Power Ratings (typical) for Common
Appliances
Check out the typical power rating (in Watts ) of many common household
appliances. You can use the information below to estimate how large your alternative
energy system needs to be
Typical Power Ratings for Appliances
We have provided a list of many of appliances and their typical power ratings (in
Watts). You can use this information to help you estimate to total amount of
Watt*Hours that your alternative energy system needs to supply on an average day.
Power ratings of most appliances are usually listed on the appliance itself or its
manual.
For a final calculation of your watt*hour usage, we recommend that you look at each
appliance to be powered to find it rated power. We also offer meters (Brand Power
Meter and the Kill a Watt Power Meter) which are specifically designed to measure
how much power an appliance consumes. For detailed specifications on the Brand
1850W model, or for the Kill a Watt Meter.
When determining how many Watt x Hours you're appliances will use keep in mind
that many of the appliances that you might use will only be run for an average of a
few minutes per day. For instance a 500W weed eater may be used for 1 hour every
week. That translates to an average of 71Watt*Hours per day (500W / 7 Days).
Also, there are appliances like refrigerators which although appear to be "on" all day,
actually are running between 12 to 15 hours a day (turning off and on as needed). Air
conditioning units run on and off all day depending on the cooling needs of the home
and the outdoor temperature.
Finally, be aware of "ghost loads". These are devices that people commonly forget to
include in their calculations. These devices typically consume a small amount of
energy (<1W) but are running 24 hours a day. Examples of typical ghost loads would
be AC adapters, clocks, VCRs, TVs, microwaves and printers. Many of these devices
require power to maintain their clocks running (e.g. VCR, TV and microwave).
Although the amount of energy consumed on an hourly basis is small, the fact that
they run all day can easily add as much as 100W*Hrs per day.
Appliance
Air Conditioner
Watts
Room*
Central*
Air Conditioners rated in tons
For Each Ton Assume
E.g. 5 Ton AC Unit
Blender
Blow Dryer
CB Radio
CD Player
Ceiling Fan
Computer
Laptop
Desktop PC
Printer
Coffee Maker
Clock Radio
Dishwasher
Dryer (Clothes)
Electric*
Gas Heated
Electric Blanket
Electric Clock
Frying Pan
Freezer
Conventional 14cf
(15 hrs/day runtime)
Sunfrost 19cf Freezer
Furnace Blower
Garage Door Opener
Heater
Engine Block*
Portable*
Waterbed*
Stock Tank*
Hot Plate
Iron
Lights
Fluorescent/Incandescent Equivalents
Incandescent
1000
2000 - 5000
3517
17585
300
1000 - 1500
5
15 - 30
10 - 50
20 - 75
80 - 200
100
800
1
1200 - 1500
4000
300-400
200
1
1200
445
112
300 - 1000
350
150 - 1000
1500
400
100
1200
1000
Fluorescent (or
compact
fluorescent
lightbulb)
30W
20W
16W
11W
600 - 1500
250
100W
75W
60W
40W
Microwave
Popcorn Popper
Radiotelephone
Receive
Transmit
Refrigerator/Freezer
Conventional 20 cubic feet
(15hrs/day runtime typical)
Conventional 16cf
(15hrs/day)
Sunfrost 16cf DC (7)
Sunfrost 12cf DC (7)
Conserve 10.5cf (8)
Conserve 7.5cf (8)
Satellite Dish
Sewing Machine
Shaver
Sink Waste Disposal
Stereo
Table Fan
Toaster
Tools
Weed Eater
1/4" drill
1/2" drill
1" drill
9" disc sander
3" belt sander
12" chain saw
14" band saw
7 1/4" circular saw
8 1/4" circular saw
Vacuum Cleaner
Upright
Hand
VCR
Waffle Iron
Washing Machine
5
40 - 150
540
475
112
70
60
50
30
100
15
450
10 - 30
10 - 25
800 - 1500
500
250
750
1000
1200
1000
1100
1100
900
1400
200 - 700
150
40
1200
500