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HOUSE APPLIANCE WATTAGE AND CURRENT RATINGS

House Appliance Wattage and Current Ratings


What Appliances Use in Daily Current and Power Consumption

COMMON HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE ENERGY USE

Listed below are some common appliances, their typical or average wattage and an estimated kilowatt. There is also a simple formula for calculating operating costs below.

Appliance Watts Hours/Month Kwh/Month
Air Conditioner (Room) 6,000 BTU 750 120-730 90-548
Air Conditioner (Central) 2.5 Tons 3500 240-730 1-47
Aquarium 50-1210
Ceiling Fan 65 15-730 1-47
Clock 5 730 4
Clothes Dryer 5400 6-128 30-140
Clothes Dryer (Gas) 700
Clothes Washer, Automatic (With Electric Water Heater) 1800 40 13-72
Clothes Washer, Automatic (With Non-Electric Water Heater) 500 40 4-20
Coffee Maker 900 4-30 4-27
Computer (Monitor and Printer) 200 25-160 5-32
Copy Machine 1600
Crock Pot 250 8-24 2-6
Dehumidifier 350 120-730 42-256
Dishwasher (With Electric Water Heating) 1500 8-40 12-60
Dishwasher (With Non-Electric Water Heating) 400 4-30 3-16
Drill 300 3-7 1-2
Electric Blanket 180 30-90 5-16
Electric Heater (Portable) 1200 30-90 36-108
Fan (Portable) 115 18-52 2-6
Food Blender 390 3-5 1-2
Food Freezer (15 cu. Ft.) 335 180-420 60-141
Frying Pan / Hot Plate 1150 10-20 12-23
Furnace Fan Motor (Intermittent) 350 160-415 56-145
Furnace Fan Motor (Continuous) 350 730 256
Garage Door Opener (1/2 HP) 875
Heating Pad 65 15-30 1-2
Heat Tapes 200 250-500 50-100
Humidifier (Portable) 100 80-540 8-54
Iron (Hand) 1000 1-10 1-10
Lighting Single Lamp (60W) 60 17-200 1-12
Compact Fluorescent (60W Equiv) 18 17-200 3-4
Ceiling Fixture (3 bulbs) 180 6-195 1-35
Tri-Light (Table Lamp) 100 10-200 1-20
Chandelier (5 Lamp) 300 10-183 3-55
Fluorescent (2 Tube 4 ft) 100 10-200 1-20
Microwave Oven 1000 5-30 5-30
Mower (Electric) 1500
Power Saw 275 2-4 6-1
Range 1250 10-50 125-625
Range (Self Cleaning) 3200 1 3
Refrigerator –Freezer Frost Free (17 cu. Ft.) 500 150-300 75-150
Refrigerator (Non Frost Free (13 cu. Ft.) 300 190-300 57-90
Sewing Machine 75 4-14 3-1
Stereo 30 1-170 0.03-5
Sump Pump (1/2 HP) 1050
Sump Pump (1/3 HP) 800
Television –27” Color or Flat Screen 120 6-440 7-53
Television –53” –61” Projection Screen 170 6-440 10-75
Toaster 1150 1-3.5 1-4
Toaster Oven w/broiler 1350 4-10 5-14
Vacuum Cleaner (Portable) 800 2-6 2-5
Vehicle Headbolt Heater (Medium)* 1000 60-243 60-243
Vehicle Headbolt Heater (large car or truck) 1500 60-243 90-365
Video Cassette Recorder / DVD 40 50-200 2-8
Water Bed Heater 400 150-300 60-120
Water Heater –Typical Family of 4 3800 100-150 380-570
Water Pump (Deep well –moderate power) 500 10-50 525
Water Pump (Dee p well –higher powered) 1100 10-50 11-55

A 100 watt bulb burning 10 hours uses only (1) kW. In order to calculate the average operating cost for any electrical appliance you can use the following formula:

watts ÷1000 = kW x hours of operation = kWh x kWh rate = cost

Watts can usually be found on the appliance nameplate. If the nameplate lists amp:

volts x amps = watts

Example: How much does it cost to operate a portable electric heater? Wattage is usually given on the unit itself, or with the literature that comes with it. Our example is 1000 watts. For working purposes, let’s say you use the heater an average of 45 hours during winter months (1/2 hour per day for the three coldest winter months) and that the electric rate is $.10 per kWh hour.

To calculate for an 8 amp heater, the formula changes just a bit.

8 amps x 120 volts household current = 960 watts/1000 = .96 kW x 45 hours = $43. 2 kWh x $0.10 = $4.32.

[*Even in the coldest weather a vehicle only needs to be plugged in for two (2) hours.]

NOTE:

1. I left some of the fields for certain appliances above blank. You can figure out the missing information using the above formulas

2. Depending which sources you use for appliance information you will get different values for some of the device consumption power.

Other Useful Information

Running Watts:

Running (or rated) watts are the amount of watts your appliance needs to keep it running. For example, a refrigerator typically needs 500 watts to run.

Surge Watts:

Surge (or start-up) watts are the amount of watts your appliance needs to start its motor. For example, it can take up to 2,000 watts (or 2 Kilowatts) just to get the same refrigerator's motor and compressor started.

How To Determine Appliance Wattage:

1. First look on the back of the appliance and check the manufactures information plate. It has the required voltage to make it work, the horse power if it has a motor and the wattage or power that it consumes.

2. Use a watt meter. Simple plug it into the wall and then plug your device into it.

3. The old fashion way. Multiple volts time current and you get watts or power.

Appliances That Use The Most Power

Appliance Watts Per Hour Cost @ 10 Cents per Hour
Central air conditioner/heat pump 15000 $1.50
Clothes dryer/water heater 4000 .40
Water pump 3000 .30
Space heater 1500 .15
Hair dryer 1200 .12
Electric range burner 1000 .10
Refrigerator 1000 .10
Desktop computer and monitor 400 .04
Incandescent light bulb 60 .6

Appliances That Require A Dedicated Circuit

Required Ground Fault Circuit (GFI)

Resources

  1. Wikipedia
  2. mea.coop
  3. Energy.gov
  4. Sparkenergy.com
  5. Mrelectric.com
  6. Nojolt.com