110 volts / 220 volts... Why?

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2006-04-16 07:40pm

skyman8081 wrote:
Vendetta wrote:But then TV standards are changing anyway. HDTV signals are common everywhere.
Except that European HDTV is 50Hz/25 FPS. Wheras US HDTV is 60Hz/30FPS.

There are also 480V outlets for the US. (5 leads: 3 hot, 1 neutral) But those are for industrial uses, and lighting equipment.

There's also 575V (3-phase) here in Canada (and, I suspect, in the US) for the big machinery.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2006-04-16 08:30pm

skyman8081 wrote:
Vendetta wrote:But then TV standards are changing anyway. HDTV signals are common everywhere.
Except that European HDTV is 50Hz/25 FPS. Wheras US HDTV is 60Hz/30FPS.

HDTV spans a variety of framerates in the US, from 24-60 FPS.

Jaepheth · Post by **Jaepheth** » 2006-04-18 03:49am

A lot of homes have 220 outlets in select areas of the house (garage / laundry room) for large appliances...

that's my two cents.

I was under the impression that US has 110v standard for safety.

Post by **Edi** » 2006-04-18 04:31am

I'm not sure is I'm remembering correctly, but a net acquintance of mine from a few years ago, who was an electrical engineer in the US said that the USA was much quicker to adapt electricity on a large scale and that at the time it happened, the 110V was chosen for cost-effectiveness, because a higher voltage system would not have been feasible at the time. I'm not sure if I remember that right, though, or if I misremember something that was related to a question about power lines, energy loss during transfer and so forth.

Edi