 0.2 |
LCD TV - 32" | 70 | 0.6 |
LCD TV - 45" | 135 | 1.1 |
LED TV - 19" | 20 | 0.2 |
LED TV - 32" | 55 | 0.5 |
LED TV - 45" | 90 | 0.8 |
Modem | 7 | 0.1 |
PA System | 2000 | 16.7 |
Phone Charger | 5 | 0.0 |
Plasma TV - 19" | 80 | 0.7 |
Plasma TV - 32" | 160 | 1.3 |
Plasma TV - 45" | 300 | 2.5 |
Play Station | 150 | 1.3 |
Printer | 50 | 0.4 |
Radio | 10 | 0.1 |
Router | 10 | 0.1 |
Satellite Dish | 30 | 0.3 |
Stereo System | 60 | 0.5 |
Wii | 45 | 0.4 |
Xbox 360 | 160 | 1.3 |
Appliances | Watts | Amps |
Blender | 300 | 2.5 |
Blow Dryer | 1500 | 12.5 |
Box Fan | 200 | 1.7 |
Broiler | 2000 | 16.7 |
Can Opener | 100 | 0.8 |
Circular Saw | 1400 | 11.7 |
Clothes Iron | 1100 | 9.2 |
Coffee Maker | 1500 | 12.5 |
Crock Pot | 200 | 1.7 |
Curling Iron | 90 | 0.8 |
Deep Fryer | 1500 | 12.5 |
Drill | 1000 | 8.3 |
Electric Kettle | 2000 | 16.7 |
Hot Plate | 1200 | 10.0 |
Microwave | 1500 | 12.5 |
Mixer | 100 | 0.8 |
Portable Heater | 1500 | 12.5 |
Table Fan | 25 | 0.2 |
Toaster | 1200 | 10.0 |
Toaster Over | 1200 | 10.0 |
Typical New Refrigerator | 400 | 3.3 |
Vacuum Cleaner | 1400 | 11.7 |
Waffle Iron | 1200 | 10.0 |
Warehouse Fan | 1000 | 8.3 |
Lighting | Watts | Amps |
1000 Watt Light Bulb | 1000 | 8.3 |
500 Watt Light Bulb | 500 | 4.2 |
100 Watt Light Bulb | 100 | 0.8 |
75 Watt Light Bulb | 75 | 0.6 |
60 Watt Light Bulb | 60 | 0.5 |
60 Watt Equiv. CFL Bulb | 15 | 0.1 |
60 Watt Equiv. LED Bulb | 10 | 0.1 |
4' Flouresent Bulbs (ea) | 40 | 0.3 |
30' Christmas Lights | 41 | 0.3 |
Typical Neon Light | 600 | 5 |