![]() ![]() Voltage, wattage, and amperage or volts (v), watts (w), and amps (a) are terms commonly used to describe and measure electricity. ![]() Below we discuss Volts, Watts, and Amps, including some advantages and disadvantages of running LED lights and other indoor garden equipment at different voltages. To understand why there is no large electrical savings, a brief review of these electrical terms is helpful. Volts and amps are not an important factor related to electrical expenditures in an existing wired garden, although when building a new area or adding additional power to an existing area there is a possible savings in material costs and labor. All electrically powered devices consume watts, and wattage is what you are paying for. Obviously, at some point power requirements will require a larger gage supply wiring."If I run my lights at 240 Volts instead of 120 Volts, will I use less electricity?" Here at Black Dog LED headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, we are asked this question quite often, and the simple answer is yes, but only by a little. As the power of the motor increases, running it on 240V allows the use of the same gage wire that the typical 15 amp 120V circuit uses by reducing the supply circuit current, at least up to a point. Let's see if I have a better grasp if the facts now.Īs long as the motor can run on the typical 120V 15 amp (or 20 amp) circuit there is no advantage to be gained, as far as the motor is concerned, by converting it to 240V because the current through the individual windings remains essentially the same even though the supply current is cut in half. With that being said, I obviously also didn't understand what was happening internally when a motor was converted from 120V to 240V. Thus, I don't understand your first sentences. Rick, The Ohm's Law that I was referring to is P=EI with the power remaining constant any increase in voltage causes a proportional decrease in amperage. The diagram below explains why the total amperage from the supply circuit is reduced at the higher voltage, but also why the internal amperage within each winding remains the same. What you are not seeing is that the circuit path (inside the motor) has also changed, which impacts the total impedance of the motor as seen by the supply circuit. From Ohm's Law, when the voltage increases, the amperage also increases proportionally. I can also share a single 240 circuit between tools, and that was exactly my issue previously. I squared R loss is not in favor of 120 as much as 240.Įverything I have (that is capable of conversion) is 240, and I have not bogged anything yet, nor tripped the lights, and it was a daily occurrence before I committed to 240. Another 120 circuit would help, but not if it's a long run so much as 240. ![]() On the other hand, if moving to 240 would force you to put in more circuits, and you currently are marginal on the current at 120, then it's a clear winner. ![]() As long as that is circuits, not receptacles on the same 120 circuit. It doesn't sound to me as though you would see a great benefit, if you are putting plenty of 120 circuits in to begin with. I think there's a lot of misinformation about the benefits of moving from 120 to 240, and it can offer some great benefits to the user, but it all depends on where you are starting from. You should not be able to find an adaptor, since that would also allow the user to plug a toaster into a 240V outlet, and that would be a BAD THING. ![]()
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