Select Page
Difference-between-Continuous-and-Peak-Capacity

All appliances require power to operate when they’re plugged in and turned on. The power they consume is typically measured in Watts or in Amps.

You can typically find these power ratings on the appliance’s energy label or specifications tag. The higher the number, the more power is used by the appliance. For example: A table fan would typically use less than 30 Watts, while a chest freezer could require 220 Watts.

Following so far? Good.

This is where it gets tricky. Let’s say your chest freezer is rated at 220 Watts, and you’re planning to purchase an AVR or transformer to protect your chest freezer from voltage fluctuations. You need to make sure the AVR or transformer’s power capacity can handle the chest freezer’s power consumption.

checking-avr-requirement-of-chest-freezer

Would using a 220 Watts true-rated AVR or transformer work?

Unfortunately, no.

Not because the AVR or transformer is defective, but because you still need to take into consideration the starting watts, also known as the peak power consumption of the appliance.

Unless otherwise specified, the 220w indicated in the chest freezer’s energy label would refer to its continuous power consumption, and NOT the peak power consumption

The distinction between these two types of power consumption is as follows:

  • Continuous Power Consumption (also known as Running Watts): Power the appliance continuously uses to run the appliance
  • Peak Power Consumption (also known as Starting Watts or Surge Watts): Startup power the appliance requires to even turn on, especially for larger appliances with motor. This short and brief boost of power is meant to get the motor going, and requires more watts than the standard rated power consumption. After an initial surge (typically a few seconds), these appliances would then return to a more constant power demand (continuous power consumption)

As such, an appliance that usually requires 220 Watts to operate, may need much more to start up. A good rule of thumb to estimate peak power consumption is to multiply the continuous power consumption by 3. In this case, that means it would take ~660 Watts to start up the chest freezer. Therefore, you’d require an equivalent capacity AVR or transformer.

What if there’s no wattage information provided, BUT you do have the Amps and Voltage data? Imagine the Wattage information can’t be seen in below Energy Guide.

checking-avr-requirement-of-chest-freezer

In this case, you can make use of the Amps and Voltage data to get the Watts. Here, we see a rated current 1.5A and rated voltage of 220V. To get to the Watts, simply multiply the Volts and Amps together.

Watts = Volts x Amps = 220V x 1.5A = 330 Watts

This is just the continuous power consumption however, so you’d have to multiply this by 3 to get to the peak power consumption. In effect, you’d get a peak power consumption of 990 Watts (330 Watts x 3).

You might notice that when using Amps, you get a higher Watts compared to our original calculation of 660 Watts. To be safe, we recommend you go with the higher of the two.

Having said that, we highly encourage buyers to also check with the appliance manufacturer directly. As they designed these appliances, they would have a more accurate idea of the actual startup power requirement would be.

Spread the love

14 Comments

  1. LUIS SALITA III

    Pano po Kung Ang watts Ng power supply Ng computer is 1000w ano po watts Ng surge protector and avr na mareccomend nyo tnks

    Reply
  2. Gerardo Feliciano

    I have a 110 volt, 980 watts portable aircon. Will my 3,000 watts AVR transformer suffice? Can I plug it into an ordinary wall outlet?

    Reply
    • Panther Support

      Good day!
      1. Do you have the ampere rating of the portable aircon, just so we can be sure that the 3000 Watts AVR would suffice?
      2. Does your AVR include a Step-down transformer (from 220V to 110V)?
      Kindly let us know and we can then provide a clearer answer to your question. We hope this helps!

      Reply
  3. Gerardo Feliciano

    The ampere rating of the portable aircon is 8.5 A @ 115 volts. My AVR with a capacity of 3000 watts includes a stepdown transformer from 220V to 110V. I am going to plug it in ordinary wall outlet. Thank you for your prompt reply.

    Reply
  4. Gerardo Feliciano

    Thank you for the reply.
    Furthermore, I would like to verify if I can plug the air conditioner with the AVR to my wall outlet (NOT dedicated) where I would also plug my computer with a separate UPS? If I can plug only my portable air conditioner and not the computer, I will look for a separate circuit for my computer. Thank you

    Reply
    • Panther Support

      Good day! It would be important to check the capacity of your wall outlet (you can check with the electrician who installed the electrical lines in your home). If the aircon power + the computer power is within the wall outlet capacity, then it should be alright. We hope this helps!

      Reply
  5. Auwie Faderanga

    Hi Sir please recommend the size of AVR if I will use 5 units of Dynamelt D25 series Adhesive Supply unit on it?

    Dynamelt D25 series
    Rated Voltage:230v
    Freq:60HZ
    Current:22 Amp
    Wattage:15800 Watts

    Thank’s in advance sir

    Reply
    • Panther Support

      Good day! You would require a 16,000 Watts AVR for your Dynamelt (to account for the startup power motor consumption). Unfortunately, we currently manufacture up to 5,000 Watts AVRs in only, but can offer up made-to-order higher wattage AVRs if needed. If you’re interested in an MTO (made-to-order) AVR, kindly email us your detailed requirements pantherproduct@gmail.com, and we will get back to you with a quotation and lead time. Thank you!

      Reply
  6. sky jimenez

    LG window type A.C
    115V , 12A
    60hz
    14000 btu/h
    what AVR capacity can you recommend.. thankyou

    Reply
    • Panther Support

      Good day! If 115V 12A is the PEAK power consumption, then we would recommend the PVR 2000: https://panther.ph/product/pvr-2000-relay-type-avr/
      This is 2-in-1 already, which has an AVR (to protect from voltage fluctuation) and a transformer (to convert the 220V voltage of the Philippines to the 115V required by your AC). This also includes power-on-delay protection. We hope this helps!

      Reply
  7. JACKRAY M MOSOMOS

    what is AVR needed for my 2200 watts automatic washing machine front loader

    Reply
    • Panther Support

      Good day! So we can make sure we are providing an accurate recommendation, could you provide the ampere and voltage of your automatic washing machine front loader as well? Thank you!

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *