Electrical power was defined as the rate at which electrical energy is supplied to a

circuit or consumed by a load. The equation for calculating the power delivered to the
circuit or consumed by a load:

dU d
= (QΔV) P= IΔV
dt dt
dQ
= ΔV
dt

= IΔV
Where:

Q is electric charge in coulombs

t is time in seconds
I is electric current in amperes
V is electric potential or voltage in volts

The electric potential difference (ΔV) and the current (I) can be expressed in terms
of their dependence upon resistance as shown in the following equations.
ΔV = (I • R) I = ΔV / R
If the expressions for electric potential difference and current are substituted into the
power equation, two new equations can be derived that relate the power to the
current and the resistance and to the electric potential difference and the resistance.
Equation 2: Equation 3:
P = ΔV • I P = ΔV • I
P = (I • R) • I P = ΔV • (ΔV / R)
P = I2 • R P = ΔV2 / R

The details of the units are as follows:

Examples:

The sticker on a compact disc player says that it draws 288 mA of current when
powered by a 9 Volt battery. What is the power (in Watts) of the CD player?

Given:
ΔV = 9 V
I = 288 mA = 0.288 Amp

Find: P
P = I • ΔV = (0.288 A) • (9 V)
P = 2.59 W

A television has a current of 1.99 Amps when connected to a 120-Volt household

circuit. What is the resistance (in ohms) of the TV set? And what is the power (in
Watts) of the TV set?

Given:
ΔV = 120 V
I = 1.99 A

Find: R and P
Ohm's law equation
(ΔV = I • R)
R = ΔV / I= (120 V) / (1.99 Amp)
R = 60.3 Ω

The P = I2 • R equation will be used here:

P = I2 • R = (1.99 A)2 • (60.3 )
P = 239 W