Home Appliances

Every electrical item draws a certain number of watts, the given unit for measuring energy consumption. If you are trying to determine how much wattage your house will pull over any period, you'll need to find out the wattage of each appliance. Each appliance can have wildly ranging wattages depending on the model, features and manufacturer, so the numbers listed here are just approximations from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Defining Wattage

A watt is a unit of power, specifically the amount of power produced by sending a one ampere current through a one volt electric potential. Wattage is then multiplied by the amount of time the power is flowing to determine watt-hours, or usually kilowatt-hours, which is what the electric company charges you for. If you don't know the wattage of any particular appliance, you can multiply the amperage, which has to be listed on the device, by 120, which is the standard voltage in the United States.

Kitchen Appliances

The kitchen is one of the main energy consumers of a house. A frost-free 16 cubic foot refrigerator will consume about 725 watts, and you can adjust that up or down slightly for larger or smaller refrigerators. A dishwasher is going to consume around 1,200 watts, but if you run the dishes through a drying cycle as well, this can jump to 2,400 watts. A coffee maker, toaster and toaster oven will all consume between 800 and 1,400 watts. Microwave ovens can consume as few as 750 watts, and they can also reach up into the 2,000 range, depending on the power of the model.

Living Room Appliances

You might think of your TV as one of the main energy hogs in your house, but even a big 50-inch projection TV will only pull about 170 watts. A flat screen TV will only use about 120 watts and your DVD player will only use between 20 and 25. A stereo system can range between 70 and 400 watts, depending on the number of speakers and features. A desktop computer will consume a little less than 300 watts, with over half of the being the monitor. A laptop computer will only consume around 50 watts.

Other Appliances

Appliances that create heat are some of the biggest energy users. A clothes dryer will consume between 1,800 and 5,000 watts, a hair dryer will consume between 1,200 and 1,875 watts and a clothes iron will consume between 1,000 and 1,800 watts. Your water heater is probably the biggest consumer in your house, with most using between 4,500 and 5,500 watts. Your clothes washer will only consumer between 350 and 500 watts, and your vacuum cleaner will use between 1,000 and 1,440 watts.

Additional Power Considerations

Two huge considerations need to be made when determining your overall power needs: the reactive load requirements and low-power draws. A reactive load is the amount of wattage an appliance will draw when it has to start up a motor. Once the motor is running, the appliance uses its normal wattage, but when it is starting up it draws up to double the amount of wattage. Low power drains, sometimes called ghost loads, occur when appliances are in standby or ready mode and still draw some power. For example, you microwave might need 1,500 watts while it is running, but if you only use it for two minutes a day, that's not a lot of power. However, it can also draw between two and three watts while in standby mode. This constant draw of power, spread over many appliances, can add up.

Converting 110 volts to 220 can be a minor or a major event; or not necessary at all. Your souvenir clock runs on 220. But in your house, only the dryer and the stove use 220. You want to put it in the bedroom, but it has only 110 sockets. In another instance, you've finished your 3-year project in Peru, and now you're going home. Will you be able to move your major appliances to the United States?

House Wiring

American homes have 220 volts at 60 Hertz coming into the house, entering via three wires, two sides of 110 each and a neutral. The 220 appliances in your home operate on both sides of the 110, making 220. Almost everything else works on either side of the 110 and neutral. Most other countries do not divide the phases, and also operate at 50 Hertz rather than 60.You will need to take the frequency into consideration for your conversion.

Transformers

Transformers are made of two coils of wire placed near each other, the ratio of which determines the rate of conversion. And the directions are reversible. A ratio of 2 to 1 doubles in one direction and halves in the other. But you must also consider wattage. A small 50 watt transformer works for appliances like shavers and clocks, but you need higher wattage for hair dryers, curling irons or larger appliances. Price of transformers increases with wattage, and ranges from under $10 up to several hundred. But transformers cannot change the frequency--60 Hertz in will always give you 60 Hertz out.

Small Appliances

For small appliances up to 50 or 60 watts, you can buy a converter and plug it directly into a 110 volt wall socket and then plug your small 220 volt appliance into the converter. Be careful that you do not exceed the wattage rating of the transformer. Look on your appliance for a wattage rating. Also, since you cannot change the frequency, items like clocks designed to run of 50 Hertz may run faster on 60 Hertz. This may not be true with digital clocks. Go to dvdoverseas.com/store/index.html?loadfile=catalog10_0.html to see an example of a small converter.

Large Appliances

Larger appliances require larger transformers. Go to the above link to see some examples. But be careful. Major appliances designed to work on 220 volts and 50 Hertz may work using transformers. But they may not work well. Dryer motors and refrigerator compressors may run at different speeds and overheat or wear out faster. And the number of wire connections may be different. So in making your decisions to move, consider the cost of shipping, the cost of the transformer and the risk of a shortened lifespan or failure of your appliance.

Conversion Not Needed

More sophisticated items may not need conversion. Modern technology takes into consideration the shrinking globe we live on, and is designing many items to operate on all systems. Examples would include most cell phone and camera chargers and laptops, and may also include TV sets and desktops. Look on your equipment label or literature to find out. A cell phone charger purchased in South America may say, "Entrada: 100-240V 50/60Hz 0.1A." This will work almost anywhere in the world without conversion.

When converting a storage shed into living space, there are a few things you should consider. Fitting a house into 120 square feet or less isnt as hard as you may initially think, as long as you pay attention to detail. You can easily fit a bathroom and kitchen into your living space if you plan accordingly. The main goal when planning to live in small spaces is comfort. You will want to maximize your comfort and eliminate as many big house problems as you can. Installing quality flooring, premium insulation, and capitalizing on space that is overlooked in big home construction will have you well on your way to a comfortable living space.

Instructions

1 Install R-15 or higher insulation in your storage shed. A small space can seem even smaller if it is uncomfortable. Installing premium insulation will help to control the atmosphere inside the shed and ultimately make you more comfortable.
2 Install wiring for the appliances you will use inside the shed. Remember, the living space, while small, will house many appliances that any normal home would have. These appliances need to be placed on a few separate breakers to prevent electric problems.
3 Cover the walls in waterproof cement board such as PermaBase instead of the less expensive plasterboard. Condensation can build up in a small space and cause a huge problem down the road. PermaBase is a type of sheeting that is moisture resistant and will eliminate the dangers of condensation.
4 Paint the interior with a light-colored high gloss paint. Light colors make a room feel larger, and high gloss paints reflect light to eliminate a dark and dreary interior. Operable skylights will help with lighting and ventilation issues.
5 Install a quality waterproof floor, and use area rugs where you have a need for carpet. A leak is a disaster in any home, and in a storage shed conversion, a leak can ruin the flooring in a short amount of time. Its easier to use a wet/dry vacuum and launder a few area rugs than to move everything out and replace the flooring.
6 Plan for small space living. A small space wont seem as small if every detail is planned. Consider building bathroom and kitchen walls that have shelving built in that faces the outside living space. A wall built on the back of the shed for the kitchen and bathroom space can easily double as shelving for other items.
7 Build a sleeping loft above lower walls when possible. Sleeping lofts are ideal in small spaces because they free up the walking space below. A sleeping loft can free as much as 56 square feet. While this may not seem like a lot of space, in an area that is 120 square feet, a sleeping loft can be the difference between comfortable and cramped.

Design

Building a small house from an existing garage begins with space planning and design. Adding a second story to the garage to increase the overall square footage of the house may be an option, but the costs for a project this size can be significant. Depending on where you live, new construction averages between $80 and $200 per square foot. There are additional costs for removing the old roof and preparing the garage structure to bear the weight of the second floor that will further increase the overall costs. It is much more cost effective to allocate the existing space for living essentials, like a bathroom, small kitchen, bedroom and living area. Before you begin building a small house from a garage, obtain all of the necessary permits and building code specifications from your local office.

Walls, Plumbing and Electrical

Construct the walls for the small house according to the design layout. There is no need for load-bearing walls since the garage structure is already intact. If your garage flooring is concrete, you may wish to build a wooden platform floor to lay carpeting or hardwoods. Build the walls separating the rooms with 2-by-4s and 2-by-6s as outlined in your local building codes. Once the wall structures are in place, you can add the plumbing and the electrical. The garage may already have some type of electrical power, but this will need to be upgraded to handle the additional power. Look at green alternatives for your power source such as solar panels and tankless hot water heaters. These choices may cost a bit more up front, but they do pay for themselves in the long run. Install the wiring for the power and the pipes for the plumbing in accordance with local building codes. It is more cost effective to place the kitchen and bathroom in close proximity so that you can run fewer and shorter pipes for the water source. Once the wires and pipes are complete, add Sheetrock to the walls and install the fixtures in the bathroom.

Finishing Touches

Transforming a garage into a house may allow for only small interior rooms, but they can still be comfortable, attractive and eco-friendly. Select and install cabinets and countertops for your kitchen that are made from recycled materials. Architectural salvage yards offer a wide selection of materials that can easily be refurbished for your small home. Bamboo hardwood flooring is a beautiful renewable resource and can be placed throughout the home. Add warm colors to the walls and sparsely placed furnishings to make the home seem larger than it is. Add vinyl siding to the exterior of the garage for a fresh, completed home.

A watt is a different measure than one that uses time as a component. For example, the "mile per hour" or "revolutions per minute" both measure activity against a given time frame, in their cases, hours and minutes. A watt is the measure of how much energy is being drawn through the electrical system to power an individual unit. The kilowatt-hour is the measurement used by power companies to know how much total wattage a building used over a period of time.

Reactive vs. Resistive

Two different standards need to be applied when discussing the watt usage of appliances. The first is the reactive load, or the draw on the system when the unit is first powered up. This can be significantly higher than the resistive, or running load. For example, a 10,000 BTU window air conditioner needs 1,500 watts to run, but 2,200 watts to start up. This is important because when a home is using an emergency generator for power, the generator must have the ability to not only power the necessary appliances when running, but also enough extra power to account for start-ups.

Large Appliances

Appliances are normally divided into large and small categories, with the assumption that large appliances use more power. This is not always true. Similarly sized appliances may have a widely different draw, and small appliances are often heavy energy users. A clothes washer uses 1,200 reactive and resistance watts, while the matching electric dryer uses 6,750 reactive and 5,400 resistance watts. The difference is that the dryer is converting the electricity to heat, which is always power intensive.

Kitchen Appliances

Other typical kitchen appliances include an energy-efficient refrigerator and freezer at 1,200 watts reactive and almost 200 resistance. A microwave is an example of a unit rated at one level but actually using more energy because of the natural inefficiency of how motors work. A 1,000 watt microwave puts out 1,000 watts of power, but requires 1,500 watts to do so. An electric range requires 2,100 watts.

Small Appliances

Small appliances can range from a few watts to a substantial amount depending upon how much heat they generate. Small cooking appliances such as an electric fry pan require 1,200 watts and a coffee maker 600 watts. Because a slow cooker uses minimal heat, it only needs less than 300 watts, whereas a deep fryer that generates high heat needs 1,800 watts. On the far other end, an electric clock/radio for the kitchen may only need 5 watts.

Restaurant kitchens have appliances similar to those found in the majority of home kitchens, but larger and durable enough to crank out hundreds of meals a day. Professionals do use some appliances, particularly the small wares variety, in the same way home cooks do. The types of appliances found in the restaurant kitchen depend on the style and quantity of food made.

Ovens

Restaurants generally have two types of ovens installed to carry out the business of roasting and baking foods-conventional and convection ovens. Conventional ovens heat foods from a heating element built in to the top or the bottom of the unit while convection ovens are designed with a fan in the back of the oven that blows air around the foods, creating a consistently even heat. Some cooks favor conventional ovens for cookies and casseroles while preferring convection ovens for breads and roasts.

Range and Griddles

Most restaurant ranges come with ovens installed underneath, much like a standard home unit. The difference in professional units is the size of the range, with some employing six or eight burners instead of the standard four of the home appliance. Some ranges are equipped with large griddle surfaces either half of the unit or complete the entire surface, depending on the kinds of foods cooked in that kitchen. Restaurants with a breakfast menu will use a large griddle while pizza restaurants typically have no use for them.

Fryers and Grills

Two types of fryers are available for restaurants that serve fried foods, including countertop units for small batches of foods and the larger deep-fryer units for restaurants that serve large amounts of fried foods. Larger units also typically come with two wells so different batches of foods, like French fries or onion rings, can be made at one time.
Grills for preparing steaks, hamburgers and vegetables are also available as either countertop or stand-alone units and are designed to work either as a charbroiler or with radiant heat.

Mixers and Slicers

Restaurants that make their own bread and pastries typically use a large mixer for mixing large amounts of dough and batter. Standard sizes include 20-, 40-, 60- and 80-quart mixers. These have variable speeds and attachments such as a dough hook, whisk and paddle.
Professional cooks also use food slicers for slicing deli meats, cheeses and vegetables for sandwiches, buffet displays and garnishes.

Small Wares

Professional kitchens use blenders and food processors for preparing sauces, dressings, dips, juices and other liquid-based foods. Restaurant food processors typically run into the two- and three-quart sizes for making large batches of foods. Other small appliances include scales for accurately measuring weights, toasters for sandwiches, and a microwave for quick thawing some foods. Restaurants that make larger batches of toast sometimes use a larger toasting unit that toasts several pieces of bread at one time.

With the prevalence of electronic items in the home, you may be worried about the radiation levels from electro-magnetic fields (EMFs), especially if you have a pacemaker or are pregnant. Although the EPA notes that there is no "safe" level of radiation, it's best to limit your exposure when possible. Testing inside your home is easy with an EMF Gauss meter you can purchase at home centers or electronics stores.

Instructions

1 Place new batteries in your Gauss meter to ensure accurate readings.
2 Zero-out the reading on the meter. Depending on your meter, you may see the needle bounce back and forth slightly, or may see the display waver between -1 and +1; this is typical, especially on less expensive meters. More expensive models have several reset buttons to ensure accurate readings.
3 Make sure the appliance is plugged in and running normally. For example, turn the TV and DVD player on, or microwave something briefly to make sure your gauge registers normal operations.
4 Position the Gauss reader next to the appliance and draw it across the surface slowly. Depending on your meter, you may see a digital readout or a range indicating the level of radiation.
5 Test near electrical outlets in your home, and even small appliances in your home, such as a digital alarm clock.
6 Reposition appliances with radiation around your home to limit your exposure time to high EMFs. For example, place your digital alarm clock farther away from your bed, since you spend so many hours sleeping. Block off rooms with high EMF readings, if possible, or spend as little time in the room as possible.