Does anyone know why the US and Canada decided to use 125VAC (or more/less) rather than 250VAC (or more/less)? If we had been on 250VAC then the black out probably wouldn't have happened. It would have been a smaller load on the power plants then.
Perhaps so companies get more money from having to get UKers to buy all new eleccy products when moving over to USA?
not necacrry. computer PSUs switch 110/240V only needs a change of adapter same with my screen(it actually came with 3 power leads UK US and euroeian)
Yea computers are usually okay, but things like TVs, CD players, amps, lights, computer perhiphiels, kitchen appliances, etc are affected by voltage
why would the black out not have happened? surely the power stations produce much greater than 110V which is then stepped down at local substations etc. The load (W) would be the same at 110V or 230V. As an aside, what current can US sockets give? What is the maximum power? In the UK sockets are 13A rated, giving about 3kW max. power. Can US sockets give this much power (and if so, how chunky are your kettle leads? 26amp wire must be pretty chunky!)
Very correct. All the power stations world wide preatty much carry the same voltage, but are steped down at local substations and at the mains box. As for your question, not sure but I'm sure somebody here knows.
In Belgium (220-230V) the wall sockets are rated for up to 20A (4.4KW), for ex. dish washers, washing machines, water heaters... Of course the used wire must be 4mm² then (normally 2.5mm²). We changed from 110 to 220V quite a long time ago (can't remember exactly, I was quite young then, but it has to be about 40 years ago). The change was mainly due to transport losses from local substations to the final consumer, since amperage is half at 220V vs 110V. CD
That is what I mean. The load on the power stations would have been less if we were at, actually, 250VAC.
confusitron - i take your point about the extra load due to losses in transport - but i think in all reality it probably wouldn't work your way. For example, in the UK sockets are 13A and I have many devices that use the full allowance - kettles, heaters etc. I imagine in the US these will only by 15A or 20A (120V) and thus less power (I guess electric kettles must boil quicker here ). I imagine if the US were to be 250V, the power consumption of these devices would rise accordingly, and you'd be back to square one (darkness!)
I'm guessing here, but isn't the US brown-out more due to the lack of a National Grid distribution network? The electricity I use could have been generated anywhere in the country. Here you get the full 230v or nothing, if you live round the corner from me you're on the same section as the hospital and are likely to stay live, less important sections get cut in emergencies. And I gather a lot of American homes have 220v in the building, 2 110v phases and a neutral, so a heater or cooker can be wired to the full monty, whereas we have a single 230v phase in houses. I wait to be put straight...
There is a national grid network. However, it is divided into something like 4 or 5 networks. You are correct about the US power systems in homes 240 volt 2 phases 1 neutral. Comercial and Industrial power systems are actuall 3 phase systems. Usually 480/277 V with transformers to get 208/120 V for outlets and stuff. clear as mud??
First: 110V vs 220V. Confusitron, no matter which one we used, the blackout would have occured since the WATTAGE (volts x Amps) is the same either way. The blackout is simple: Each power supply plant throughout the nation is rated to supply a certain amount of wattage just greater than the average it sees throughout the year. But on an hour to hour basis, the actual amount used varies.....sometimes alot. The reason for the eastern coast blackout this past summer was because the hot dry days of a particular week caused way too much load on the systems with everyone turning their airconditioner on. Another thing is that sudden swings in the amount of load on the system can also cuase failures. Say for example, people with electric heat. In order to save electric bills, people put their heat on a timer, so that it stays off during the night, and kicks on sometime in the morning. Take a few hundred-thousand houses that all turn thier electric heat on at the same time during the day, thats a huge sudden shift in wattage the plant has to put out. If it cant handle that amount (by keeping the supply voltage within a certain range) it shuts down automatically. The power plant then turns back on, but has to trip each source output one at a time, to keep the power drain vs time down to a minimum.
What size is the standard main hookup for a house in the UK, in the US it is 200A so you can get 24Kw at most. Also you use square wire ?
Clear, UK industry & big places is all 3-phase 440v, far more efficient for motors and keeps the power factor cool. Any phase and neutral is 230v.
Incorrect, the power to the consumer is stepped down within the last mile or so of the house, on pole or pad mounted transformers, the amount saved due to the higher voltage/lower line losses would be minimal over that short a stretch of line. IMHO The load on the power station would be the same regardless of end-user voltage, as the wattage is a factor of Amps and Voltage. A 1500 Watt heater is going ot pull half the amps at 240, but in terms of the load feeding the station, it all adds up the same (it's still 1500 watts either way). The advantage of the system is that each house has 2 different voltages available, while it's safer to have only 120volts at each receptacle, it's still a good idea having 240 available for the higher wattage appliances. And yes, you do get greater wattage out of a receptacle over there, ours come out to about 1800 watts on a 15amp receptacle.
So, even if we had 250VAC in our homes, on all outlets, power stations would still handle the same load as if we were one 125VAC? Wouldn't the wattage be increased accordingly?
Nope.. A 1500 watt heater is basically the same at 120V as it is at 240V. The only difference is the current draw. @ 120V it is 12.5 amps and @ 240V it is 6.25 amps.... The only differences between the voltages is the effeciencies. A higher voltage is usually more efficient. Note I said usually, this isn't always the case.
