On Monday 08 December 2003 12:27 am, Richard Urwin wrote:
> On Sunday 07 Dec 2003 2:44 pm, Tom Brinkman wrote:
> > I don't
> > know the situation in the UK, but here in the US power is
> > 110v per leg. Two legs on the same circuit (what you refer to
> > as a ring?) yields 220v for things like electric clothes
> > dryers, range, ovens, and furnaces. Usually those are
> > dedicated circuits, but all circuits are fused/circuit
> > breaker protected for different voltage and amperage.
> Just in the interests of completeness.
> Not in the UK. Here everything runs on 240V (actually a bit
> lower recently, IIUC.) The circuits are built as rings purely
> to allow extra current to flow without heating the wires too
> much or having too great an earth resistance.
Actually I thought the UK and most all of Europe was 250v.
The US probly would be too, but you need to remember we invented
the light bulb :) And that was so long ago, and with competing
AC and DC distributions in the beginning, that now were just glad
it all finally got settled ... even tho were underpowered as a
result. Too damn much to change out now to switch.
> In every case only one live wire comes into the property. The
> neutral is almost equivilant to the earth, (but may actually
> only be earth back at the transformer.) So there is no
> possibility of doubling the voltage as you describe. Industrial
> premises have the option of taking all three phases instead of
> one, with a voltage between the phases of 440V.
Three phase power is prevalent here too, particularly in larger
than residential applications.
> Standard domestic sockets have a current rating of 13A, with
> the ring fuse being 15A. Lighting circuits are 5A. The cooker
> circuit is 20A. The whole house is protected by a 30A fuse
> sealed by the distribution company. (These are all IIRC, I'm
> not getting the torch out and looking now.)
Hmmmm, that surprises me. Here household circuits are
typically 20 amp. Dedicated 220 circuits (single phase) would be
as much as 50 amp. The main to the house, at least 100 amp, often
200 amp. My last house had 200 amp service. About 15 110v
circuits, 4 220 circuits for a 3600 sq ft 2-story. The garage
had a separate 100 amp service, 3 110's for lights and outlets,
one 220 circuit for A/C. (yeah, the garage had A/C, finished
sheetrock walls and ceiling, insulated, was carpeted too. Nice
place to park the Corvette ;)
Still, check the voltage at the outlet you plug the computer
into. It just might not be as advertised. Here in the US, it
would probly, almost certainly, constantly be on the low side in
most areas.
--
Tom Brinkman Corpus Christi, Texas
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft?
Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
