Total power in a parallel circuit is found by adding up the power of all the individual resistors.

Exercise :: Parallel Circuits - True or False

Parallel Circuits - General Questions
Parallel Circuits - True or False

A). True

B). False

Power in a Parallel CircuitPower computations in a parallel circuit are essentially the same as those used for the series circuit. Since power dissipation in resistors consists of a heat loss, power dissipations are additive regardless of how the resistors are connected in the circuit. The total power is equal to the sum of the power dissipated by the individual resistors. Like the series circuit, the total power consumed by the parallel circuit is:

Example. Find the total power consumed by the circuit in figure 3-48.Figure 3-48. - Example parallel circuit.

Given:

Solution:

Since the total current and source voltage are known, the total power can also be computed by:Given:

Solution:

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Equivalent Circuits
In the study of electricity, it is often necessary to reduce a complex circuit into a simpler form. Any complex circuit consisting of resistances can be redrawn (reduced) to a basic equivalent circuit containing the voltage source and a single resistor representing total resistance. This process is called reduction to an EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT.

Figure 3-49 shows a parallel circuit with three resistors of equal value and the redrawn equivalent circuit. The parallel circuit shown in part A shows the original circuit. To create the equivalent circuit, you must first calculate the equivalent resistance.

Figure 3-49. - Parallel circuit with equivalent circuit.

Given:

Solution:

Once the equivalent resistance is known, a new circuit is drawn consisting of a single resistor (to represent the equivalent resistance) and the voltage source, as shown in part B.