16
Nov
Does the thickness of the wire affect power consumption?
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When we are shopping for wires, we may also encounter such a problem, wires are divided into different squares, some people say that the thick line is good, the current carrying capacity is large; some people say that there is no need to buy such a thick line. Then the thickness of the wire will affect the power consumption？
In our life, we may feel that thin wires tend to heat up, which is the conversion of electrical energy into heat energy. Also, in an electric circuit, wires can be seen as being connected in series with electrical equipment. In a series circuit, the higher the resistance, the more voltage is distributed, which reduces the voltage on the electrical equipment, so it can be concluded that under the same conditions, thin wires consume more electricity.
The thickness of the wire (wire cross-section) corresponds to the load capacity, i.e. the permissible normal operating current. In pure theory, the thicker the wire diameter, the smaller the wire loss, and the larger the wire loss, but we cannot blindly increase the thicker diameter in order to save one unit of electricity in 10 years. This is neither economical nor necessary. Therefore, the selection should be based on matching the allowable nominal current of the wire with the maximum operating current of the line.
There are two reasons why wires consume more power, one is that thin wires have high resistance, the same current generates more heat and consumes more power; the other is that with high resistance, the voltage drop is large and the final load voltage is low. For many loads, such as motors, low voltage results in low efficiency, but the current increases and the power consumption increases dramatically.
As we can see, the thinner the wire, the more electricity it consumes. So on the other hand, the thicker the wire, the more electricity you save? You should know that no matter how thick the wire is, there is always resistance, so it is inevitable that the wire consumes electricity to generate heat. The thicker the wire is the less power it will consume indeed, but the cost of purchasing the wire will also increase, so it is important to use the wire with the right specifications.
In our life, we may feel that thin wires tend to heat up, which is the conversion of electrical energy into heat energy. Also, in an electric circuit, wires can be seen as being connected in series with electrical equipment. In a series circuit, the higher the resistance, the more voltage is distributed, which reduces the voltage on the electrical equipment, so it can be concluded that under the same conditions, thin wires consume more electricity.
The thickness of the wire (wire cross-section) corresponds to the load capacity, i.e. the permissible normal operating current. In pure theory, the thicker the wire diameter, the smaller the wire loss, and the larger the wire loss, but we cannot blindly increase the thicker diameter in order to save one unit of electricity in 10 years. This is neither economical nor necessary. Therefore, the selection should be based on matching the allowable nominal current of the wire with the maximum operating current of the line.
There are two reasons why wires consume more power, one is that thin wires have high resistance, the same current generates more heat and consumes more power; the other is that with high resistance, the voltage drop is large and the final load voltage is low. For many loads, such as motors, low voltage results in low efficiency, but the current increases and the power consumption increases dramatically.
As we can see, the thinner the wire, the more electricity it consumes. So on the other hand, the thicker the wire, the more electricity you save? You should know that no matter how thick the wire is, there is always resistance, so it is inevitable that the wire consumes electricity to generate heat. The thicker the wire is the less power it will consume indeed, but the cost of purchasing the wire will also increase, so it is important to use the wire with the right specifications.
