On 28 Jul 98 at 22:00, Chuck Finnigan wrote:

>     This may be off base for this list, but I'm going to give it a go.  I'm
> setting up a 28 workstation computer lab at my school in a classroom that
> has two 20 amp circuits.  The computers will be 200w P166's, and the lab
> will also house a PII server, HP 4000 printer, HP 870 printer, LCD projector
> and a good floor fan (the room has a southern exposure and heats up rather
> nicely).  The head of our district maintenance dept called me tonight with
> concerns that two 20 amp circuits might be insufficient for what we're
> trying to do.  The building was completely rebuilt in 1992 so that the
> wiring meets all current standards.
>     Are we going to be in trouble if we don't increase the circuits and
> wiring to that room?  I tend to think not as computers are not that power
> hungry during usage.  It's the initial powering up that exerts a load.  Any
> thoughts on the matter would be much appreciated.

  Well, let's do some back of the envelope math.  At 120v, a 20amp
circuit has a theoretical capacity of 2400W.  With a typical PC power
supply at 230/250/300W, that's about 10 "system units"; that doesn't
count monitors and printers and so on.
  So you might be able to get your entire intended load onto THREE
circuits -- FOUR would be better.  Your current two are very unlikely
to be sufficient.  [I went through a similar exercise last year,
turning a conference room into a burn-in workshop....]

David G