5 ms·

Yes, most of the time. My small house routinely exceeds 5 kW though.

by watty 12y ago

jessaustin 12y ago
What appliances/devices are you using when that happens?
- Roboprog 12y ago
  Think about anything with a heating element in it (if electric): * Water heater * Dryer * Oven/range * Microwave * Coffee pot * Toaster [oven] Those can get "spiky" depending on who is in the house.
- watty 12y ago
  I just started monitoring my electricity but I believe any two of these would do it: AC (electric), Dryer, Dishwasher
- DigitalJack 12y ago
  Air conditioning is my guess. Ours burns about 4kW by itself.
- TheSpiceIsLife 12y ago
  It doesn't take much. A fan heater in a bedroom 2kW, a small heat pump / reverse cycle AC in another room 1kW, a couple of computers 0.5kW - 1kW, the fridge-freezer 0.5kW, hot water system 3kW - 6kW. A large AC could be 3 - 5 kW alone, not at all uncommon in Australia. Houses here are notoriously poorly insulated. I'm in a rental sharehouse, there's a 6kW electric heater fixed to the wall in the kitchen / dinning room / lounge area. I suggested to my housemates perhaps we don't want to pay to run that thing, followed by $1200 winter power bill. Maybe next winter they'll think twice about running it so much.
- _delirium 12y ago
  My morning routine uses about 6-8 kW just in the kitchen for a small period of time: 1. Tea kettle, 2 kW 2. Microwave, 1 kW 3. Oven (cooking parbaked rolls for 8 minutes), 3-4 kW 4. The refrigerator may or may not go on during this period, ~0.5 kW if it does Of course if really necessary I could be more careful with staggering my appliance usage. But as it currently stands I don't worry about using those kinds of power loads for short periods of time.
- ChuckMcM 12y ago
  Not the original poster here, but I've got 5kW on my roof and it can often out generate the house load but there are times when it cannot. There are interesting "moments" when my house spikes in power usage. One is a combination of 'freezer compressor' + 'refridgerator compressor' + heater fan + oven + microwave. (I don't have whole house AC but do have it in one room). I'm getting better at monitoring individual circuits in my house to understand exactly where power goes. Generally an 'average' day in Northern california my total usage for the day is 25kWh

Yes, most of the time. My small house routinely exceeds 5 kW though.

by watty 12y ago

Yes, most of the time. My small house routinely exceeds 5 kW though.

jessaustin 12y ago

What appliances/devices are you using when that happens?

Roboprog 12y ago
Think about anything with a heating element in it (if electric): * Water heater * Dryer * Oven/range * Microwave * Coffee pot * Toaster [oven] Those can get "spiky" depending on who is in the house.
watty 12y ago
I just started monitoring my electricity but I believe any two of these would do it: AC (electric), Dryer, Dishwasher
DigitalJack 12y ago
Air conditioning is my guess. Ours burns about 4kW by itself.
TheSpiceIsLife 12y ago
It doesn't take much. A fan heater in a bedroom 2kW, a small heat pump / reverse cycle AC in another room 1kW, a couple of computers 0.5kW - 1kW, the fridge-freezer 0.5kW, hot water system 3kW - 6kW. A large AC could be 3 - 5 kW alone, not at all uncommon in Australia. Houses here are notoriously poorly insulated. I'm in a rental sharehouse, there's a 6kW electric heater fixed to the wall in the kitchen / dinning room / lounge area. I suggested to my housemates perhaps we don't want to pay to run that thing, followed by $1200 winter power bill. Maybe next winter they'll think twice about running it so much.
_delirium 12y ago
My morning routine uses about 6-8 kW just in the kitchen for a small period of time: 1. Tea kettle, 2 kW 2. Microwave, 1 kW 3. Oven (cooking parbaked rolls for 8 minutes), 3-4 kW 4. The refrigerator may or may not go on during this period, ~0.5 kW if it does Of course if really necessary I could be more careful with staggering my appliance usage. But as it currently stands I don't worry about using those kinds of power loads for short periods of time.
ChuckMcM 12y ago
Not the original poster here, but I've got 5kW on my roof and it can often out generate the house load but there are times when it cannot. There are interesting "moments" when my house spikes in power usage. One is a combination of 'freezer compressor' + 'refridgerator compressor' + heater fan + oven + microwave. (I don't have whole house AC but do have it in one room). I'm getting better at monitoring individual circuits in my house to understand exactly where power goes. Generally an 'average' day in Northern california my total usage for the day is 25kWh