Why did North America not use 220v

[supton]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
I also always wondered why US outlets are way down near the floor level while the Euro standard is at your belt line more or less. No need to bend over to plug in/out, duh!


Is anyone going to answer this, or do I need to open a separate thread?


In America, most wiring is done going up from the basement, at least for homes where wiring was added in after the fact, so, less wire needed?

While lower outlets are bad for kids, at least "over here" most things plugged into an outlet have wires that will run along the floor for a bit. Less of a drop on the cord?

I dunno. Might just be a preference. I have a coworker from Germany. When he first got here he noticed all the power lines--over there, they bury the lines. After a few months it dawned on him that he no longer noticed the lines. Today he thinks nothing of it. Arguments for either way, and sometimes local practice rules for no good reason.

 

[eljefino]

I think the first outlets were for vacuum cleaners, so they had 'em near the floor. There's still an electrical code for outlets every X feet in lieu of any more pressing use, so vacuums can be used.

In fact you can find a really, really old vacuum with an edison base, so you'd remove the (only) light bulb in a room to screw the vacuum in. Clean during daylight-- the house was windowed to use natural light anyway.

 

[javacontour]

The home I grew up in had most if not all the outlets IN THE FLOOR. The one ones I recall that were in a wall was the one by the stove so things like a coffee maker could be plugged in, and one outlet in the bathroom that was on the light over the sink. All the other outlets I recall were in the floor.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Actually, we pay for Kilowatts, not amps.

Another term for Watt is the Volt-Amp or Volts times Amps.

It doesn't matter if you use an hour of 110v at 2A current or 220v at 1A current, you use the same amount of power.

Originally Posted By: Chris142
we dont pay for electricity. we pay for amps used.110v -120v uses nearly 2x the amps that 220-240 uses.they can charge us more and make more profit.


No. We pay for energy, which is Joules.
A Watt is a Volt x Amp.
A Volt is a Joule / Coulomb.
An Amp is a Coulomb / Second.
Multiply the two together, the Coulombs cancel, and you have Joules/Second.
A Kilowatt is 1000 Watts.
Use energy at the rate of 1 Kilowatt for one hour, and you have used a Kilowatt*hour of energy.
1000 Watt*hours x 3600 seconds/hour = 3,600,000 Joules of energy (3.6 megajoules).

 

[A_Harman]

I checked this whole thread, and nobody said it:

"220, 221. Whatever it takes."

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: expat
It seems most of the world (other than some 3rd world countries) use 220v-230v
which I imagine is more efficient.

How come we got stuck with 110V?


Your house gets 240V from the utility.

 

[javacontour]

Meter reads Kilowatt Hours, not Joules. Unfortunate term, as it trips up even those of us who do know the difference between Energy and Power

I described KWH's but didn't actually use the term in my opening sentence, DOH.

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Actually, we pay for Kilowatts, not amps.

Another term for Watt is the Volt-Amp or Volts times Amps.

It doesn't matter if you use an hour of 110v at 2A current or 220v at 1A current, you use the same amount of power.

Originally Posted By: Chris142
we dont pay for electricity. we pay for amps used.110v -120v uses nearly 2x the amps that 220-240 uses.they can charge us more and make more profit.


No. We pay for energy, which is Joules.
A Watt is a Volt x Amp.
A Volt is a Joule / Coulomb.
An Amp is a Coulomb / Second.
Multiply the two together, the Coulombs cancel, and you have Joules/Second.
A Kilowatt is 1000 Watts.
Use energy at the rate of 1 Kilowatt for one hour, and you have used a Kilowatt*hour of energy.
1000 Watt*hours x 3600 seconds/hour = 3,600,000 Joules of energy (3.6 megajoules).

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
we dont pay for electricity. we pay for amps used.110v -120v uses nearly 2x the amps that 220-240 uses.they can charge us more and make more profit.


You pay for kWh. 50 kWh at 120V is the same as 50 kWh at 240V.

 

[kschachn]

We pay for power, right? Not energy. Power includes the time element, which is what you are really paying for.

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Actually, we pay for Kilowatts, not amps.

Another term for Watt is the Volt-Amp or Volts times Amps.

It doesn't matter if you use an hour of 110v at 2A current or 220v at 1A current, you use the same amount of power.

Originally Posted By: Chris142
we dont pay for electricity. we pay for amps used.110v -120v uses nearly 2x the amps that 220-240 uses.they can charge us more and make more profit.


No. We pay for energy, which is Joules.
A Watt is a Volt x Amp.
A Volt is a Joule / Coulomb.
An Amp is a Coulomb / Second.
Multiply the two together, the Coulombs cancel, and you have Joules/Second.
A Kilowatt is 1000 Watts.
Use energy at the rate of 1 Kilowatt for one hour, and you have used a Kilowatt*hour of energy.
1000 Watt*hours x 3600 seconds/hour = 3,600,000 Joules of energy (3.6 megajoules).

 

[Vikas]

Other way around; energy includes time element, power is instantaneous entity.

How come nobody has mentioned power factor yet? Would you believe me if I tell you that you can have voltage and current but the power can still be zero under specific circumstances? Utility companies *HATE* that!!

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Other way around; energy includes time element, power is instantaneous entity.

How come nobody has mentioned power factor yet? Would you believe me if I tell you that you can have voltage and current but the power can still be zero under specific circumstances? Utility companies *HATE* that!!


Both are with respect to time.

energy is joules = W x s
Power is watts = joules / s

 

[Rick in PA]

Another interesting outlet fact (if I have my facts correct) is that code requires an outlet every less than 12'. For approval (UL, ETL, etc.) a line cord has to be at least 6' long (some exceptions). Therefore you should be able to place a lamp or whatever anywhere without the use of an extension cord. At least I believe that's the theory.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
We pay for power, right? Not energy. Power includes the time element, which is what you are really paying for.

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Actually, we pay for Kilowatts, not amps.

Another term for Watt is the Volt-Amp or Volts times Amps.

It doesn't matter if you use an hour of 110v at 2A current or 220v at 1A current, you use the same amount of power.

Originally Posted By: Chris142
we dont pay for electricity. we pay for amps used.110v -120v uses nearly 2x the amps that 220-240 uses.they can charge us more and make more profit.


No. We pay for energy, which is Joules.
A Watt is a Volt x Amp.
A Volt is a Joule / Coulomb.
An Amp is a Coulomb / Second.
Multiply the two together, the Coulombs cancel, and you have Joules/Second.
A Kilowatt is 1000 Watts.
Use energy at the rate of 1 Kilowatt for one hour, and you have used a Kilowatt*hour of energy.
1000 Watt*hours x 3600 seconds/hour = 3,600,000 Joules of energy (3.6 megajoules).


Nope, we pay for a quantity of energy in kilowatt-hours, or joules. Power is how much energy is delivered per unit of time in watts, or joules per second.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: expat
It seems most of the world (other than some 3rd world countries) use 220v-230v
which I imagine is more efficient.

How come we got stuck with 110V?


Your house gets 240V from the utility.



No it doesn't, it gets 110-120v twice.

Perhaps someone can explain the advantages/disadvantages of 240v verses 120v x2

Personally I'd like a home that had 240v from every outlet. No more wimpy power tools on heavy duty extension cords.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: expat
It seems most of the world (other than some 3rd world countries) use 220v-230v
which I imagine is more efficient.

How come we got stuck with 110V?


Your house gets 240V from the utility.



No it doesn't, it gets 110-120v twice.

Perhaps someone can explain the advantages/disadvantages of 240v verses 120v x2

Personally I'd like a home that had 240v from every outlet. No more wimpy power tools on heavy duty extension cords.


No. It gets a single phase 240V service. The neutral is merely center tapped off the transformer winding and grounded. Your dryer, ovens, etc operate on 240V, singe phase.

But what do I know. I'm only an EE and design power distribution installations for everything from houses to refineries and power plants.

 

[jrustles]

Originally Posted By: badtlc


But what do I know. I'm only an EE and design power distribution installations for everything from houses to refineries and power plants.


how do you feel about 'technical power' in homes; ie two hot 60V, where L1 and L2 of the split-phase system is always balanced.

Is there ANY advantage is eliminating current flow through the home's ground path?

 

[expat]

OK so educate me.

What wire gives me single phase 240v

I see a Red and a Black (hot) each read (a nominal) 120v
as I understand it, they are out of phase with each other.

Perhaps I'm wrong?

 

[Papa Bear]

expat, your dryer and electric stove are 220V

 

[jrustles]

Originally Posted By: expat
OK so educate me.

What wire gives me single phase 240v

I see a Red and a Black (hot) each read (a nominal) 120v
as I understand it, they are out of phase with each other.

Perhaps I'm wrong?


Red + Black are both HOT and give you 240 when your multimeter is on each one (ground not used)

This the output from the entire winding inside of the pole transformer outside of your house.


Red or Black give you 120 when your multimeter is on the ground (white conductor) and the other lead on either red or black


Halfway through the winding in that same transformer, is the 'center tap'. Being half way, only half of the voltage induced in the whole winding, is output on that leg, thus 120V. That center tap is bonded to the ground, and that's your neutral. The neutral is used as the 'other pole' for both halves (120V each) of the 240V transformer's winding.

 

[expat]

So are you saying,
I could wire a European electric drill (for instance) connecting the drills Brown and Blue wires to the Black and Red North American 'Hots' use the Green and Yellow (ground) connected to the North American (Green) ground, and away I go??