Power distribution in a bedroom?

[kirkbross]

I'm getting ready to set up a new studio in a (rental) house that was completely gutted and fitted with new plumbing and electrical about a year ago. So, I'm assuming that's a good thing for my electrical situation.

Here's a scenario and question to hopefully help me understand power distribution in an average house:

Let's say I have four regular Nema 5-15R in a bedroom. If they are all on the same circuit breaker, does it matter if I plug all my gear into a single outlet (via a large power strip or even a UPS). Or, is it better to plug a few things into each outlet to distribute it evenly around the room. I never understood this concept.

btw, I a computer, some outboard gear, a fender Rhodes, a Hammond B2 organ, powered monitors and misc gear, but obviously, I won't be running everything all at once.

Thanks in advance for any electrical 101 help-

[brianrcdd]

Very interesting question. I'm surprised it doesn't come up more often.

The short answer "should" be if they're all on the same circuit, then it makes no difference. The real answer is the difference may be negligible enough not to matter, but it also depends on how the outlets are physically connected back to the breaker panel. Negligible, but it's worth looking at what the differences could possibly be, for the sake of argument.

Some quick theory (if you are already familiar, forgive me): All wire has some resistance to the flow of electricity. That resistance is distributed more or less evenly across the length of the wire. The longer the wire is, the more resistance it has. The amount of resistance is also dependent on the size or gauge of the wire. The thicker the wire is, the less resistance it has. There are other things that affect resistance such as material (copper, aluminum, etc.), but let's not complicate things for now.

So with that in mind, consider a couple of scenarios. If you plug all of your equipment into the outlet (via an outlet strip maybe) that is the furthest from the circuit breaker, you will have higher resistance than if you used the outlet nearest the breaker. Keep in mind we're talking wire length here, not physical distance. Again, it all depends on how the wires are routed and connected.

Greatly simplified, Ohm's Law tells us higher resistance in a circuit means less electricity. Specifically, given a particular amount of current, higher resistance results in less voltage. The big question would be is this difference in wire length enough to make a significant voltage drop (significant, meaning it will actually have an effect on your equipment)? Probably not, IMHO. You could do the math by finding out how long the wires are in the walls (good luck with that) and calculating the drop based on your current load. Or you could just go around to different outlets and measure the drop with your gear plugged in. But I can tell you the voltage drop resulting from resistance 50 feet of normal house electrical wiring versus 30 feet (at 15 amp load) is about 1.5 volts.

On a 120 volt circuit, this is normally considered to be acceptable. Of course, recording studios and audio equipment are anything but normal. Only you know what your equipment lineup is, and how it would be impacted. But keep in mind that the voltage drop above was based on 15 amps of current. With lower current you get less voltage drop. Again, you know your equipment and should know what current it draws.

So what's the bottom line here? With a small project studio, the difference may not amount to much. If your are running a huge amount of power on your monitors, it may be a different story. But it's always good to understand cause and effect, and what the determing factors are so you can make an intelligent decision. I hope I helped you make that decision rather the completely confusing the issue.

[kirkbross]

Thank you kindly Brian for your thorough response Brian. It has helped a lot.

I will probably not do the detailed math on the draw of each unit and / or the combined load as this is a relatively small project studio, but I will certainly not have enough wall outlets to plug each unit into its own socket (there are probably 4 or 5 double socket wall outlets in the bedroom).

This being the case, what are the advantages to plugging multiple units into a "power conditioner" vs. just a cheap power strip? (I was thinking of spending several hundred on a nice power conditioner if it will provide [more] consistent, clean power).

Thanks again-

[brianrcdd]

It really depends on the unit, but a power conditioner can do several things for you. The basic ones protect against overvoltage and transient surges. Another common feature is protection against radio frequency interference (RFI) on the AC line. As you get into the higher-priced units they protect against voltage sag (low voltage) as well as surge.

I would say it's probably better value to plug most of your gear into a conditioner than to distribute them to different outlets. Just my opinion; others may disagree.