blargman Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm curious. What's the best steps to use when determining your power needs? Are there cheap measurement devices that can tell you how much you are using? I've got all of my home theater running off a 15amp circuit at the moment. Misu 65" dlp, onkyo 809 receiver, xbox, satellite box, wifi router. I plan on adding a sub to this outlet and a separate amp (prob xpa-2). I'm just curious what I can do to make sure I don't go over. What have you all done in regards to your home theaters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 On the back of all your devices, usually near the power plug, there should be a voltage and current rating for each product. Choosing your breakers based on the sum of all those currents will guarantee that you won't have any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 24, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 24, 2012 I was worried when we bought our home. It was 2 months away from being completed when we found it and purchased it. The electric had already been installed with a 15amp circuit to the "Media Room". I've yet to trip a breaker running my PS3, Dual Velodyne subs (1250 watts each) and my Parasound (220w x 5) amp as well as lights, projector and 3 electric theater chairs. I probably shouldn't push my luck by adding something else. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8g Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 If all your equipment is run off a single circuit, a 15 amp breaker should be fine. If you add things like a space heater or fridge on that same circuit you may be running a bit thin. I have my 2 systems on their own 15 amp circuits and I have never had a problem. But the theater stuff is the only draw on those circuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 it's rare that a 15A breaker runs exclusively to your HT outlet. You need to figure out what else is on the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 If you can run a dedicated 20amp circuit with 12/2 you should be fine with what you describe. I just did this about 6 months ago and ran 2 20amp dedicated for the HT and have a 15amp close that has no more load than a couple of lamps so while that may be more than most, I won't ever have an issue with running multiple amps and a lot of other equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Ditto on what Pete said. Good "insurance policy" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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