What Is A 12vdc Outlet?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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A 12-volt outlet is

any electrical outlet that outputs 12 volts

and may refer to: Cigar lighter receptacle, the most famous example. Molex connector, used for connecting hard drives and optical drives, and sometimes for powering flash memory surrogate hard drive modules.

What devices use 12V?

  • Cellphones.
  • Tablets.
  • GPS units.
  • FM broadcasters.
  • Bluetooth hands-free devices.

What is a 12V DC outlet used for?

The 12V socket, also known variously as a car cigarette lighter or 12V auxiliary power outlet, is the primary method by which power is

delivered to portable electronics in cars, trucks, recreational vehicles, boats

, and in a handful of other contexts.

What can you plug into a 12V outlet?

  • Seat Warmer. …
  • Car Vacuum. …
  • Touch Screen Dash Cam. …
  • Back Seat Air Mattress. …
  • Electric Kettle. …
  • Universal Heads Up Display. …
  • Alexa-Enabled USB Charger.

Where is the 12-volt outlet?

A 12-volt power outlet has been commonly used to power a cigarette lighter, usually mounted

in the dash panel of your vehicle

. Now, traditional 12-volt power outlets have given way to outlets designed to charge your mobile phones or power your MP3 players.

How many watts can a 12v car outlet handle?

For example, a 10 amp–fused 12-volt lighter socket will safely power about 1 amp of 120-volt AC (or about

120 watts

). (See formula below.) A 15-amp socket will power 1.5 amps of 120-volt AC (about 150 to 180 watts), and a 20-amp will power about 2 amps (about 200 to 225 watts).

Can I use a cigarette lighter as a power outlet?

In terms of powering accessories and devices, like your cellphone,

there is functionally no difference between cigarette lighter sockets and accessory sockets

. If you aren’t sure which one you’re dealing with, plug into any or all of them to suit your power requirements.

Can you run a house on 12 volts?

At a normal utility household voltage of 120, you could use a 740-foot extension cord of No. 10 wire if you wanted to; but at 12 volts, you would

be limited to 7.4 feet of wire from the battery to the vacuum

. If you used a No. 8 wire, you could stretch out 12 feet into the room; No.

How much can a 12v battery power?

For example, a 12V lithium battery with a capacity of 100Ah can deliver 100Ah to a 12-volt device for one hour. The same 100Ah battery could supply power for 4 hours (100/25=4) to a 25 ampere device. If a battery has 12V50, this means that the battery works on 12 Volt and has a capacity of

50Ah

.

What can run off 12v?

12v Systems

You can run just about everything else such as a

microwave oven, TV, satellite system, computer, lighting and more

. The 12v system on an RV is not that complicated but can easily frustrate the best of us.

Do all cars have a 12V outlet?

That’s a hard pass for many. Instead,

modern vehicles are outfitted with one (or sometimes multiple) 12-volt outlets plugs

that support all sorts of gadgets and accessories. Read on to discover eight cool things you can plug into your vehicle’s 12-volt outlet — or, depending on how old your ride is, cigarette lighter.

Can you plug a TV into a car outlet?

It’s actually easier than you may think. Powering your home TV from the 12-volt lighter socket in your car, truck or RV is possible. … There are small

power inverters

which plug into the lighter socket and produce enough power to safely run the TV using power from your car, truck or RV.

What wattage are car outlets?

For example, a car cigarette lighter fuse has 15 Amps and most cars use a 12V system, you take 15 and multiply it by 12 and you get

180 Watts

which is your safety zone. If you happen to surpass that 180 Watt ceiling, then your fuse will blow.

Is a car cigarette lighter 12 volts?

Most cars nowadays are designed with a battery-negative earthing system and therefore have a

+12V positive power distribution

. … Since the cigarette lighter socket was originally designed only to heat a cigarette lighter, repurposing these sockets as generic power connectors can lead to many problems.

How many volts is an outlet?

The most common electrical outlet in any home is a

110 volt

. Sometimes you may hear 110 volt plugs referred to as 120 volt. Do not be confused by this; think of them as one and the same.

Is my outlet 120V?

Locate the

breaker

in your electrical panel that is connected to your thermostat. If you see a single breaker switch like the one shown in the picture below, you likely have 120V. If you see a double breaker, like the pictures shown below, you likely have 240V.

Juan Martinez
Author
Juan Martinez
Juan Martinez is a journalism professor and experienced writer. With a passion for communication and education, Juan has taught students from all over the world. He is an expert in language and writing, and has written for various blogs and magazines.