Space heaters are devices people use to heat specific areas of a house or office space. With most space heaters being electric, it isn’t surprising to hear someone ask, how many amps does a space heater use?
That’s a valid question to ponder, especially if you want to buy a space heater. That’s why we have offered you the best answer to the question and what else you will need to consider.
How many Amps Does a Space Heater Use?
To capably answer this question, you first need to know the wattage of your heater. Different space heaters come with varying capacities of wattage. After learning that, it’s now easier for you to calculate the number of amps your space heater would use if you run it for the usual time.
But why should you know the number of amps your heater will use? Here’s why. Low amp space heaters will use lesser electricity and, in the long run, be easier to run. High amp pace heaters will rack up the electricity bills and make your energy bills extremely high.
The wattage capacity will tell you the amps your heater uses. When buying the space heaters, you might have noticed that there is a wattage rating on them. What that means is that it will require the rated amount of electricity to run it.
That’s why most people often want to go for low-wattage heaters over high-wattage heaters. High voltage heaters will use up a lot more electricity.
Therefore, judging on the heater wattage, we can use the formula below to know the amps a space heater needs to run.
Amps= Watts ÷ Voltage.
To determine the amperage of a heater, you would need to divide the wattage with the voltage. For instance, if your house runs on a nominal 120 volts, dividing that by the heater’s wattage should get you the amperage.
Let’s take the example of a 1500-watt heater in a household that uses, say, 150 volts. Dividing 1500 with 150 would get you 10amps. It, therefore, follows that the number of amps a heater will use will depend on the heater’s wattage.
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How Many Amps Does A 2000 Watt Heater Draw?
On a standard voltage of 240 volts for most households, a 2000-watt heater would draw 8.3 amps. We got to that figure by dividing 2000 with the rated voltage for the specific home.
To get the amps, you need to run a specific heater that formula is sure away to determine it. You would need to know the nominal voltage of your household.
A 1500 watt heater would draw 12.5 amps on a standard 120-volt power supply. That doesn’t change even if you are using an infrared space heater. Most people think such heaters will usually draw a lesser number of amps.
It is also worth noting that space heaters will draw the same number of amps even when running them on low.
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Why Is it Important to Know The Amps a Heater Uses?
This is vital information to have since it would determine whether you would have issues with your heater or not. For instance, if you buy a high-wattage heater but don’t know the amps it would draw, you might end up having issues with running it courtesy of your circuit breaker.
The circuit breaker would trip each time you run your space heater and thus inconvenience you in the process. That’s why you need to know the amps a specific heater would draw.
Knowing the amps a space heater will draw will also enable you to understand how to run it safely. For instance, you will see that you can’t use the space heater with an extension cord.
Extension cords are often incapable of holding the total electric load that a space heater would need. That’s why it is often a good idea to plug the space heater directly onto the wall socket.
Finally, understanding wattage and the number of amps a heater draws will help you know what appliances to use while the heater is on. Space heaters have a significant electric load to them.
That’s why it’s common to see them trip the circuit breaker when you use them in conjunction with many other appliances. If you understand the number of amps a heater requires, you know what appliances to switch off when using the heater.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q – How many amps do a portable space heater use?
A – The number of amps a portable space heater uses depends on its wattage. If it’s a 1500 watt portable space heater, it will use 12.5 amps if your home’s nominal voltage is 120 volts.
Q – How much electricity does a space heater use?
A – The most common space heaters use 1500 watts for every hour you have them on. This, however, varies with the model. You can get some that can be as high as 2000 watts and some lower than that at 750 watts.
Final Thoughts
So, how many amps does a space heater use? We hope we’ve been able to answer you on all fronts adequately. With the formula we have provided, you can quickly determine the number of amps it would take to run your space heater.
Understanding the amps a heater needs to run will enable you to avoid tripping the breaker each time you decide to warm up the house.
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