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killercow777 t1_j01rtib wrote

TLDR; No it doesn’t, not even directly compared in the article.

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rhudejo t1_j0496h9 wrote

There are some easy rule of thumbs to see how much power stuff is using:

- If it gets really hot, it sucks lots of power: good hair dryers, heaters, kettles, ACs, induction hobs (these can be huge, 5000W+ when running at max on multiple zones), beefy PCs,...

- If it uses a transformer (so less than the mains voltage), it does not use lots of power: anything that runs on USB, laptops, routers, door bells...

Thats it, these simple rules should cover 90+% of your appliances. There are of course exceptions but these are not typically part of a household like stuff with beefy motors like industrial power tools, elevator motors, ...

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SpaceBucketFu t1_j05o370 wrote

Your comment is kind of misleading. Having a transformer is kind of irrelevant. The truth of the statement is anything that creates heat in direct use of the appliance. So yeah, hair dryers, kettles, shit like that. A transformer just changes voltage, and the power supplies you mentioned aren’t even referred to as “transformers”. They’re actually switch mode power supplies. They have small transformers in them, but that’s not the primary component of the device either.

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Dje4321 t1_j0kuc93 wrote

This is correct except for the transformer part. Loads of appliances use a transformer while consuming huge amount of electricity (IE Microwave and Gaming PC). Its just used to move the total voltage up and down and has no effect on the total power draw as the amperage drawn will change proportionally to the voltage. (10V@1A == 1V@10A)

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davidw_- t1_j04d3g9 wrote

Them why does my toaster always fuck with the electricity in the house?

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Willy_wolfy t1_j04ozbh wrote

Your toaster does use a reasonable amount power but for a short period of time so realistically it's negligible unless you're using your toaster to try and heat your house.

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celestiaequestria t1_j05tf89 wrote

The wiring in your walls is probably rated for 15 amps, depending on when your house was built the gauge and length of that wire run will vary. Along that wire run there are multiple plug sockets - again, number will vary with age of home.

Let's say your toaster is plugged into the last socket on that wire that runs back to the breaker box in your house - so it's using the full length of the wire. You turn it on and the heating coil wants to pull 15 Amps (1800 watts on a 120v) to heat up. So on one end of the long wire, you have 1800 watts being pulled, and the other end your breaker box - and that's the full capacity of the wire.

So what happens when something plugged into one of the sockets along the run is needing to draw power? Weird stuff! The voltage and power availability is affected by what's called "sag" and it's having to fight against the draw of the heating coil. If you wanted to make it even more funky, plug a motor like a blender into the same circuit - as many people do in the kitchen.

Basically, you're going from the illusion of how electricity works ("you plug it in and it just works") to the reality of how electricity works ("holy crap connecting a bunch of high power devices with thin bits of wire causes problems").

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celestiaequestria t1_j05socm wrote

The primary power draws in your home are heating, cooling, and large appliances like washers, dryers, fridges, dishwashers, and hot water heaters. Those are the places to look if you have a high power bill and want to save money.

You can also address things like heat loss - for example, adding weatherstripping to old windows to seal up gaps, and adding a heavy thermal-liner curtain, can significantly lower your heating bills. Replace all light bulbs in your home with energy-efficient LEDs and check any appliance older than 20 years with a power meter to see if it's in line with modern standards - some will be fine, some will be wildly overusing and can be replaced to save yourself money.

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