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Question

How much is too much for a single wall outlet to withstand?

Aug 30, 2013 6:30AM PDT

I'm sorry if this topic is in the wrong location, but this was the only place I thought was suited for the question. I'm hoping someone can answer this because I have tried figuring this out on my own, but it's giving me a huge headache and haven't been too successful. Last thing I need is for my home to be catching on fire...

I'm trying to set up an entertainment room, but I'm worried I'll overload the wall outlet with everything I need to have plugged up. I have three 60" LED TVs, an U-verse satellite receiver, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, 5.1 surround sound, and a PC I need to hook up (using the three TVs for monitors). And when released, I'll be getting a Playstation 4. At a single time, I'll have the three TVs running, the home theater system, and three of the electronics running at the most.

If need be (which I'm pretty sure is definitely needed), getting another outlet installed isn't that big of a problem; I just need to know if it's completely necessary, approximately how many watts will be used (or how many volts needed...whatever the correct terminology here would be), and about how many outlets would be needed for such a heinous task?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
It can be complicated but let's keep it simple.
Aug 30, 2013 6:44AM PDT

I'm going to confine this to the most common outlet you find in the USA home. The ubiquitous three prong 15 Ampere socket is good for 15 Amperes but as you can imagine in Britain it's a little less due to a higher voltage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_1363 )

So grinding it finer we have to look at the TV specs. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1251257/does-a-60-inch-lcd-consumes-425-watts-all-the-time shows a set with 425 Watts but a Watt meter comes in at half that. But only the foolish would use the lower number when planning.

OK, the 15 amperes at 100 volts (I'm purposely making the match simple for a few reasons) gives us 1,500 Watts so that's all we get for one outlet.

Hope this helps.
Bob

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Sorry. One outlet look to be enough for just the TVs.
Aug 30, 2013 6:47AM PDT

But unless you get in there and find the specs for all the devices and put a Watts number for each you won't know.
Bob

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Answer
I hate to add to any confusion but it's not just the outlet
Aug 30, 2013 7:03AM PDT

but the circuit breaker and wiring run that outlet is associated with. There may be lighting and or other outlets on that same run and the sum total of the load on each cannot exceed what the circuit breaker will allow. The amount of potential current in that run also depends on the gauge of the wire used. 14 gauge is good for 15 amps and 12 gauge for 20. Your standard 110 circuits will be one or the other. If your wiring is up to code, you can tell by the outlet connector what current it's designed for. You'll have two slots plus a round ground connector for each plug. The slots will be different lengths. The "hot" side is the smaller slot. If both slots look alike but one is longer than the other, you have a 15 amp outlet. If one has the longer slot look T shaped, you have a 20 amp outlet. If that's the case, you are usually safer in adding more in the way of devices. If you'd like, you can buy a Kill-a-watt meter from Lowes for about 20 bucks and test each device for how much power it consumes and calculate the needed amperes but a simple rule is that a 15 amp outlet is good for around 1600 or so watts.

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Yes I over simplified
Aug 30, 2013 7:07AM PDT

And ended up with 3 TVs on one plug. As Tim so aptly said it -> "More power!"

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My wife and daughter didn't understand why
Aug 30, 2013 7:38AM PDT

they'd kick out a circuit breaker if their hair dryers were plugged into outlets in separate rooms.

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Why does this make me think of Spaceballs.
Aug 30, 2013 8:50AM PDT
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Answer
Many things one one breaker
Aug 30, 2013 12:49PM PDT

The number of devices on a single breaker can number pretty high but the average current should not exceed 15 amps per outlet, but not all outlets at once. I have seen wall outlets that have an octopus plug and there was a power strip plugged into each with six outlets on each, all full with vampires (AC adapters) and devices that are not really off when "turned off". I use a suppressor power strip with RJ-11 and RG-59 protectors. Keep each system ie. audio and its parts (subwoofer, amp, sound bar, etc) on a single strip. Same for the TV, game box and or VHS/DVD units and then the PCs and their peripherals. DO NOT stack a power strip on top of another power strip. Insure each outlet is grounded and has three prong outlets. Never use a "ground buster" or chop off the ground lug to make it fit a two prong outlet. If you run out of outlets then it's time to expand if possible and maybe just dedicate a new circuit that combines two but only if they're grounded. When in question, have the outlets checked with a simple groud/hot/neutral plugin tester, ten bucks at Lowe's.

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Answer
You need to do some investigation and figure stuff out.
Aug 30, 2013 5:13PM PDT

I made some assumptions and came up with two answers. The real answer bay be in this range or different.

............. 1st 2nd
Item Watts Watts
TV 100 400
TV 100 400
TV 100 400
Sat Rcvr 50 50
PS 3 50 50
Xbox 360 50 50
5.1 Surr 300 500
PC 250 600
Total 1000 2450

(Sorry -- the format of the table gets messed up when inserted into the message -- there are three columns.)

voltage 117 117

Amp 8.5 20.9

In the 1st column, I looked up a Vizio 60" LED TV (it actually said 87 watts), made assumptions for the Receiver and the game stations, assumed a small Computer (a laptop should be smaller) and a medium power requirement for you sound system.

In the second column, I used what someone said a 60" LED TV needed, a larger Desktop PC and a larger wattage sound system.

The other factor is what else is on this same power circuit (lamps, etc.) that feeds this outlet (the other outlets -- they may not all be in this same room). Add the wattage to the above to see what you get for a total.

Now look at the total amperage available on the circuit. You may look at the circuit breaker in the power box and see what it says or for a quick guess (assuming your house has been wired to code) look at the outlet. It you see only two flat prong holes plus probably a round pin hole, it is a 15 amp circuit. If the wide flat prong hole looks like a sideways "T" then it is probably a 20 amp circuit. You should really look at the power box.

If the power requirements for your stuff is like the first case above (which may be high) you can see that there is room for other stuff to be on the same circuit (you still need to figure out how much is there). If the power requirements are even as much as the 2nd column, even a 20 amp circuit is not enough. You will need to bring in at least one more circuit -- maybe two just for your equipment.

If this discussion loses you (I am sorry, I do not know your background), you should call in an electrician or consult with an Electrical Engineer that is familiar with power configurations. They can advise you as what needs to be done. Having a list ready of your equipment with the wattage requirements for each item will help them figure it out.

Good Luck.

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Answer
Easy way
Sep 3, 2013 7:28AM PDT

Call a licensed electrician and have him/her run a 220v line from your circuit box to your equipment. Then ask for the 220v line to be split into 2- 110v lines. The electrician can then hook up outlets for your gear. This works because I have done it.

Good luck.

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+1 for the electrician.
Sep 3, 2013 7:34AM PDT

But have a heart to heart chat about mixing it up as you noted.

A rather disastrous event does occur if they tap both sides of the 220V from different plugs and watch the smoke curl as any error is found in the gear when it's all connected.

This is why I never see more than one phase or side in one room. Think about it.
Bob

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Not legal or practical

Per the National Electric Code, it is not legal to run or put 220V in a 110V outlet and a licensed electrician will not do this. It is also not practical. A 220V wall outlet and plug has a different and specific "shape" that will not accept the normal 110V plug that comes with the equipment you are talking about. There is no such thing as an AC "splitter" that will take a house 220VAC input and give you two independent 110V voltages at the output. In the normal house there are two 110V AC lines and one 'neutral'. The two 110V lines are approximately 180 degrees out of phase. So, the voltage of each phase (relative to the neutral wire) is 110V, but the voltage between the two phase is about 220. If you look at the wiring inside a 110V outlet you will see a black wire (the 'hot' side), a white wire (neutral), and a green or bare copper wire (ground). Do not confuse the words or meaning of 'neutral' with 'ground'. If you look at the wiring in a 220V outlet you will see a black wire (phase A), a red wire (phase B), a white wire (neutral not connected to anything) and a bare or green copper wire (ground) connected to the metal junction box.

If your room or house is new construction it might be fairly easy for an electrician to run another 110V line to the room. If this is physically possible, ask the electrician to "run" the new line off another breaker or the other AC phase.
Is there only one wall plug in the room? Even if there is more than one outlet, they are likely connected to the same breaker panel switch and the breaker's rating (15 or 20 amps) is all the amperage / power the room has available. However, if the room has an outside wall, there may be hope that the wall plug located on the outside wall is run from another breaker switch. If you are this lucky, this solves your problem by allocating about half the total equipment power to each of the wall plugs.
If you have a voltmeter and an extension cord, it is fairly easy to check the phasing of the wall plugs. However, if you are not handy with the voltmeter and the probes you could get shocked doing this so I won't elaborate how to do this. With the voltmeter on AC, measure the voltage between the 'small' slots on each outlet. If the voltage is close to zero, they are on the same phase. If the voltage is close to 220V, the outlets are on different phases. Or, an easy way to determine if the room wall plugs are on the same breaker switch is to plug a light into one of the plugs. At the breaker panel, find the circuit breaker that turns the light off. Leave the breaker switch off and go back in the room and plug the light into the other wall plugs. If the light doesn't come on when plugged into the other wall plugs, they are all on the same breaker panel switch.