Home Appliances

The electrical load of the house is the total power consumed per day by all the appliances and electronics in the household. While the electrical load is based on the wattage or maximum power draw of each appliance in the house, it also takes into consideration the average amount of time each appliance is used for in a day. Electrical load is calculated in watt-hours or kilowatt-hours, which describe the power consumption over the course of an hour. Understanding your house's electrical load helps you identify and control large areas of power consumption. It also points to any modifications that may be required by your electrical system.

Instructions

1 Make a list of all the electrical devices in your house. This includes large appliances, such as water heaters and dishwashers, as well as the smaller appliances like light bulbs and alarm clocks.
2 Locate and note down the wattage of each appliance in your list. This information is typically written on a label on the back of the device or in the user manual.
3 Estimate how many hours per day each appliance is used for. For example, an alarm clock runs 24 hours a day, but a lamp is used only for a few hours in a day.
4 Multiply the wattage of each appliance by the number of hours per day to calculate the watt-hours per day.
5 Find the sum of all the watt-hours per day. Divide by 1000 to convert to kilowatt-hours if necessary. This value is the total electrical load of your home.