Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

You'll be just fine




"T.J." wrote in message
oups.com...
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

"T.J." wrote in message
oups.com...
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.


Not that tough to compute if you really are a computer geek.

500 W power supply at 120 volts AC = 5 Amps approximately if you want to use
conservative figures.

So factor in the peripherals - which really don't draw much at all, and
you're getting pretty damn close to 20A at full draw startup.

On 30 Jan 2007 18:12:33 -0800, "T.J." wrote:

Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is.

Has no disks, and is booted from the network?

it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

Shouldn't be a problem.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

True thin client workstations are far less power hungry than their
larger PC cousins. Also, keep in mind that even though a desktop PC
may have a 400-watt power supply, its maximum power draw is likely to
be less than half that.

Here's the scoop according to eWeek:

"While a PC can consume as much as 220 watts of power, a thin client
such as Sun's Sun Ray 2FS consumes less than 8 watts. Even a thin
client with a processor and DDR (double data rate) RAM such as HP's HP
Compaq t5720 consumes about 30 watts or less."

Source:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1958315,00.asp

If the accompanying monitors are LCD flat screens, add an additional
30 to 60-watts per workstation; if, however, they are of the CRT
variety, you might bump that number up to 100 or 120-watts.

One other thing to note: if these thin clients are, in fact, older
generation or "obsolete" PCs that have been "reborn" as thin clients,
150-watts per workstation may be a more reasonable estimate.

So with that in mind, total wattage could fall anywhere from as little
as 150 to 200-watts ( 2.0 amps) at the low end, to perhaps as high as
800 or 900-watts ( 8.0 amps), with the monitor type accounting for
much of this spread. Even at 900-watts, this load would represent
less than half the circuit's rated capacity; a 20-amp circuit would
seem more than sufficient.

Cheers,
Paul

On 30 Jan 2007 18:12:33 -0800, "T.J." wrote:

Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

"Paul M. Eldridge" wrote in message
...
True thin client workstations are far less power hungry than their
larger PC cousins. Also, keep in mind that even though a desktop PC
may have a 400-watt power supply, its maximum power draw is likely to
be less than half that.

Here's the scoop according to eWeek:

"While a PC can consume as much as 220 watts of power, a thin client
such as Sun's Sun Ray 2FS consumes less than 8 watts. Even a thin
client with a processor and DDR (double data rate) RAM such as HP's HP
Compaq t5720 consumes about 30 watts or less."

Source:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1958315,00.asp

If the accompanying monitors are LCD flat screens, add an additional
30 to 60-watts per workstation; if, however, they are of the CRT
variety, you might bump that number up to 100 or 120-watts.

One other thing to note: if these thin clients are, in fact, older
generation or "obsolete" PCs that have been "reborn" as thin clients,
150-watts per workstation may be a more reasonable estimate.

So with that in mind, total wattage could fall anywhere from as little
as 150 to 200-watts ( 2.0 amps) at the low end, to perhaps as high as
800 or 900-watts ( 8.0 amps), with the monitor type accounting for
much of this spread. Even at 900-watts, this load would represent
less than half the circuit's rated capacity; a 20-amp circuit would
seem more than sufficient.

Cheers,
Paul

Well personally I would go by the wattage of the power supply, not what a
magazine article tells me, but I don't manage thin clients in my data
center.

I suspose you're probably more realistic here. If it were me I'd break it
out into at least 2 15 Amp circuits - not knowing anything at all about his
situation other than what little was provided. At least then you could
comfortably put something else on the circuit - like lights, a small fridge,
network routers, fans for the room, a radio, creature comforts.


On 30 Jan 2007 18:12:33 -0800, "T.J." wrote:

Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

T.J. wrote:
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

Hi,
Typical computer power supply is ~400W rated. I can see any problem.
CRT monitors consume quite a bit more than LCD panels.

According to the EPA, a typical desktop computer uses between 25 and
60-watts and a CRT monitor between 55 and 90-watts (they peg LCD
monitors at 30-watts). At the upper end, that suggests the combined
wattage of a computer and monitor would be in the order of 150-watts.

Source:
http://www.microtech.doe.gov/energystar/

According to an article published in this week's Economist, "a typical
desktop and monitor together use perhaps 150 watts."

Source:
http://www.economist.com/daily/colum...ory_id=8615835

Tufts University tells us "the average desktop computer uses about 120
Watts (the monitor uses 75 Watts, and the CPU uses 45 Watts.)"

Source:
http://www.tufts.edu/tie/tci/Computers.html

A 20-inch iMac "with both of Core Duo's cores cranked to 100 percent
utilization," is reported to consume just 95-watts.

Source:
http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterpri...keeps_its.html

So, if you wanted to be a bit more cautious, you might budget a
combined total of 200-watts per workstation. Again, we're told these
are thin clients and not high-end servers, so you wouldn't expect them
to be decked out with multiple hard drives nor power guzzling
multi-chip processors.

Cheers,
Paul

On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 20:54:55 -0800, "Eigenvector"
wrote:

Well personally I would go by the wattage of the power supply, not what a
magazine article tells me, but I don't manage thin clients in my data
center.

I suspose you're probably more realistic here. If it were me I'd break it
out into at least 2 15 Amp circuits - not knowing anything at all about his
situation other than what little was provided. At least then you could
comfortably put something else on the circuit - like lights, a small fridge,
network routers, fans for the room, a radio, creature comforts.

On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 21:14:14 -0500, "RBM" rbm2(remove
wrote:

You'll be just fine




"T.J." wrote in message
roups.com...
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.


Every bit of electrical equipment with a UL rating should have
somewhere on it a plate that tell you what sort of power it draws.

Add them up.

Two desktop PCs.
One Compaq Proliant 2500 server
Two 21" CRTs
One Laptop PC
5-10 60W bulbs

.... is too much for a 15 amp circuit. I guess people didn't use
equipment like that back when wiring four rooms per circuit was okay.

I almost picked up a 5-node RS6000 on Ebay but I'd have had to rewire
the house to power it!

-rev



On Jan 30, 9:12 pm, "T.J." wrote:
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 04:10:04 GMT, Paul M. Eldridge
wrote:

True thin client workstations are far less power hungry than their
larger PC cousins.

There should be very little startup surge, since there's no disks.

Also, keep in mind that even though a desktop PC
may have a 400-watt power supply, its maximum power draw is likely to
be less than half that.


And power consumption will be higher than THAT. These things (power
supplies) aren't 100% efficient.

Here's the scoop according to eWeek:

"While a PC can consume as much as 220 watts of power, a thin client
such as Sun's Sun Ray 2FS consumes less than 8 watts. Even a thin
client with a processor and DDR (double data rate) RAM such as HP's HP
Compaq t5720 consumes about 30 watts or less."

Source:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1958315,00.asp

If the accompanying monitors are LCD flat screens, add an additional
30 to 60-watts per workstation; if, however, they are of the CRT
variety, you might bump that number up to 100 or 120-watts.


A large CRT monitor can easily use more power than the computer
itself. A good reason for turning the monitor off when you're not
using it.

One other thing to note: if these thin clients are, in fact, older
generation or "obsolete" PCs that have been "reborn" as thin clients,
150-watts per workstation may be a more reasonable estimate.

So with that in mind, total wattage could fall anywhere from as little
as 150 to 200-watts ( 2.0 amps) at the low end, to perhaps as high as
800 or 900-watts ( 8.0 amps), with the monitor type accounting for
much of this spread. Even at 900-watts, this load would represent
less than half the circuit's rated capacity; a 20-amp circuit would
seem more than sufficient.

Cheers,
Paul

On 30 Jan 2007 18:12:33 -0800, "T.J." wrote:

Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 20:54:55 -0800, "Eigenvector"
wrote:


"Paul M. Eldridge" wrote in message
.. .
True thin client workstations are far less power hungry than their
larger PC cousins. Also, keep in mind that even though a desktop PC
may have a 400-watt power supply, its maximum power draw is likely to
be less than half that.

Here's the scoop according to eWeek:

"While a PC can consume as much as 220 watts of power, a thin client
such as Sun's Sun Ray 2FS consumes less than 8 watts. Even a thin
client with a processor and DDR (double data rate) RAM such as HP's HP
Compaq t5720 consumes about 30 watts or less."

Source:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1958315,00.asp

If the accompanying monitors are LCD flat screens, add an additional
30 to 60-watts per workstation; if, however, they are of the CRT
variety, you might bump that number up to 100 or 120-watts.

One other thing to note: if these thin clients are, in fact, older
generation or "obsolete" PCs that have been "reborn" as thin clients,
150-watts per workstation may be a more reasonable estimate.

So with that in mind, total wattage could fall anywhere from as little
as 150 to 200-watts ( 2.0 amps) at the low end, to perhaps as high as
800 or 900-watts ( 8.0 amps), with the monitor type accounting for
much of this spread. Even at 900-watts, this load would represent
less than half the circuit's rated capacity; a 20-amp circuit would
seem more than sufficient.

Cheers,
Paul

Well personally I would go by the wattage of the power supply, not what a
magazine article tells me, but I don't manage thin clients in my data
center.


I have 3 computers on the same circuit. 2 have LCD monitors and the
other monitor is off most of the time.

This same circuit is used part of the time to power about 5-8A of
holiday lights.

I suspose you're probably more realistic here. If it were me I'd break it
out into at least 2 15 Amp circuits - not knowing anything at all about his
situation other than what little was provided. At least then you could
comfortably put something else on the circuit - like lights, a small fridge,
network routers, fans for the room, a radio, creature comforts.


On 30 Jan 2007 18:12:33 -0800, "T.J." wrote:

Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.


--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

On 1/30/07 9:12 PM, "T.J." wrote:

Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?

Check the power ratings of the devices and add up the amperage.

Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

If you are talking about something like the Sun Ray devices (
http://www.sun.com/sunray/sunray2/ ) then the power draw is probably quite
low. The monitors and printer will be the major consumers.

On Jan 30, 9:12 pm, "T.J." wrote:
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

Simplest way to find out without guesstimating is to use a Kill-S-
Watt,
and _measure_ the actual va, watts, amps, whatever drawn by the
combination of
devices connected downstream from it. Clue: watts are not the limiting
factor, since power-factor can vary widely; count amps.

Sure bet: nowhere near 20a draw.

HTH,
J

On Jan 30, 9:12 pm, "T.J." wrote:
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

Go wireless and forget about the circuit completely. That is what
wireless means isn't it?

Why won't these d*mn systems boot up?

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:05:54 -0500, Robert Haar
wrote:

On 1/30/07 9:12 PM, "T.J." wrote:

Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?

Check the power ratings of the devices and add up the amperage.

Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

If you are talking about something like the Sun Ray devices (
http://www.sun.com/sunray/sunray2/ ) then the power draw is probably quite
low. The monitors and printer will be the major consumers.

The printer should be a major consumer only when printing.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

On 31 Jan 2007 17:37:13 -0800, wrote:

On Jan 30, 9:12 pm, "T.J." wrote:
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

Simplest way to find out without guesstimating is to use a Kill-S-
Watt,
and _measure_ the actual va, watts, amps, whatever drawn by the
combination of
devices connected downstream from it. Clue: watts are not the limiting
factor, since power-factor can vary widely; count amps.


I was wondering how long this thread would get before someone
suggested measuring the actual usage.

Sure bet: nowhere near 20a draw.


Maybe if you put 3 or 4 big CRT monitors on each computer.

HTH,
J
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

On 31 Jan 2007 17:44:59 -0800, "DerbyDad03"
wrote:

On Jan 30, 9:12 pm, "T.J." wrote:
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

Go wireless and forget about the circuit completely. That is what
wireless means isn't it?


If everything was completely wireless, there'd still need to be a
power source. I heard something about "power-over-RF" recently.

Why won't these d*mn systems boot up?
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

On 31 Jan 2007 17:44:59 -0800, "DerbyDad03"
wrote:

On Jan 30, 9:12 pm, "T.J." wrote:
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

Go wireless and forget about the circuit completely. That is what
wireless means isn't it?

Why won't these d*mn systems boot up?

For completely wireless systems, there's this little device invented
in the reality at subchronon offset SC.012456890 This device draws 12A
and generates a powerful subspace field. Any computers equipped with
the proper receivers can receive up to 76.8A.

One unwanted side effect is that all the beer within 1000 meters will
suddenly become antibeer, with explosive results.

On Jan 31, 9:49 pm, Harry wrote:
On 31 Jan 2007 17:44:59 -0800, "DerbyDad03"
wrote:

On Jan 30, 9:12 pm, "T.J." wrote:
Can anybody tell me if 3 computers are too much for a 20 amp circuit?
Actually it is 3 monitors a printer "not laser" and 3 thin clients if
anybody knows what a thin client is. it is about the size of a book
and is not a full tower so I assume it consumes alot less power then a
full computer tower.

Go wireless and forget about the circuit completely. That is what
wireless means isn't it?

Why won't these d*mn systems boot up?

For completely wireless systems, there's this little device invented
in the reality at subchronon offset SC.012456890 This device draws 12A
and generates a powerful subspace field. Any computers equipped with
the proper receivers can receive up to 76.8A.

One unwanted side effect is that all the beer within 1000 meters will
suddenly become antibeer, with explosive results.

I must have tried that antibeer. Something I drank sure gave me
explosive results.

Hi Mark,

OK, I realize I'm being a F-N PITA this evening, but I wanted to note
the OP has indicated the printer is "not laser", so I'm taking that
to mean it's an ink jet. And if that's the case, the difference
between operating and standby consumption should be fairly modest.

We now return you to your regular programme, already in progress....

Cheers,
Paul

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:36:06 -0600, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

The printer should be a major consumer only when printing.

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 04:32:40 GMT, Paul M. Eldridge
wrote:

Hi Mark,

OK, I realize I'm being a F-N PITA this evening, but I wanted to note
the OP has indicated the printer is "not laser", so I'm taking that
to mean it's an ink jet. And if that's the case, the difference
between operating and standby consumption should be fairly modest.


I remember some ratings that were very different, but haven't actually
measured it. Yet.

I checked my inkjet printer (Epson Stylus Photo R220). Measured
current consumption during standby was 20mA. During initialization or
printing, it varied with a maximum of 90mA. This printer doesn't use
much power, and that isn't a very big change compared to the
information I had (probably for a very old printer, maybe it was
laser).

I do remember something about not putting a laser printer on a UPS
because of the power surges.

So, I'm saying you're right. I don't have a problem admitting mistakes
I actually made.

We now return you to your regular programme, already in progress....

Cheers,
Paul

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:36:06 -0600, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

The printer should be a major consumer only when printing.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Unlike biological evolution. 'intelligent design' is
not a genuine scientific theory and, therefore, has
no place in the curriculum of our nation's public
school classes." -- Ted Kennedy

Hi Mark,

I hadn't set out to prove anyone right or wrong, but I did want to
assure the OP that the varying power demands of an ink jet printer are
really very modest compared to those of a laser, and that the printer
wouldn't have any material impact on circuit capacity compared to
these other loads (which I think we're all agree are fairly modest in
themselves).

Cheers,
Paul

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 13:03:26 -0600, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 04:32:40 GMT, Paul M. Eldridge
wrote:

Hi Mark,

OK, I realize I'm being a F-N PITA this evening, but I wanted to note
the OP has indicated the printer is "not laser", so I'm taking that
to mean it's an ink jet. And if that's the case, the difference
between operating and standby consumption should be fairly modest.


I remember some ratings that were very different, but haven't actually
measured it. Yet.

I checked my inkjet printer (Epson Stylus Photo R220). Measured
current consumption during standby was 20mA. During initialization or
printing, it varied with a maximum of 90mA. This printer doesn't use
much power, and that isn't a very big change compared to the
information I had (probably for a very old printer, maybe it was
laser).

I do remember something about not putting a laser printer on a UPS
because of the power surges.

So, I'm saying you're right. I don't have a problem admitting mistakes
I actually made.