Power Ratings (typical) for Common Appliances

Typical Power Ratings for Appliances

Appliance	Watts
Air Conditioner
Room*	1000
Central*	2000 - 5000
Air Conditioners rated in tons
Per Ton	3517
e.g., 5 Ton AC Unit	17585
Blender	300
Blow Dryer	1000 - 1500
CB Radio	5
CD Player	15 - 30
Ceiling Fan	10 - 50
Computer
Laptop	20 - 75
Desktop PC	80 - 200
Printer	100
Coffee Maker	800
Clock Radio	1
Dishwasher	1200 - 1500
Dryer (Clothes)
Electric*	4000
Gas Heated	300 - 400
Electric Blanket	200
Electric Clock	1
Electric Frying Pan	1200
Freezer
Conventional 14cf (15 hrs/day runtime)	445
Sun Frost 19cf Freezer	112
Furnace Blower	300 - 1000
Garage Door Opener	350
Heater
Engine Block*	150 - 1000
Portable*	1500
Waterbed*	400
Stock Tank*	100
Hot Plate	1200
Iron	1000
Lightbulbs
Incandescent Bulbs	CFL Bulbs
100	23
75	20
60	15
40	11
Microwave	600 - 1500
Popcorn Popper	250
Refrigerator/Freezer (runtime in hours/day)
Conventional 20cf (15)	540
Conventional 16cf (15)	475
Sun Frost 16cf DC (7)	112
Sun Frost 12cf DC (7)	70
Conserv 10.5cf (8)	60
Conserv 7.5cf (8)	50
Satellite Dish	30
Sewing Machine	100
Shaver	15
Sink Waste Disposal	450
Stereo	10 - 30
Table Fan	10 - 25
Toaster	800 - 1500
Tools
Weed Eater	500
1/4" drill	250
1/2" drill	750
1" drill	1000
9" disc sander	1200
3" belt sander	1000
12" chain saw	1100
14" band saw	1100
7 1/4" circular saw	900
8 1/4" circular saw	1400
Vacuum Cleaner
Upright	200 - 700
Hand	150
VCR	40
Waffle Iron	1200
Washing Machine	500

The list to the right includes many appliances and their typical power ratings (in Watts). You can use this information to help you estimate the total amount of Watt*Hours that your alternative energy system needs to supply on an average day. Power ratings of most appliances are usually listed on the appliance itself or the manual. For a final calculation of your watt*hour usage, we recommend that you look at each appliance to be powered to find its rated power.

Brand Electronics 1850W Power Meter, 120AC

Kill A Watt Power Meter

Visit the AltE Kill A Watt Database to find the power usage of appliances being used in the real world as recorded by members of the AltE Community. You can also buy meters, which are specifically designed to measure how much power an appliance consumes. Check out the Brand Power Meters and the Kill A Watt Power Meters. Once you figure out how much power your appliances use, don't forget to enter the information in the Kill A Watt database to help the Community!

When determining how many Watt*Hours your appliances will use, keep in mind that many of the appliances you use will only be run for an average of a few minutes per day. For instance a 500W weed eater may be used for 1 hour every week. That translates to an average of 71 Watt*Hours per day (500W / 7 Days).

Additionally, there are appliances like refrigerators which although appear to be "on" all day, actually are running between 12 to 15 hours a day (turning on and off as needed). Air conditioning units also run on and off all day depending on the cooling needs of the home and the outdoor temperature.

Finally, be aware of "ghost loads". These are devices that people commonly forget to include in their calculations. These devices typically consume a small amount of energy (<1W) but are running 24 hours a day. Examples of typical ghost loads would be AC adapters, clocks, VCRs, TVs, microwaves, and printers. Many of these devices require power to maintain their clocks running (e.g. VCR, TV, and microwave). Although the amount of energy consumed on an hourly basis is small, the fact that they run all day can easily add as much as 100W*Hrs per day.

* Ideally, these items should not be powered by a PV system, because they are considered inefficient appliances to be powered by solar or wind electric sources.