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| The US electrical system |
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| TimFox:
Just to clarify language usage in the US: The typical appliance found in the kitchen for heating food is called a "range", and can be either electrical or gas-powered. The usual range has a cooktop above an oven, possibly with a second oven mounted above the cooktop. Here is a good discussion of options and fuels, along with the required electrical connections: https://www.abt.com/learn/kitchen-range-buying-guide In informal usage, this is sometimes called a "stove" or "cook stove", but it is rare in US usage to refer to a space-heating appliance as a stove. The plug required for a 240V range or clothes dryer is large: the older style has only three prongs, but the newer ones have four prongs (NEMA 14-30). A typical electric dryer pulls 30 A at 240 V. An historical note: the "Franklin stove", see https://www.ushistory.org/franklin/science/stove.htm , was an American invention (Benjamin Franklin, 1742) for space heating to improve efficiency over a traditional fireplace. |
| themadhippy:
And in the uk Range = somewhere cowboys live or chavs shop cooker = thing for cooking food with ovens. heating rings and maybe a grill stove = can be a heater or a cooker if your posh,but more common to break or smash, ,as in " I'll stove yer head in" |
| filssavi:
Just as an addendum, 3kW single phase in italy is just the standard contract, the utility will happily give you more, if you ask. Normal homes usually have a single phase system, in that cases to avoid unbalances you can ask for up to 6 kW (each kW over the standard will cost 20-40€ more each month). You can also ask to have a three phase feed, for which there are no additional costs, in that case you can usually have a lot more power (up to 100kW over which you have to connect to the medium voltage grid), You are allowed to draw up to 10% more indefinitely, while for higher draws over the meter will trip. So the low size of electric feeds has more to do with how the people use electricity than anything else. Mainly we don't need that much electrical power, clothes are usually air dried (dryers are getting more common but just barely), heating and cooking is done with natural gas. the houses are small enough that a 1/1.5kw A/C system is enough. etc. I think things will start to change probably when electric cars will get more common. |
| TimFox:
From the past participle of "stave", the verb "stove" means "to break in a stave or staves of (a cask or barrel) so as to release the wine, liquor, or other contents", and the mid-19th century stories of whaling referred to ships "stove in" by whales. The generalization to heads is straightforward. Yes, cowboys have a "home on the range (noun)", but what, pray tell, do you mean by "chavs shop"? |
| IanB:
To add to the British perspective, a stove is generally a fixed device in which you burn wood or coal, for heating or cooking. If for heating it is usually qualified, as for example "a wood-burning stove". If the word "stove" is used by itself, it would usually be understood as a cooker, and a "stove-top" would be where you cook with pots and pans. Under no circumstances would stove be used to describe an electric, gas or kerosene fueled space heater. Such a thing would simply be called a heater. |
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