Home Appliances

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.