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common appliance power usage -- some actual numbers

I recently bought a Kill-a-Watt wall-outlet power meter, and I thought I would share the results of my going through the house and testing each device. For all you folks thinking about going solar, these data may help confirm or deny what the solar-panel company has already told you if they offered estimates about typical power use.

Item Watts

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21 inch TV 85 W Espresso maker 835 W (two shots = 0.06 kWh) Cable modem 6 W Wireless transciever 6 W Computer speakers+woofer 14 W Scanner, idle 6 W Scanner, pre-scan 12 W Scanner, doing scan 19 W Laptop computer, idle 30 W Laptop computer, top speed 55 W Desktop computer (CRT off) 65 W (includes speakers, hub etc) CRT only 86 W Desk fan, low speed 34 W Desk fan, medium 38 W Desk fan, high 44 W Cordless phone base only 3 W Deskjet printer, idle 4 W Refrigerator w/freezer 600 W
Reply to
flarkblark
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Those figures reflect my own findings. I used an AC ammeter.

My desktop computer, including Flat Monitor and Printer uses 100 W with Win XP and a 1.5 GH Pentium 4.

The same unit in "Standby" uses 50 W and in Hibernate mode, 10 W

-- Walter The Happy Iconoclast

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Reply to
Walter E.

In article , snipped-for-privacy@mail.com mentioned...

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Are those larger appliances such as the fridge energy efficient, or are they older models?

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You'll be glad you did! Just when you thought you had all this figured out, the gov't changed it:
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Reply to
Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun

It's an older model, but the fridge value was premature.

On standby (after several hours not being opened), it uses 2 W. On standby (only a few minutes after), it uses 170 W. Right after being turned on, it uses 600 W. After 14 hours of being on, opened several times, it has used 1.2 kWh.

Also, this fridge is mostly full, which helps reduce the impact of opening the door.

Reply to
flarkblark

A few simple measure can improve fridge efficiency by a factor of 5.

Many cheap refrigerators (eg small bar fridges) use a simple capillarly tube as the expansion valve. More efficient refrigerators use a bimatallic/thermostatic valve which is far more efficient. The most efficient refrigerators use an electronic servo expansion valve worth around $US500.00.

Simply increasing insulation thickness by 25mm or using superior insulation can make a difference can in fact make an enormous difference, though this canabalises space which is critical in some kitchens standards.

Using butane or propane instead of CFCs is also more efficient.

The use of condensor coils that can be on the outside of the house/building where they can take care of winter temperatures can more than trebble efficiency in cooler climes.

Using efficient DC or variable speed AC motors can alos improive efficiencies. Many refrigerator motors are designed down to a price. A modern electronic motor whether 110/230 VAC or 24VDC can be nearly

90% efficient compared to cheap shaded pole motors.

Combining all of the above can produce a fridge 5-10 times more efficient in the case of a frige with an external condensor almost 15 times more efficient.

Such a refrigerator might cost $US2500 for a relatively simple model (no ice maker). However in the case of people reliant upon renewable energy such as solar/wind it is much cheaper than investing in more photovoltaics and battery backup.

Reply to
The Enlightenment

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