Much depends on a parameter such as power consumption . After all, these are electric currents that are permissible in everyday life, and, ultimately, electricity bills. The operating mode of the entire power supply network depends on the correctly calculated load so that in case of overvoltage, it is not necessary to urgently repair the power cable or power transformer or change the fuse links and reset the protection. When buying a household appliance, pay attention to its power consumption and compare it with the maximum allowable load in your apartment or private house.
First, measure the power cable. Usually, an aluminum wire with a cross section of four square millimeters is laid on the apartment. The circuit breaker in this case is set with the emergency shutdown set to 16-20 amperes. This means that if the rated current is exceeded, after a while, a disconnection from the power supply will occur. This triggers a
thermal relay that monitors power consumption. Also, a cut-off relay is installed in the switch, which will trip if the rated current is exceeded 10 times or more. It is fast-acting and designed to protect your wiring from inrush currents or to instantly disconnect from the main network in the event of a
short circuit.
Based on this, a preliminary calculation can be made, where the maximum power consumption will be found out, at which the wiring can be operated in safe mode. With a voltage of 220 volts, it is only 4-5 kW. This, of course, is not enough to heat the apartment with electric heaters in the cold season, but it is enough for the stable operation of basic household appliances. You can use, for example, simultaneously turned on the iron, heater, refrigerator, TV and lighting fixtures. But if at the same time you turn on the electric kettle and start using the boiler, then the total power consumption will exceed the permissible one - and soon a shutdown will occur.
It is necessary to know the division of all electrical appliances by the presence and absence of inrush currents. So, heating and lighting devices, a computer, a TV and all the electronics in the house do not create an additional load on the mains when you turn on. The
power consumption of the computer is thus constant. A completely different picture can be observed when electric appliances are included in the network, which include
asynchronous electric motors. This, for example, refrigerators, air conditioners, electric drill. When such devices are turned on, significant inrush currents occur, which exceed the rated currents of the device by 14 or more times. The simultaneous inclusion of these units will lead to the disconnection of the mains.
The power consumption of a laptop or any other device equipped with a personal power source has a slightly different meaning . In this case, the operating time of the device depends on this parameter, since the capacity of the power battery is limited.