[RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
I just don't understand it. Lots of people-from reporters to homeowners-consistently refer to the AC voltage in their homes as "110/220." Where does this come from? If North American utilities were putting out power at that voltage range, they would be in serious trouble. Anyone able to educate me on this matter? marco ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
When I was an electrical apprentus back in the late 40's we called it 110/220 then in the fifties the voltage was reised to 115/230 and some time in the 1960 it was raised to 120 240 Darryl --- On Mon, 10/18/10, Marco Mangelsdorf wrote: From: Marco Mangelsdorf Subject: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America To: "'RE-wrenches'" Date: Monday, October 18, 2010, 8:27 PM I just don’t understand it. Lots of people—from reporters to homeowners—consistently refer to the AC voltage in their homes as “110/220.” Where does this come from? If North American utilities were putting out power at that voltage range, they would be in serious trouble. Anyone able to educate me on this matter? marco -Inline Attachment Follows- ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
Hello Darryl, I tip my hat in honor to your many years working with electricity. 110 volts was Edison's choice for direct current. Then Tesla/Westinghouse chose higher voltage alternating current stepped down to 120 volts. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Currents 115-volt AC/DC universal motors in drills and other tools were fairly common until low-cost induction motors became widespread. Best regards, Joel Davidson - Original Message - From: Darryl Thayer To: RE-wrenches Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 7:18 PM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America When I was an electrical apprentus back in the late 40's we called it 110/220 then in the fifties the voltage was reised to 115/230 and some time in the 1960 it was raised to 120 240 Darryl --- On Mon, 10/18/10, Marco Mangelsdorf wrote: From: Marco Mangelsdorf Subject: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America To: "'RE-wrenches'" Date: Monday, October 18, 2010, 8:27 PM I just don’t understand it. Lots of people—from reporters to homeowners—consistently refer to the AC voltage in their homes as “110/220.” Where does this come from? If North American utilities were putting out power at that voltage range, they would be in serious trouble. Anyone able to educate me on this matter? marco -Inline Attachment Follows- ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org -- ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
Thanks Joel
When I first started working most of the city was DC and we had a lot of work
tearing out DC motors and putting in AC motors.
--- On Tue, 10/19/10, Joel Davidson wrote:
From: Joel Davidson
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
To: "RE-wrenches"
Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 11:24 AM
Hello Darryl,
I tip my hat in honor to your many years working with electricity. 110 volts
was Edison's choice for direct current. Then Tesla/Westinghouse chose higher
voltage alternating current stepped down to 120 volts.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Currents 115-volt AC/DC universal
motors in drills and other tools were fairly common until low-cost induction
motors became widespread.
Best regards,
Joel Davidson
- Original Message -
From: Darryl Thayer
To: RE-wrenches
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 7:18 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
When I was an electrical apprentus back in the late 40's we called it 110/220
then in the fifties the voltage was reised to 115/230 and some time in the
1960 it was raised to 120 240
Darryl
--- On Mon, 10/18/10, Marco Mangelsdorf wrote:
From: Marco Mangelsdorf
Subject: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
To: "'RE-wrenches'"
Date: Monday, October 18, 2010, 8:27 PM
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I just don’t understand it.
Lots of people—from reporters to homeowners—consistently refer to the AC
voltage in their homes as “110/220.”
Where does this come from?
If North American utilities were putting out power at that voltage range, they
would be in serious trouble.
Anyone able to educate me on this matter?
marco
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Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
Darryl,thank you for that! i've often wondered myself where the 110/220 and other random voltages mentioned from time to time came from (as opposed to 120/240 which is all i've worked with in my electrical career). i've often assumed that the other numbers were grandfathered in from other systems, but was never really sure. If the change to 120/240 was in the 60's then why do some appliances still reference 110-115V? i'm impressed, it must have been something working your electrical career thru, among other things, the change from DC utility systems to AC systems benn DayStar Renewable Energy Inc. b...@daystarsolar.ca780-906-7807 HAVE A SUNNY DAY Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:49:26 -0700 From: daryl_so...@yahoo.com To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America Thanks Joel When I first started working most of the city was DC and we had a lot of work tearing out DC motors and putting in AC motors. --- On Tue, 10/19/10, Joel Davidson wrote: From: Joel Davidson Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America To: "RE-wrenches" Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 11:24 AM Hello Darryl, I tip my hat in honor to your many years working with electricity. 110 volts was Edison's choice for direct current. Then Tesla/Westinghouse chose higher voltage alternating current stepped down to 120 volts. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Currents 115-volt AC/DC universal motors in drills and other tools were fairly common until low-cost induction motors became widespread. Best regards, Joel Davidson - Original Message - From: Darryl Thayer To: RE-wrenches Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 7:18 PM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America When I was an electrical apprentus back in the late 40's we called it 110/220 then in the fifties the voltage was reised to 115/230 and some time in the 1960 it was raised to 120 240 Darryl --- On Mon, 10/18/10, Marco Mangelsdorf wrote: From: Marco Mangelsdorf Subject: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America To: "'RE-wrenches'" Date: Monday, October 18, 2010, 8:27 PM I just don’t understand it. Lots of people—from reporters to homeowners—consistently refer to the AC voltage in their homes as “110/220.” Where does this come from? If North American utilities were putting out power at that voltage range, they would be in serious trouble. Anyone able to educate me on this matter? marco -Inline Attachment Follows- ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org -Inline Attachment Follows- ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org ___ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
Hi
In the UK the voltage is usually 240 volts whereas in the rest of
Europe it is 220. However we are united by a standard voltage of 230
+/- 10% They like to keep the voltage up since it sells more
electricity. However if the local renewables push the voltage too
high it can still cause problems on low load days.
Wikipedia says:
"All of Europe and most of South America, Africa and Asia, as well as
Australia and New Zealand use a supply that is within 10% of 230 V,
whereas Japan, North America and some parts of northern South America
use a voltage between 100 and 127 V. In general, most of the world
uses the 230V standard. This also means that standard 230V equipment
can be used in most parts of the world, with only a minor change in
the equipment's electrical plug for a specific country."
Hugh
Darryl,
thank you for that! i've often wondered myself where the 110/220 and
other random voltages mentioned from time to time came from (as
opposed to 120/240 which is all i've worked with in my electrical
career). i've often assumed that the other numbers were
grandfathered in from other systems, but was never really sure.
If the change to 120/240 was in the 60's then why do some appliances
still reference 110-115V?
i'm impressed, it must have been something working your electrical
career thru, among other things, the change from DC utility systems
to AC systems
benn
DayStar Renewable Energy Inc.
b...@daystarsolar.ca
780-906-7807
HAVE A SUNNY DAY
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:49:26 -0700
From: daryl_so...@yahoo.com
To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
Thanks Joel
When I first started working most of the city was DC and we had a
lot of work tearing out DC motors and putting in AC motors.
--- On Tue, 10/19/10, Joel Davidson wrote:
From: Joel Davidson
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
To: "RE-wrenches"
Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 11:24 AM
Hello Darryl,
I tip my hat in honor to your many years working with electricity.
110 volts was Edison's choice for direct current. Then
Tesla/Westinghouse chose higher voltage alternating current stepped
down to 120 volts.
See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Currents>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Currents 115-volt
AC/DC universal motors in drills and other tools were fairly common
until low-cost induction motors became widespread.
Best regards,
Joel Davidson
- Original Message -
From:
<http://us.mc519.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=daryl_so...@yahoo.com>Darryl
Thayer
To:
<http://us.mc519.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=re-wrenc...@lists.re-wrenches.org>RE-wrenches
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 7:18 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
When I was an electrical apprentus back in the late 40's we called
it 110/220 then in the fifties the voltage was reised to 115/230
and some time in the 1960 it was raised to 120 240
Darryl
--- On Mon, 10/18/10, Marco Mangelsdorf
<<http://us.mc519.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=ma...@pvthawaii.com>ma...@pvthawaii.com>
wrote:
From: Marco Mangelsdorf
<<http://us.mc519.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=ma...@pvthawaii.com>ma...@pvthawaii.com>
Subject: [RE-wrenches] AC voltage in North America
To: "'RE-wrenches'"
Date: Monday, October 18, 2010, 8:27 PM
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