Testing Electrical Consumption

[danny klim]

Hi I’m putting together a home music/video studio and want to make sure that I am not creating any fire hazards with all of my devices. I purchased a P3 Killawatt ( https://www.amazon.com/P3-Internati...UTF8&qid=1493733242&sr=1-2&keywords=killawatt ) to test the amps drawn by all of my devices and plan to compare this with the amp rating of the outlets in the room where the studio is.


Can you please help answer a few basic questions?

1. I’m a bit uncertain because it seems like there might be discrepancy between the amps Kilowatt is showing and the expected amps of devices. Example: The kilowatt is showing that my iPhone charger (when charging iPhone) is only between .03 and .09 amps. However, I’ve seen many forums where people say that an iPhone charger will draw approximately 1 amp. I want to make sure that there Kilowatt isn’t underestimating the total amps being used by the iPhone, as well as other devices too. I called up the company that makes the Killawatt and they told me that it was accurate and there is no way that I could be using it incorrectly.
   
   So I just want to make sure here: should I completely trust that the Kilowatt is giving me accurate readings and assume that the forums that I read had incorrect information? Or do you think that the low amp reading of the iPhone charger doesn’t make sense… and maybe I should test it with another kilowatt? or take some other actions?

1. I have heard that its likely that my house (in the USA) is rated to supply 15 amps to the outlets in my room. I’ve also heard that its possible that some outlets in the room could be on separate lines/breakers (not sure what the right terminology is) or they could be all on the same line/breaker, and/or they could be on the same line/breaker as other rooms in the house. I think that I need to verify how many amps the room can handle and what outlets are on what line/breaker.

What is the easiest way to find this information out? Can I do this (safely) if I have almost no electrical experience?

1. If I ever did accidentally go over the amp limit, what would happen? I’ve heard that modern houses (my house was built 20 years ago) have systems to cut off electrical surges before they make fires- is this true? Or is this something that I should be concerned about?

1. The Kilowatt also gives me a reading that all my outlets have about 123-124 V . Some of my devices and surge protectors say that they are rated to 120 V. The person from the company said that this should be no problem at all (and I have run the devices/surge protectors for several months without any issues). But I just want to make sure- Is this potential a electrical hazard to have a few more Volts than the devices and surge protectors say they are made for?

Thanks, Dan

 

[Dennis Alwon]

.09 kilowatt is the same as 90 watts. 90 watts/ 120V -- .75 amps--- close to 1 amp....

 

[Jraef]

I am closing this thread, in accordance with the Forum Rules.

This site is designed for:

• Contractors
• Electricians
• Engineers
• Inspectors
• Instructors
• Other electrically related individuals

* This NEC Forum is for those in the electrical and related industries. Questions of a "How-To" nature by persons not involved in the electrical industry will be removed without notice.

If you feel this action to be in error, feel free to contact me via PM to explain.

A reminder to all members, if you see a questionable post, feel free to report it by clicking the

button at the bottom left corner of the post.