How much power can I use?

[Ben Walker]

Hey guys. I have 130 sets of lights that are just standard led from the stores. I run this off 2 outlets that is 10amps. How many sets will I be able to run off the house without blowing the power. The lights are all 100% waterproof. Thanks.

 

[fasteddy]

This would be determined by the rating of the string itself which should be on the box, or you could use the rating from the power supply that comes with the lights because the power used can vary depending the LEDs used, the number of lights in a string and the voltage.

Normally you can get away with a lot before you would trip the power circuits overload protection as the traditional LED shop bought lights take minimal power

For example if using standard shop bought single colour strings basing on a current of 10mA per LED @12vdc and each string has 100 LEDs then the current per string would be 0.05amps @ 240v per string
So for a standard 10 amp wall socket then you could run 200 strings

But I suspect the lights you have may draw far less than this as this is just an example as there are a lot of details that are missing to make a realistic calculation

In the end if you have too many connected to a circuit then all that will happen is the Circuit Breaker will trip the power off which you just have to reset (unless you still have the old fuses)

The fact that you a running these on 2 power circuits means you should have no issue unless you have other high current devices (toaster, kettle) on the same circuit.

 

[David_AVD]

The plugpack for each set of lights should list a wattage (or VA) rating.

Basically add them all up and make sure they are less than 2400W for a standard 10A power point.

 

[Ben Walker]

The plugpack for each set of lights should list a wattage (or VA) rating.

Basically add them all up and make sure they are less than 2400W for a standard 10A power point.

Is that 2400W per outlet. So I have two outlets and could draw 4800W?

 

[Mark_M]

Is that 2400W per outlet. So I have two outlets and could draw 4800W?

Not always.
Each plug socket can handle 2400w but a room is likely wired on the same breaker.
If the plugs are on the same wall plate then definitely not. If they're in the same room i'd be suspicious.
Using sockets from different rooms should be ok.

You might need to turn off breakers to see which breakers control each socket.

 

[scamper]

Not always.
Each plug socket can handle 2400w but a room is likely wired on the same breaker.
If the plugs are on the same wall plate then definitely not. If they're in the same room i'd be suspicious.
Using sockets from different rooms should be ok.

You might need to turn off breakers to see which breakers control each socket.

Or do what I did the first year, keep loading them up until the breaker pops, then move things around
Well actually I accidentally discovered that my fridge was on the same breaker as a lot of my lights, only at certain times when I had a lot of white and the fridge decided to kick in I would loose everything.

 

[David_AVD]

Is that 2400W per outlet. So I have two outlets and could draw 4800W?

If you mean a double outlet or two single outlet on the same circuit, then the limit will be the circuit breaker rating. Some houses have 16A breakers and some have 20A breakers per circuit (3840W / 4800W respectively). As other have said, you need to be mindful of what else that circuit is feeding.