Will putting a mini fridge in my bedroom cause a power outage?

Question

So far my major power drainers in my room right now are my computer, my 60 inch big screen, and ps3. I tried microwaving some food in my room and it caused a power outage. If i put in a mini fridge will this cause a black out? It's one of the smaller mini fridges too.

Answer 1

It does depend on what else is running on the circuit.  Most (not all) microwaves use a lot more power then a fridge does.  I would assume a mini fridge will use less.  Long story short. . . You should be ok.  Sounds like a sweet set up too!

Answer 2

A power outage, a black out?

It must be a h**l of a microwave, to bring down a whole part of the local grid. Do you cook entire sides of beef in it?

You really need to know all of the loads placed on the overcurrent protective device for the branch circuit supplying the room. DO NOT simply put in a breaker or fuse with a higher overcurrent rating. (If you have fuses, hopefully, they have had type "S" adaptors added to circuits exceeding 15 Amps.)

It is very likely that your bedroom shares a circuit with at least one additional room, plus maybe the hallway. In older dwellings, sometimes an entire floor is supplied from a single 15Amp circuit.

If your computer is left on all of the time (actually for three hours or more) it must be figured as a continuous load, and the Amperes required for not just the CPU, but the monitor as well, must be multiplied by 125%.

You need to find the total Ampacity of everything that requires power at the same time. If an appliance (or, the light bulbs) gives you only a rating in "Watts", divide that by 120 to get the Amps. You will be surprised at how little current you may be drawing now; but add an appliance that requires a lot of current to start up, and that may very well put you over the top.

About the only thing I can recommend, is to try a "HACR" rated breaker, or "Time Delay" fuse of the same ampacity as what you currently have. That may allow the initial "in-rush" of current to pass without opening the overcurrent protection.

Be safe, and hire a qualified, Licensed Electrical Contractor to check these things out; and to change the breaker if necessary. If you can afford the 60" TV, and the ps3, you can afford to get professional help.

Unfortunately, a lot of the breakers on the market are HACR rated, and that upgrade may not be an option. A professional may be able to help you by adding a sub-panel or transferring some of the load to another circuit. Be careful to avoid “over fusing” the circuit; it’s safer to drink your beer warm.

Answer 3

no i don't think so...my friend has 1 in her room

Answer 4

One way to find out is to do the following:

1) find out if you have one one electrical circuit or more tha one that you will be using.  Each residential breaker is usually a 15 amp breaker. Find out how may breakers and if they are 15 amp.

2) each appliance you use is required by law to have a data plate on it saying how much power it requires. It usually states the voltage and the watts

Watts is found by this formula .... watts equals voltage times amps. Example a 60 watt light bulb uses 120 volts time .5 amps......   120 X .5 = 60

3) add up the power requirements (amps) of each item you plan to run at the same time.  If the totla amps required is less than the breaker rating then you will not have a problem. If say your total power required is 20 amps and the breaker supplying those items is only 15 amps, you will trip the breaker.

Answer 5

Anything that produces heat or cold draws a lot of power...the fridge will probably trip the breaker if it is plugged into the same circuit you have all that other stuff on.

Answer 6

depends what else is drawing power it sounds like the main thing drawing power in your room is the tv as im guessing its a plasma. If it is only your tv and fridge working then this shouldn't be a problem as the fridge will draw far less than a computer and ps3.