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Ty performs an experiment with a heater to teach the apprentices about Watt’s law in action. He connects the electric heater to an adapter that displays the voltage and amperage of the device. The apprentices multiplied the volts by the amps to yield about 913 watts. The resistance, on the other hand, was quite low; the multimeter only measured about 13 ohms of resistance.

The class performed a second experiment using an iron. The iron also had 13 ohms of resistance, but it put out slightly more heat, about 994 watts.

Although the iron and the heater have different applications, they are the same at the core. Both the iron and the heater are electrical conversion devices. They convert electrical energy into heat energy, and higher wattage will generate more heat for both appliances.

The voltage will drop when other appliances begin running. The voltage may also drop when the wires are not large enough to feed the current to the home or the appliances. These voltage drops can lead to electrical failure. So, when components that utilize electricity fail much more frequently than usual, the problem could originate from improper wire sizes.

You may not see issues with the wire sizes until you check the volts and watts of a component under load. Make sure your diagnostic process includes taking your watts and voltage readings under load to avoid some embarrassing misdiagnoses.

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