Amp Question ???

how do i add amps to my home is it with the circuit breaker or..... i really would appreciate the help. I need some more amps to power my set up because i made the whole neighborhood lose power for 2 hrs. i was using the same space that my bedroom and guest bedroom are on.

does anyone know any electricians while your at it.... jk, but it would be nice if someone really knew wut they were doin.

I think you got your terms mixed up, and your knowledge is limited. You need to know how many watts you are using. You will need to add a new electric outlet on its own circuit breaker. Usually 15 amps.

I am using around 1200 watts. How many outlets should go on a single circuit breaker?

Contributed by: TieDown

The formula for converting Watts to Amps is : Watts = Amps * Volts

The formula for converting Amps to Watts is : Amps = Watts / Volts

SAFTEY WARNING : Only use 80% of the circuit breaker capacity!

Common Conversions North American and other 110 volt countries

Lights :
1000W / 110V = 9.1A
600W / 110V = 5.4A
400W / 110V = 3.6A
250W / 110V = 2.3A

Circuits :
10A * 110V = 1100W and 80% safe usage is 880W
15A * 110V = 1650W and 80% safe usage is 1320W
25A * 110V = 2750W and 80% safe usage is 2200W
30A * 110V = 3300W and 80% safe usage is 2640W

Common Conversions British Commonwealth and other 240 volt countries

Lights :
1000W / 240V = 4.1A
600W / 240V = 2.5A
400W / 240V = 1.7A
250W / 240V = 1.1A

Circuits :
10A * 240V = 2400W and 80% safe usage is 1920W
15A * 240V = 3600W and 80% safe usage is 2880W
25A * 240V = 6000W and 80% safe usage is 4800W
30A * 240V = 7200W and 80% safe usage is 5760W

Remember that a circuit services more than one power outlet.
A two outlet wall plug will use only one circuit.
There will be more outlets on 240V systems per circuit than there will be in 110V systems.

How many lights/watts can I put on a 15 Amp service?

The rule of thumb is to only load a breaker up to 80% of its capacity. On a 15-amp service with 14/2 gauge wire one should only load it up to 12 Amps MAX. Since most lights will draw 1 amp per 100 watts a 15-amp breaker can handle one 1K light each. This brings up another point in home growing. That it is always good practice to have the fans and the light that they cool on the same breaker. That way if the breaker is somehow tripped (Murphy's Law) then both the light and its cooling system are down. Instead of the cooling system for the light going down and the light still blazes away because it was on another breaker.

Note: above figures are estimated based on 110V supply.

Nietzsche recommends purchasing a CAT III meter before doing any electrical work. It will allow for safe testing of the circuit before commencing work. A clamp meter is also handy for testing how many amps the circuit is drawing without having to break the circuit to do so, great to see if you get a peak when your lights first come on or just how many amps a given device is using.

Based on the question alone I don't think you should tackle this project. You need an electrician.

moved to indoor

FAQ nomination for mogie.

Go Mogie!

Also keep in mind how many breakers and what amps are already in there most homes have extra availiable power to be gain but if all the breakers add to more then the fuse panal is hooked up you then have to add a power amp before the fuse panel then upgrade to a higher panel with more openings.It gets quit complicated if your box is full already.