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Crown International, Inc.

P.O. Box 1000

Elkhart, IN 46515-1000

TEL: 574-294-8200

FAX: 574-294-8FAX

www.crownaudio.com

CL2

11/02 

131516-2   

For more details refer to the applicable Reference Manual or 

Contact Crown Audio Technical Support. The provided data 

should not be construed as specifications.

Crown is a registered trademark of Crown International, Inc. 

Printed in U.S.A.
© 2002 Crown Audio, Inc.

AC Power Draw and Thermal Dissipation

C O N T R A C T O R   S E R I E S

This document provides detailed information about the amount of power 
and current drawn from the AC mains by the 

CL2

 amplifier and the 

amount of heat produced under various conditions. The calculations pre-
sented here are intended to provide a realistic and reliable depiction of 
the amplifier. The following assumptions or approximations were made: 

•  The  amplifier’s  available  channels  are  loaded  and  full  power  is  being 

delivered.

•  The  amplifier  efficiency  at  standard  1-kHz  power  is  estimated  to  be 

65%.

•  Quiescent power draw is approximately 60 watts.
•  When  running  at  full  speed,  typical  power  draw  for  the  internal  fan 

is 12 watts or less.

•  The estimated duty cycles take into account the typical crest factor for 

each type of source material.

•  Duty cycle of pink noise is 50%.
•  Duty cycle of highly compressed rock ‘n’ roll midrange is 40%.
•  Duty cycle of rock ‘n’ roll is 30%.
•  Duty cycle of background music is 20%.
•  Duty cycle of continuous speech is 10%.
•  Duty cycle of infrequent, short duration paging is 1%.

Here are the equations used to calculate the data presented in Figure 1:

The following equation converts power draw in watts to current draw in 

amperes:

The value used for Power Factor is 0.83. The Power Factor variable is 

needed to compensate for the difference in phase between the AC mains 

voltage and current. The following equation is used to calculate thermal 

dissipation:

The value used for inefficiency is 0.35 (1.00–0.65). The factor 3.415 

converts watts to btu/hr. Thermal dissipation in btu is divided by the 

constant 3.968 to get kcal. If you plan to measure output power under 

real-world conditions, the following equation may also be helpful:

Figure 1  Power Draw, Current Draw and Thermal Dissipation at Various Duty Cycles

  CL2

 LOAD

Duty
Cycle

Current Draw(Amps) Thermal Dissipation

  Thermal Dissipation

   Thermal Dissipation

  Current Draw(Amps)

   Current Draw(Amps)

AC Mains

Power

Draw

(Watts)

AC Mains

Power

Draw

(Watts)

AC Mains

Power

Draw

(Watts)

100-120       230-240      btu/hr         kcal/hr

100-120      230-240       btu/hr         kcal/hr

100-120       230-240      btu/hr         kcal/hr

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%

8 OHMS DUAL / 16 OHMS BRIDGE

4 OHMS DUAL / 8 OHMS BRIDGE

296

1419      

5.4              

10.8            

1075          

260

1175      

4.4             

8.8           

872           

235

993       

3.4              

6.7           

669           

174

690      

2.4               

4.7           

466           

113

448      

1.3               

2.6           

263           

237          

2 OHMS DUAL / 4 OHMS BRIDGE

142

563

         

1.8

            

3.6

              

360

           

232

922

         

3.3

            

6.6

              

660

           

323

1281        

4.8           

9.6              

960           

413

1639        

6.3           

12.6            

1260         

504

1998        

7.8           

15.6            

1560         

940           

3.4           

6.7           

   675            

200           

793           

2.8           

5.5           

   552            

163           

646           

2.2           

4.3           

   429            

126          

499            

1.6           

3.1           

   306            

89           

352             

1.4           

1.8           

   183            

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