XPost: rec.arts.comics.strips   
   From: tkoenig@netcologne.de   
      
   Lynn McGuire  schrieb:   
   > On 1/1/2026 10:04 AM, Thomas Koenig wrote:   
   >> Scott Dorsey  schrieb:   
   >>> Thomas Koenig   wrote:   
   >>>>   
   >>>> What is 220 V used for in the US (assuming that this took place   
   >>>> there)?  I assume it would be 220 V/60 Hz?   
   >>>   
   >>> A 120V 20A outlet is limited to producing 2400W, and you're only supposed   
   >>> to run loads at 80% of capacity, so that means continuous loads of 1920W.   
   >>> So anything larger than that (stoves, clothes dryers, air conditioners,   
   >>> film projectors, etc.) get put onto 220V or 208V lines.   
   >>>   
   >>> Yes, this means that American electric kettles are limited to 1750W so   
   >>> they can go onto typical 120V 15W circuits, and yes, this means that   
   >>> American electric kettles are slow and frustrating.   
   >>>   
   >>> 240V in the US consists of two hot legs, each of which is 120V from the   
   >>> neutral.  Many appliances have a neutral connection as well as the two   
   >>> hots, so a clothes dryer may use 240V for the heating elements but 120V   
   >>> for the light bulb and the control circuits.  It's fairly ingenious and   
   >>> I thing it's another thing we can thank Karl Steinmetz for.   
   >>   
   >> Interesting.   
   >>   
   >> In Europe, every household has three phases (plus a neutral   
   >> conductor), so 400 V between any two phases. They are distributed   
   >> more or less equally between different rooms, but high-power   
   >> appliances like ovens or stoves use all three.   
   >   
   > Europe has more wiring.  Expensive.   
      
   For the wiring part, it's the opposite, economy is firmly on   
   Europe's side on that one.   
      
   The diameter of the wires can be far smaller than in the US.   
   230 V vs 120 V gives you about half the copper cross-section for   
   the same power.  There is something to be said for 120V in   
   terms of safety, of course, but economy isn't it.   
      
   Plus, for getting power out of three phases, which gives you   
   400 V between any two phaes, the required total cross-section is   
   even lower.   
      
   > Here in Texas, three phase wired homes cost another 1.0 cents / kwh on   
   > the monthly electric bill.  So do buildings and homes with electric   
   > service over 200 amps.   
      
   Sounds a bit like a rip-off to me.   
      
   But I read upthread about 220 V (or 240 V) in the US being supplied   
   by having two opposite phases.  How is that generated from three   
   phases?  Sound weird.   
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