Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Main Electrical Panel Circuit Breaker (2 bedroom)


Note:
The data below is for a 2-bedroom apartment. It serves as a reference point. For a 4-bedroom house, estimate can be made based on the values of this reference point.


Main Electrical Panel specifications:
125 AMPS max
24 CIRCUITS max
120/240 VAC
1 PHASE
2 POLE CIRCUIT BREAKER


Left of Panel:
60 A
60 A
15 A --- Dining
15 A --- Kitchen countertop plug
15 A --- Kitchen countertop plug
15 A --- Living Room, Lights & Plugs
15 A --- Bedroom1 plugs
15 A --- Bedroom2 plugs

Right of Panel:
15 A --- Hallway lights
15 A --- Fridge
40 A --- Range (Electric Stove)
40 A --- Range (Electric Stove), #8 AWG copper wire

Monday, July 15, 2013

How to compute your monthly Power Consumption (Electric Bill)


The following computation is based on a 2-bedroom apartment with typical home appliances. The total cost does not include heating costs, air-conditioning costs and other relevant costs. The total monthly hours of usage are approximate values of daily usage multiplied by 30. This power computation (wattage) is only based on the home appliances listed here. The purpose of this article is to show a basic and simple way to calculate for your monthly electric bill.

The cost of power is based on:

a] 120V/240V, 60 Hz
b] Basic charge ---> 15 cents/day
c] KW-hr cost ----> 5 cents/kw-hr  
d] Taxes ---> 7%

e] Power Formula:

    Power = Volts x Amps


Power Computation example:

given:
120 volts
10 amperes

Power = voltage x current
Power = volts x amps
Power = 120 x 10
Power = 1200 watts
Power = 1.2 Kilowatts (KW)


Power consumption of home appliances:


1. Electric Stove (Range, Oven)
- 12,000 watts
- 240V, 60 Hz, #8 AWG (typical code minimum #10 AWG copper wire), Circuit Breaker 40 AMPS


2. Rice cooker
- 400 watts


3. Microwave
- 1350 watts


4. Bread toaster
- 1500 watts


5. Kettle
- 1500 watts


6. Refrigerator (fridge)
- 600 watts
- 20 cu. ft (cubic feet) capacity


7. TV
- 180 watts
- 120 V, 1.5 A
- 120 x 1.5 = 180


8. Radio
- 50 watts


9. Electric fan
- 60 watts
- 120 Volts  x  0.5 Amperes


10. Vacuum cleaner
- 360 watts
- 120V x 3A = 360 wattage


11. Iron
- 1200 watts
- 120 voltage x 10 amperage = 1200 wattage


12. Lighting
- 900 watts
- based on 15 light bulbs x 60 watts/light bulb
- 15 x 60 = 900


13. Laptop computer
- 65 watts


14. Printer-inkjet    
- 75 watts     
  


Monthly Energy Consumption of Home Appliances & Equipment:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

.

Energy Usage (Kilowatt-hour) ----- Appliance/Equipment

12 KW x 200 hrs = 2400 KW-hr ----- Electric Stove (Range, Oven)

1.5 KW x 5 hrs = 7.5 KW-hr ----- Bread toaster

1.5 KW x 5 hrs = 7.5 KW-hr ----- Kettle

1.35 KW x 5 hrs = 6.75 KW-hr ----- Microwave

1.2 KW x 5 hrs = 6 KW-hr ----- Iron

0.900 KW x 250 hrs = 225 KW-hr ----- Lighting

0.600 KW x 720 hrs = 432 KW-hr ----- Refrigerator (fridge)

0.400 KW x 30 hrs = 12 KW-hr ----- Rice cooker

0.360 KW x 2 hrs = 0.72 KW-hr ----- Vacuum cleaner

0.180 KW x 300 hrs = 54 KW-hr ----- TV

0.075 KW x 1 hour = 0.075 KW-hr ----- Printer-inkjet    

0.065 KW x 100 hrs = 6.5 KW-hr ----- Laptop computer

0.060 KW x 50 hours = 3 KW-hr ----- Electric fan

0.050 KW x 10 hours = 0.5 KW-hr ----- Radio

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Monthly Energy Usage = 3162 KW-hrs


Using the given data:

KW-hr cost = 5 cents/kw-hr  
Basic charge = 15 cents/day
Taxes = 7%


Total Monthly Electric Bill

= (Total Monthly Energy Usage x KW-hr cost) + Basic charge + Taxes
= (3162 KW-hr x $0.05/KW-hr) + ($0.15 x 30) + Taxes
= 158 + 4.5 + Taxes
= $162.50 + (0.07 x $162.50)
= $174