ECE major here that slept through all his power classes. Say I have a basic single-phase generator like the kind you get at Home Depot. If I have long string of irons and light bulbs (essentially purely resistive loads) and draw more than the rated wattage, what happens? My intuition says that the engine must work harder, but what is the specific mechanism that causes this.
In: Engineering
If by “specific mechanism” you mean how does the engine compensate for increased load on the alternator, there is a simple throttle governed by engine vacuum. As speed drops, vacuum drops, this opens the throttle a little, engine speed increases to original. Therefore yes, more work is being done and more fuel is being consumed even though the difference in engine speed is barely perceptible.
Latest Answers