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question about power consumption

moving to a new place. A little older but the the electrical work for my studio area is new. I"m just curious concerning how much you can actually plug in. There is only 2 outlets. WIll i be ok if I JUST use quality extension platforms ?

have 5 monitors
2 speakers + sub
3 computers
and about 10 other minor things like soundcard, piano scanner, midi controller, mixer ....

oh and then my mood lighting

i would get an APC power conditioner

Should be fine as long as you don't overload the extentions, they'll be protected anyway by a fuse if you try and draw in too much current. Why don't you just add extra outlets to the existing circuit?

quote:

Originally posted by meriter i would get an APC power conditioner

Nah, Furman are better for audio applications. APC are good but they are way more geared towards UPS functionality for computers in server environments, whereas furman really sets the standard for power conditioning in Audio specific environments.

This thread has everything you need to know, inlcuding the info on how much power you can expect to be able to draw from household breaker cicuits and what sort of power conditioning you need:

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...ighlight=furman


Simply put:

1, avoid dimmer light switches in the same room or circuit feed as audio equipment (unless you're going for the expensive transformered ones in which case let me know and I'll tell you where to get em cheap)

2, Avoid having anything plugged in to the same circuit that has a high wattage motor or electromagnetic element (blender, microwave, hoover, washing machine).

3, Get a furman power conditioner, either the 15 or 20 amp range.

4, Run your power cables away from audio and if they must cross, make sure it's at a 90degree angle.

5, Run balanced (or pseudo balanced) cables.

I'd just check the amp rating on the breaker, really.

If they are 15-20amps it should be fine. You say they are new, and if you told the person it was for a studio it prob has a dedicated 20amp breaker. I've also ran 20amp arc welders on 15amp breakers w/out blowing them, not sure why it didn't blow but those things are certaintly drawing more power than what you wrote here.

A power conditioner would be smart too but it really depends on where you live (I think they're just surge protectors right?). If your area commonly experiences brown outs it would make sense. I never get them here though so I don't use the shit. Although I do plugit in during blackouts as it has a back up in it so I can still mix when the powers out. Otherwise I never use the shit.

you live in the US? its 110V there right? If the fuse is 15A means you have 110V*15A = 1600Watts. Then just sum your devices, the watts is in them manual or on the back of the devices. I believe you have no problems at all - the problems start when u have PA amps - home audio doesnt much power at all - your lights use more power. Once you add a heating device in the same course you might have problems. Here in europe we usually have 10A on 230V leaving us with 2300W on normal rooms. Sometimes 16A too, which gives us around 4000W. Kitchen have 25A usually for the oven, hot water etc etc.

Is that actually how the math is done?

Because we ran 2 - 1200 watt air conditioners on the same 10amp socket last year and never once had an issue. Thats 2400 watts which according to your math that socket should have only handled 1100 watts.
I don't know just seems odd.

Oh and the math is 1650watts not 1600. Just wanted to correct that.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Robby Rox I'd just check the amp rating on the breaker, really. If they are 15-20amps it should be fine. You say they are new, and if you told the person it was for a studio it prob has a dedicated 20amp breaker. I've also ran 20amp arc welders on 15amp breakers w/out blowing them, not sure why it didn't blow but those things are certaintly drawing more power than what you wrote here. A power conditioner would be smart too but it really depends on where you live (I think they're just surge protectors right?). If your area commonly experiences brown outs it would make sense. I never get them here though so I don't use the shit. Although I do plugit in during blackouts as it has a back up in it so I can still mix when the powers out. Otherwise I never use the shit.

no offense robby, but if you don't really know what power conditioners actually do, nor know the basic math to calculate power consumption, you shouldn't really be giving advice on matter such as these.

Surge protectors are surge protectors, and power conditioners are power conditioners.

In nearly all cases, power conditioners also have the very basic functions of surge and spike protection, but power conditioning is a very different thing, from giving a constant, leveled power output, to protecting from RFI and EMI, to Noise filtration and stopping feedback from other, even audio kit, from interfering with your supply.

Ever single time you plug something in to a shared outlet, there can be noise contamination, especially with anything that has transformers, magnets or motors. The more you [plug in to the same circuit, the worse it gets.

As for amps on a circuit, the reason you were able to run those air conditioners is that either the breaker feeding that socket was 20amp (which is not a good idea as the socket itself and/or wall wiring may only be 10amp) or that the AC units don't pull their max all the time.

Good practise is to always leave 20% headroom as if you get a spike in usage you won't be constantly flipping the breaker.

Finally, don't ever assume anything about wiring that you didn't see for yourself - just becuase it was a studio before doen't mean that they did it right in the first place and hasn't been fucked with since, espceially in old buildings. In fact, Buffalo (the first city in the USA to get power), still has a lot of buildings with wires wrapped in oil and cotton for insulation (that's why there were so many fires there in the 80's and 90's).

Assume the worst and err on the side of caution until you know the facts.

well the fans max usuage is 1200watts doesnt mean they ran at 1200 at the moment, same is with audio-gear, the stamped power consumption is at max usage, and for a stereo that will never happen because you arent listening to pink noise at max level.

also there are slow fuses available but that makes it dangerous, the powerlines might light up in a fire.

the math is that simple yes for common fuse calculation, but since 110V and 230V are AC the exact math is about the root of 2 (about 1,4 if i recall) or something more, i dont recall exactly, its 8 years ago i had these things in school.

my math was ca calculations in my head

i think its actually like this for peak effects:
P(Watt) = U(Volt AC) * I(Amp) * root(2).

which could explain why your fuse didnt go out.

If you solve it for current I its like this:
I = P/(U*1,4) = 2400W/(110V*1,4) = 15,6A.

Could explain your fuse not going.

edit: do not use this as a reference, its just from my wast memory 8 years ago. use an electrician!!!! your house could burn down.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN no offense robby, but if you don't really know what power conditioners actually do, nor know the basic math to calculate power consumption, you shouldn't really be giving advice on matter such as these. Surge protectors are surge protectors, and power conditioners are power conditioners. In nearly all cases, power conditioners also have the very basic functions of surge and spike protection, but power conditioning is a very different thing, from giving a constant, leveled power output, to protecting from RFI and EMI, to Noise filtration and stopping feedback from other, even audio kit, from interfering with your supply. Ever single time you plug something in to a shared outlet, there can be noise contamination, especially with anything that has transformers, magnets or motors. The more you [plug in to the same circuit, the worse it gets. As for amps on a circuit, the reason you were able to run those air conditioners is that either the breaker feeding that socket was 20amp (which is not a good idea as the socket itself and/or wall wiring may only be 10amp) or that the AC units don't pull their max all the time. Good practise is to always leave 20% headroom as if you get a spike in usage you won't be constantly flipping the breaker. Finally, don't ever assume anything about wiring that you didn't see for yourself - just becuase it was a studio before doen't mean that they did it right in the first place and hasn't been fucked with since, espceially in old buildings. In fact, Buffalo (the first city in the USA to get power), still has a lot of buildings with wires wrapped in oil and cotton for insulation (that's why there were so many fires there in the 80's and 90's). Assume the worst and err on the side of caution until you know the facts.

The reason I didn't err on the side of caution is because the worst I saw happening was a fuse blowing and him walking over to his box to reset it.
And I definitely didn't see him burning any wires up in his walls with what he listed.

The noise inteference thing is interesting however. I still get a low hissing noise coming through my speakers but it oddly seems to go away the longer my computer is on. Never really knew what it was. Thinking I may try a power conditioner for myself.

@112268 - you make a good point about not drawing the max wattage thats definitely true and I think thats what it was. We rarely if ever run them at full blast we tend to keep them on low in the "energy conserve" mode, so it would make sense that if we turn both our AC's up we'd likely blow something. Good to know for this summer I think I'll give them each their own socket just to be safe.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Robby Rox The reason I didn't err on the side of caution is because the worst I saw happening was a fuse blowing and him walking over to his box to reset it. And I definitely didn't see him burning any wires up in his walls with what he listed. The noise inteference thing is interesting however. I still get a low hissing noise coming through my speakers but it oddly seems to go away the longer my computer is on. Never really knew what it was. Thinking I may try a power conditioner for myself. @112268 - you make a good point about not drawing the max wattage thats definitely true and I think thats what it was. We rarely if ever run them at full blast we tend to keep them on low in the "energy conserve" mode, so it would make sense that if we turn both our AC's up we'd likely blow something. Good to know for this summer I think I'll give them each their own socket just to be safe.

A fuse blowing may be the outcome, but a lot of audio equipment has slow blow fuses which combined with bad wiring in the walls or worn out breakers can be serious trouble.

That hissing noise could be a number of things: it could be (electrical) noise from a transformer or PSU (which goes as the coils warm up) . Do you still have the soundcard you bought? If so balanced cables with balanced i/o should stop 909% of noise in most cases.

If you get a power conditioner, don't buy monster or what you can find at target or home depot. They do nothing apart surge protection with an in line capacitor.

Get a furman, even the merit range which go for less than $100 are really good but the PL8 range are superb.

yeah. you can use extension wires, but be sure that the wires can carry a big load or it may burn.

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