Discuss Bill Compton's answer to: Physics

what do we call the heat generated by a current passing through a resistance?

Bill Compton
Bill Compton Answered:

Let us differentiate.

The number of WATTS a circuit will use, is: W=IV

Where:

W=Watts
I=Current delivered
V=Voltage.

Let us also consider the amount of heat you will realize from that amount of power.

H=3/7W

Where:

H=Heat (in BTU's)
W=Power into a heating circuit

We see that resistance electrical heat is only about 3/7 as efficient as it should be.  (precise figures are a bit different: I have rounded up here).

Hence, we see the efficiencies realized by such as heat pumps, which deliver 80-85% of the energy input into heat inside your home depending on the temperature outside your home.

Guard, protect and cherish your land, for there is no afterlife for a place that started out as Heaven. Charles M. Russell, Montana, 1929.
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