You can usually find the wattage of most appliances stamped on the bottom or back of the appliance, or on its “nameplate.” The wattage listed is the maximum power drawn by the appliance. Since many appliances have a range of settings (for example, the volume on a radio), the actual amount of power consumed depends on the setting used at any one time.

Here are some examples of the range of nameplate wattages for various household appliances:

Aquarium = 50-1210 Watts
Clock radio = 10
Coffee maker = 900-1200
Clothes washer = 350-500
Clothes dryer = 1800-5000
Dishwasher = 1200-2400 (using the drying feature greatly increases energy consumption)
Dehumidifier = 785
Electric blanket- Single/Double = 60 / 100
Fans
Ceiling = 65-175
Window = 55-250
Furnace = 750
Whole house = 240-750
Hair dryer = 1200-1875
Heater (portable) = 750-1500
Clothes Iron = 1000-1800
Microwave oven = 750-1100
Personal Computer
CPU – awake / asleep = 120 / 30 or less
Monitor – awake / asleep = 150 / 30 or less
Laptop = 50
Radio (stereo) = 400
Refrigerator (frost-free, 16 cubic feet) = 725
Televisions (color)
19″ = 110
27″ = 113
36″ = 133
53″-61″ Projection = 170
Flat Screen = 120
Toaster = 800-1400
Toaster Oven = 1225
VCR/DVD = 17-21 /20-25
Vacuum cleaner = 1000-1440
Water heater (40 gallon) = 4500-5500
Water pump (deep well) = 250-1100
Water bed (w/ heater, no cover) = 120-380

Refrigerators, although turned “on” all the time, actually cycle on and off at a rate that depends on a number of factors. These factors include how well it is insulated, room temperature, freezer temperature, how often the door is opened, if the coils are clean, if it is defrosted regularly, and the condition of the door seals. To get an approximate figure for the number of hours that a refrigerator actually operates at its maximum wattage, divide the total time the refrigerator is plugged in by three.

Determining your total electrical load for both battery and charging configuration can be time consuming.  Here is an electrical loads worksheet that can help you identify electrical load requirements.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 26th, 2011 at 1:34 pm and is filed under Tortuga. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.