10 Comments

So on a 50 amp service and you have one leg pulling 10 amps and the other leg pulling 35 amps does the meter read the total amps or the the highest leg?

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The kWh meter measures the total energy used of both legs, so it’s amps x volts x time of leg one, plus amps x volts x time of leg 2 = watt-hrs used. Does that answer your question?

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I kinda thought that might be the way it works. I was told it was based on the leg that has the higher amp draw, which isn't the case.

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So I’m curious who told you that only the higher current leg was measured. Was it on a website or Facebook group. If so, then whoever posted it is spreading misinformation.

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I believe it was on a Facebook sites. Where if there was too much wired into one leg of the panel. You should "balance" the load in the panel.

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I sure enjoyed the article! It does leave me with a question though. Why has it taken so long for the industry to think about energy efficiency?

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Inertia… That’s how it’s always been done!

And anything that costs extra is seen as a detriment to product sales.

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I wish they would make it an option. I think there are people like me that jump on it if it was. I am always looking for options!

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If your RV is old enough to still have lights with non-LED bulbs, change them out for LED bulbs or change out the fixtures. Goes for incandescent bulbs as well as halogen and fluorescent. LED’s use 1/10 of the power that the older lights do. You can get them in all different brightness levels and color temperature. The “soft” or “warm” bulbs have a slight reddish tinge that looks more like the old bulbs some of us grew up with.

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That’s a great suggestion. LED bulbs can now be found with a “soft white” color balance which is a lot more pleasant than the harsh blue glare and flicker of fluorescent bulbs or early LEDs. Plus LED bulbs use about 10% of the energy compared to tungsten bulbs.

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