Why RMS power consumption is different than the average power consumption?

[steamedhams]

Why RMS power consumption is different than the average power consumption?

[T3sl4co1l]

On what?

FYI, "RMS power" is meaningless; there's no reason to take RMS of power, only the peak or average (or whatever other statistics might be relevant, but you'd need a weird circumstance to use RMS with it).  The term often comes up in audio, I think typically meaning either the peak or average power at rated output for a sine or square wave signal, based on its measured voltage RMS or something like that.  Used more to distinguish from peak power, or other even less honest measures (like "PMPO", which is, as far as I know, wholly devoid of meaning).

Tim

[gcewing]

I think PMPO stands for "power, marketing purposes, optomistic".

[pqass]

In the context of a power amplifier, there is no such thing as RMS power according to: https://geoffthegreygeek.com/understanding-amplifier-power/

"In many specifications for amplifier power you will see this referred to as the RMS power. This is not a correct term (because technically there is no such thing). Although the power calculation uses RMS voltage (and/or RMS current if you use other formulas) the result is simply “power”, not RMS power. As shown in the graph above, it is the average continuous power. However, for most amplifier specifications, you can consider RMS power (while an incorrect term) to refer to average continuous power."

[Gyro]

I think RMS power of an amplifier simply became a shorthand term for what you could get out of it, when driving with a continuous tone and resistive load, before clipping. It was just a handy term for the HiFi press. This is contrasted with 'Music Power' ('typical' music waveform, usually quoted at twice what you would get 'RMS' (limited by PSU rail sag). And PMPO (what you would get if you stuff a large amplitude pulse up the input for a couple of microseconds  )).