Power usage on a light switched off

[Hean10]

I have an incandescent light pendant 230v and using 1500w when on however the light also has the current x voltage when switched off. There are no transformers or dimmers fitted to the circuit have you got any explanations for this? I'm unsure if I'm missing something very simple or not!

Thanks for your help

 

[steptoe]

when it is off,

does it have a current or a voltage? they are 2 very different things.

also, how are you measuring it?

I think you are probably seeing an induced voltage, that is a voltage that isnt really there, but the type of meter you are using cant distinguish.

 

[ProDave]

A 1500W incandescent pendant light?

Heating as well as lighting?

If that's on a 6A switch, the switch might be fooked as it's very close to it's maximum rating.

 

[jopo]

I apologise for being insensitive to your request Hean10, What are you on about.

Good to see you guys get questions like these as well.

 

[Hean10]

The light was showing a wattage of 1.5kw on the efergy home usage meter when everything else was switched off the reason is to find out why the meter was showing such power when there was no circuits on. The meter was fitted to the lighting circuit to discover the initisl problem and it would act a little like a heater as it has 60 25w bulbs on board it's no ordinary light! I havent been working on this directly though I would take the induced voltage advice and try different meters on the circuit. Still can't understand why the meter would show kw if no current and voltage were present together!

 

[ProDave]

You need to do some proper measurements with a clamp meter to see where this 1.5KW is actually going.

I'll bet there's something else connected to the lighting circuit that you don't yet know about.

Can we have a picture of this light fitting with 60 25W bulbs?

 

[Steve3948]

You need to do some proper measurements with a clamp meter to see where this 1.5KW is actually going.I'll bet there's something else connected to the lighting circuit that you don't yet know about.

Can we have a picture of this light fitting with 60 25W bulbs?

Weird, we did a refurb last year where the existing hall chandelier had blown the dimmer, that had 50 lamps and should have been 15W lamps, but as they had blown the client started replacing them with 25W lamps, and then the 1000W dimmer went.

 

[NozSpark]

Weird, we did a refurb last year where the existing hall chandelier had blown the dimmer, that had 50 lamps and should have been 15W lamps, but as they had blown the client started replacing them with 25W lamps, and then the 1000W dimmer went.

Thats always the way,,,

and those 3 x 20W downlights with one transformer that always get replaced with 50W lamps and then they wonder why the transformer has failed

 

[Evans Electric]

Hean , you need to be more precise , I find this confusing , why do you think its that light fitting and not some other thing . As said above you need to isolate the offending part of the installation with a clampmeter . Or yank the S/W out of the switch and see if it goes away.

 

[Steve3948]

+1 with the above.

Last week I had a client who is not happy with her electricity bills saying her LCD TV was drawing 1.5kW, and she knew this because everything else was off. I told her to switch all Mcb's off except the one supplying the TV and call me back if it was still showing 1.5kW.

She never called back, egg on face me thinks.