It is common knowledge that the refrigerator in any household is one of the largest consumers of electricity. In average, the amp usage of a refrigerator for it can account for about 10% of your home’s energy consumption. With the numbers in hand, let’s figure out whether such a statement is true and what it consists of.
Comprehension of your fridge’s power consumption is the first stop in finding out if it’s a suitable buy. The energy guide will help to make sure that you have outlets on a circuit breaker that are dedicated to your fridge.
Energy Ratings
To start with, you should be aware of the fridge’s energy star ratings. This will enable you to estimate its power usage. Make sure your fridge has an energy star rating by buying a rated meter from your local hardware store. To measure how much electricity the fridge is using, you need to plug in the power meter and then plug in the fridge.
Voltage and Amps
Amps
The amperes (amps) is the measure of electrical current. For example, an electric appliance with 1 amp of power uses enough electricity to run a light bulb for one hour. If an appliance has a low wattage, it might only use 10 watts, but if it has 1 amp of power that means it would use 100 watts for one hour.
Watts
Watts describe how much power is being used by a given appliance. For example, an electric appliance with 10 watts of power uses enough electricity to run a light bulb for two hours.The voltage of a refrigerator depends on the power source. Refrigerators that use 220 volts will work in countries with 220-volt electric power. Refrigerators with 110 volts need a circuit breaker that can handle more than 20 amps.
How to valculate amperage if you know wattage? There is asimple formula to calculating amperage from wattage. Watts / Volts = Amps, for example a 1500 watt refrigerator will use 1500 Watts/x 120 Volts = 12,5 Amps.
What is a circuit breaker and how does it connect with refrigerator power?
A circuit breaker is an electrical device that can be configured to open or close an electrical circuit when the current flowing through the circuit reaches or exceeds a certain value. It acts like a power switch, and it protects electric circuits from overloading by opening or closing the circuit. When something goes wrong with your Refrigerator and it’s not working properly, you’ll need to use a circuit breaker.
How many amps does a refrigerator use?
According to the United States Department of Energy, household refrigerators have an average wattage of 725 watts, which, at 120 volts, computes to an amperage of 6.04 amps.
Usually, modern models of refrigerators for the home use from 3 to 6 amperes. But this acceleration can be much higher – from 1-2 up to 15 amperes.
However, it is often difficult to know the true watts of your refrigerator. Manufacturers often do not indicate this data in the product instructions. And then it would be possible to rely on the generalized data on the annual consumption of electricity in each selected model. But even they are not completely accurate, since the energy consumption for each individual refrigerator will depend on the total load on the electrical network in your household. And also from the energy consumption of the refrigerator’s compressor – how new or worn it is. It also depends on whether you correctly load and organize the storage of products, whether the pipes are not clogged, etc.
You can read more about the most energy efficient refrigerators’ models in the market in our article Most Energy Efficient Refrigerator.
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