What is the approximate increase in wattage if a 208V equipment is connected to a 240V supply?

To determine the approximate increase in wattage when a piece of equipment rated for 208V is connected to a 240V supply, it's essential to understand the relationship between voltage and power consumption. Power (in watts) is calculated using the formula:

Power (P) = Voltage (V) × Current (I)

When the voltage increases, assuming the current remains constant (which is often a reasonable assumption for this kind of assessment), the power consumption will also increase proportionally with the voltage.

First, we can calculate the ratio of the new voltage (240V) to the original voltage (208V):

240V / 208V ≈ 1.1538

This indicates that the voltage is increased by approximately 15.38%.

To find the increase in wattage, we look at how this increase in voltage affects power. Specifically, we can express the new potential power as:

New Power = Old Power × (New Voltage / Old Voltage)

Here we can see that the factor of increase in power would be roughly the same as the factor of increase in voltage. Thus, when we compare the increase in power at 240V to the original power at 208V, this calculation leads us to a potential increase of