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Welding Machine Power Consumption Calculator

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Welding machine are a common sight in factories and workshops used to weld metal pieces together. Using this simple calculator you can calculate power consumption of your welding machine.

Power consumption of a welding machine can be calculated by multiplying wattage of the welding machine by the operational hours.

For example a welding machine that supplies 160 amp output current at 24 V with 0.89 overall efficiency has rated power of 4.3 kW. If it is used for half an hour then power consumed by the welding machine will be 2.15 kWh.

Calculate Welding Power Consumption:

The rated power of any welding machine can easily be calculate by knowing the output voltage and the output current it supplies.

Watt is the rate at which power a device consumes power and kilowatt hour or unit is the actual power consumption of a device. For example, a 1 kW AC has rated power of 1 kW which means it will consumes power at a rate of 1 kW, hence if AC is ON for two hours it will consume 2 kWh or unit of electricity . Know more on watt & kWh

For example if you have a welding machine which supplies 160 amp output current at 24 V and the overall efficiency of the machine is 0.89 then, the rated power of the welding machine is,

Power (kW) = (Output Voltage X Output Current) / Efficiency

Power (kW) = (24 X 160) / 0.89

Power (kW) = 4.314 kW.

Hence the rated output power of the welding iron is 4.314 kW.

We can use this knowledge to calculate the power consumed by a welding machine in an hour.

To calculate power consumption of your welding machine you have to multiply the wattage of the welding iron by the operational hours.

For example, if we are using the same above welding iron for 1 hour of welding, then the power consumption will be 4.314 kW X 1 hour, 4.314 kWh.

To calculate your welding machine power consumption use the below calculator.

Welding Machine Power Consumption Calculator:

How To Interpret Result:

After calculating your welding machine power consumption for an hour you would think that the power consumption is way to much, but the reality is, seldom we keep the welding machine ON for such a long time.

At max welding is done for 5 – 10 minutes in one stretch and then there is some waiting time before we resume back. Hence for every 1 hour we use our welding machine 30 % of the time goes in changes the welding sticks, clamping the workpiece or doing some other adjustment.

Tips to Reduce Welding Iron Power Consumption:

Consider switching to inverter technology – Portable and lightweight, inverter-based welding power sources provide precise arc-starting capabilities and advanced output controls that allow welders to fine tune their welding output to desired parameters.

The technology behind these units provides manufacturers with a power source that can perform high- and low-amperage flux-cored, stick, TIG and MIG welding, not to mention arc gouging and even CV submerged arc.

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Thank You 🙂

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