Electrical load

An electrical load is an <a href="/facts/Electrical_component/F3NBVv4Q">electrical component</a> or portion of a <a href="/facts/Electric_Circuit/zt94kTW0">circuit</a> that consumes (active) <a href="/facts/Electric_power/w61ID9yQ">electric power</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Electrical_appliance/JYKalzw6">electrical appliances</a> and <a href="/facts/Electric_light/v3fb5WBp">lights</a> inside the home. The term may also refer to the power <a href="/facts/Power_consumption/eEl4r39x">consumed</a> by a circuit. This is opposed to a <a href="/facts/Power_supply/4A8zBRHn">power supply</a> source, such as a <a href="/facts/Electric_battery/bqEpm4ue">battery</a> or <a href="/facts/Electric_generator/5sATsUGX">generator</a>, which provides power.
The term is used more broadly in <a href="/facts/Electronics/E4JhgISq">electronics</a> for a device connected to a <a href="/facts/Electrical_signal/41YqUJ8c">signal</a> source, whether or not it consumes power. If an electric circuit has an output <a href="/facts/Port_(circuit_theory)/g2mokqv0">port</a>, a pair of terminals that produces an electrical signal, the circuit connected to this terminal (or its input <a href="/facts/Electrical_impedance/I06NSXtN">impedance</a>) is the load. For example, if a <a href="/facts/CD_player/hp7dWc7l">CD player</a> is connected to an <a href="/facts/Amplifier/pnRgxncC">amplifier</a>, the CD player is the source, and the amplifier is the load, and to continue the concept, if loudspeakers are connected to that amplifier, then that amplifier becomes a new, second source (to the loudspeakers), and the loudspeakers will be the load for the amplifier (but not for the CD player, there are two separate sources and two separate loads, chained together in series).
Load affects the performance of circuits with respect to output <a href="/facts/Volt/KF18MXP2">voltages</a> or <a href="/facts/Current_(electricity)/Dc1xdnUX">currents</a>, such as in <a href="/facts/Sensor/RN8SXbjs">sensors</a>, <a href="/facts/Voltage_source/aAIbDymf">voltage sources</a>, and amplifiers. <a href="/facts/Mains_electricity/rjE90Hg0">Mains</a> <a href="/facts/Domestic_AC_power_plugs_and_sockets/938U5dTF">power outlets</a> provide an easy example: they supply power at constant voltage, with electrical appliances connected to the power circuit collectively making up the load. When a high-power appliance switches on, it dramatically reduces the load <a href="/facts/Electrical_impedance/I06NSXtN">impedance</a>.
The voltages will drop if the load impedance is not much higher than the power supply impedance. Therefore, switching on a heating appliance in a domestic environment may cause <a href="/facts/Incandescent_light/31frjg0A">incandescent lights</a> to dim noticeably.

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Electrical load