Submitted by LeafyDreams t3_ycy3a2 in explainlikeimfive
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Comments
KylesBanEvasionAcct t1_itozuq4 wrote
This is why I’m glad I personally replaced every single outlet in the house I’m renting. I had an electric heater melt an outlet last winter while we were still remodeling and replaced all of them.
Same heater has been plugged into the same outlet running constantly for the last 3 weeks with no problems at all.
Make sure you know what you got people!
LeafyDreams OP t1_itpjjb8 wrote
I see that isn't very good at all. Hope my house has good wiring
erisod t1_itoznkd wrote
Let's do the math.
A standard US wall socket is on a 20 amp circuit at 120 volts. 20amps * 120volts = 2400 watts which is more than the 1600 watt draw you've described.its also worth noting that a computer power supply rating at 1600 watts will only peak at that draw.
LeafyDreams OP t1_itpjmjb wrote
Oh is that how you figure out the watts. Is every house the same or is do some have less amps and volts etc
RhynoD t1_itpo01r wrote
Volts are what the wall pushes, amps are what the device draws. The device will attempt to pull as many amps as it can/needs. The wiring in your walls can only handle so much amp draw before overheating and melting. It would be possible to install thicker wires that handle more amps, but that would be expensive and unnecessary.
Your breakers have specific amp limits, usually 15 or 20. If a device (or several devices on the same circuit) try to pull more than the rating of the breaker, the breaker trips and cuts power, preventing the wiring from melting and starting a fire. A fuse does the same thing, except a fuse has a piece of wire that is supposed to overheat and melt at a specific amperage which again cuts power and protects everything else.
Some circuits in your house will have more expensive, thicker wiring and a higher amp breaker for devices that need it - like your dryer or water heater.
The vast majority of North American homes will be primarily 15 amp circuits/breakers, with a couple higher amp breakers for, like, your kitchen (for the microwave and electric stove and whatnot), and then a couple dual-phase 240v circuits and/or with 30 amp breakers. You might also see a 30 amp breaker elsewhere, like a garage, maybe if you have an electric outdoor heater, but that 30 amp circuit will have thicker, more expensive wiring.
SoulWager t1_itozxds wrote
Lets say the power supply is 90% efficient at full load. At 1600W output power, the power supply will draw 1777.8W from the grid. At 120V this is 14.8A. Just barely within the rating of a normal 15A power outlet, but you wouldn't want to run anything else on that circuit.
If you're buying a computer that needs that much power, you should probably be running a dedicated 20A circuit for it.
The power draw is comparable to a hair dryer.
Gnonthgol t1_itp2grk wrote
You are supposed to use the right wiring with those power supplies. A regular NEMA 5-15 socket is rated for 15A at 125V which gives you 1875W. However if constantly used at maximum current it may still overheat and catch fire. So you should try to fit inn a NEMA 5-20 socket and plug which are rated for higher currents. You could also fit a NEMA 6-15 socket which is rated at 15A at 250V giving you double the wattage. Similarly the European Schuko plug is rated at 16A at 250V.
So basically you can install a computer with a 1600 W power supply if you have the house wiring for it. And it is not out of the range of power usage for domestic appliances. But you should be worried about putting it on a light circuit which are typically lower rated. There is nothing actively limiting the amount of power an appliance can draw from a circuit. This is what the fuse board is for which will cut the power to any circuit where you draw too much current. If you circumvent the fuse the wires and sockets may not be rated for the current that goes through them and they can get hot and eventually catch fire.
LeafyDreams OP t1_itpk3ek wrote
This is very confusing maybe one day when I'm a dad or something ill go around replacing the stuff for now house fire it is
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Pocok5 t1_itozl8l wrote
It doesn't. If your socket can't deliver 1600W and the PSU actually tries to draw its peak power then you're shit out of luck and you're gonna either trigger the breaker (the good ending) or if the bottleneck is bad wiring and not the design limit of the circuit enforced by a breaker then it's a toss up between the voltage sagging at the PSU input enough to drop it below the minimum operating voltage and make it shut down or being able to deliver juuust enough power to keep the PSU running and instead building heat at the bad wiring joint until you get a house fire.