Eek! The one thing I wasn't expecting was homework! :-) Seriously though, I'll have to experiment with the breakers to see which one controls the room, but a quick recollection tells me that the room breaker may server the bathroom as well. Shouldn't change the calculations for now though cause nothing was on in the bathroom. Okay, I'll be back with some data after Sunday. "Sounds like a good project for a rainy afternoon." Hmmm... it's ironic that you should mention an electrical project during rain. :-) Thanks, -Neil. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Douglas Butler" To: Sent: Friday, March 15, 2002 11:16 AM Subject: Re: [EE]: Room electrical capacity > Here in the USA it is common to have a roomful of outlets,each rated > 15A, all on a single 15A or 20A breaker. You are not supposed to be > able to use all outlets to their full capacity simultaneously. > > But still I would like to know how much the line drops when the iron > turns on, and where that drop is. If you can identify the breaker that > serves this line, I would measure the voltage as it enters the breaker. > The voltage there should not change much. Then I would measure the > voltage as it leaves the breaker. There should be some drop that you > will have to live with. Then I would measure the voltage at a couple of > other outlets in that room. The best of these, minus the drop at the > breaker, is the drop in the wiring from the breaker box to the room. If > you estimate the length of wire used (both directions) and the wire size > you can calculate what the drop should be. If it is much higher you may > have a fire risk. You can also estimate what the drop should be between > outlets. You may have to move the iron around to get the current > flowing in the right wires. Sounds like a good project for a rainy > afternoon. > > Sherpa Doug > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Pic Dude [mailto:picdude@AVN-TECH.COM] > > Sent: Friday, March 15, 2002 11:57 AM > > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > > Subject: [EE]: Room electrical capacity > > > > > > Just had my one-year home review and one of the issues I had raised > > was that the bedroom light dims when an iron is switched on. I can > > actually tell when the thermostat switches the iron on/off by > > the change > > of intensity of the light. > > > > The light was installed by the home-builder when the house was built > > and has 2 @ 60W bulbs in it. That should be less than 1 Amp total > > I believe. The only other thing in the room is a small > > digital alarm clock > > (no radio either). There are 6 other plug outlets in the > > room (each has > > 2 actual plug sockets), for a total capacity of 12 plugs. > > Nothing else > > is plugged into any of the room outlets. Only other factor > > is that the > > light switch was replaced with an x10 unit, but the dimming problem > > was there before the X10 stuff went in. > > > > An electrician came over today and said that this is normal, because > > the outlet is rated at 15A, and the outlet plus the light is > > taking more > > than 15A total. (The iron is rated at approx 10A, btw). He said that > > for places where an iron would be plugged in, they would normally add > > a special outlet. I've never heard of that before, cause > > it's an iron -- not > > a welder or dryer. > > > > Is this all just BS? If I have 12 outlets, that implies to a > > homeowner, > > a capacity of 12 x 15A, for a total of 180A. Perhaps one might say > > that it's 15A per plate (2 outlets) so the capacity is really > > only 90A. > > Either way, should the iron dim the room light noticeably? > > > > Why does this matter to me? Cause if I ever have a problem such as > > a fire, etc, my guess (from past issues with these guys) is that they > > will say that my warranty is void due to the X10 switch, and > > I'd like an > > official answer from them now, with the reasons etc. > > > > Cheers, > > -Neil. > > > > -- > > http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different > > ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > > > > > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different > ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > > > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.