Reddit reviews Ugly's Electrical References 2011
We found 2 Reddit comments about Ugly's Electrical References 2011. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Used Book in Good Condition
I'm assuming your in the US.
AC = alternating current (120V or 240V), current moves forward and backward really fast in a sine wave pattern
DC = direct current (12V, 18V, or 24V) current only moves forward
P = power
V = Voltage
I = Current
R = Resistance
P=IV and V=IR
For ac there is a power factor of 0.7 for power calculation.
A light bulb example:
60W bulb @ 120VAC --> 60=I1200.7 --> I = 0.5A/0.7 = 0.72A
60W bulb @ 24VDC --> 60=I*24 --> I = 2.5A
Your breakers are rated in amps and voltage. A 600V, 15A breaker could handle (20) bulbs @ 120VAC, but only (6) at 24VDC.
It's a little more complicated than that, but you get the gist. Also, lower voltage means you have more losses for the same resistance. This can be minimized with small runs (easy for a tiny house) and over sized wires. High amps means more heat generated which means thicker wires to lower the resistance.
If you do decide to do the electric yourself, go to a book store or home depot or the like and ask for the electricians Ugly Book. It's a simplified easier to understand version of the National Electrical Code (NEC) code.
http://www.amazon.com/Uglys-Electrical-References-2011-George/dp/0763790990/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321844962&sr=8-1
Yuuuuup, feeling the same way except i think i'd like to get more into the microcontroller/FPGA field of EE.
I ended up getting this book a while ago and it's actually been quite helpful in explaining things in a manageable and very equation-lite way. Definitely gonna need another source for more in-depth but for the basics it's quite good.
Something like this would also be good to have for reference.