I always wondered how/if in Australia we have a heater, or clothes
drier or air-cond, running on 240v and drawing 15A, then on 120v in the U.S. then it must be
drawing 30-Amps!!?? That never sounded right??
And yes, outlets without 'Switches'?? Why??
a maximum load of 3.3 kVA
I'm shocked by the 200 Amps main breaker. Here in Italy a standard family has a 3.0 to 5.5 kVA contract, which means a 16 or 20 Amp breaker.
The new meters (the ones that allow for remote reading) are programmed for a maximum load of 3.3 kVA continous (in my case, with a 3.0 kVA contract) and it will trip if you drain more than the max for a long time (minutes?).
A contract with larger limits has higher costs.
I understand the US electric supply does not discourage customers from using a lot of energy (as long as they pay the bills), but in Europe a limited amouut of current to the users side allows for better planning of the network.
The idea that the utility can control your total draw and cut you off if you exceed some limit is a complete non-starter here.
I always wondered how/if in Australia we have a heater, or clothes
drier or air-cond, running on 240v and drawing 15A, then on 120v in the U.S. then it must be
drawing 30-Amps!!?? That never sounded right??
And yes, outlets without 'Switches'?? Why??If you are in the US and you have an heater in a room, (e-g- an electric stove), it will be powered via a ridicolus plug at 120 V. The plug will overheat and a fire will start, in the standard US home built with wood.
When I was in Seattle 20 years ago, I noticed a lot of firetrucks passing by, a lot more than was usual in Europe.
My US friend said: it's normal, Christmas is coming...
In all of North America, the newest utility meters can turn off the power to your house without even going outside the main power station
clothes dryer is probably 30A at 240V.
QuoteIn all of North America, the newest utility meters can turn off the power to your house without even going outside the main power stationNot just limited to america,but anywhere were smart meters are installed.However that aint the worst aspect of smart meters,with them the utility providers are now able to measure your power factor and charge accordingly.
I always wondered how/if in Australia we have a heater, or clothes
drier or air-cond, running on 240v and drawing 15A, then on 120v in the U.S. then it must be
drawing 30-Amps!!?? That never sounded right??
And yes, outlets without 'Switches'?? Why??If you are in the US and you have an heater in a room, (e-g- an electric stove), it will be powered via a ridicolus plug at 120 V. The plug will overheat and a fire will start, in the standard US home built with wood.
When I was in Seattle 20 years ago, I noticed a lot of firetrucks passing by, a lot more than was usual in Europe.
My US friend said: it's normal, Christmas is coming...
That is just wrong! I can't even imagine an oven or stove top that isn't running on 240V. A typical stove top might have 2 ea 3kW heaters and 2 ea 1kW heater for a total of 8kW, probably more. This would take at least 33 Amps at 240V and the typical circuit is probably 50A. Based on 80% usage of circuit breaker ratings, a 40A circuit would be too small so it's usually 50A. The clothes dryer is probably 30A at 240V. Well pump, pool filter, HVAC also run on 240V. I'm not talking about window mounted AC units, I'm talking central air and perhaps a 3200 square foot house.
The reason that the European countries have such low demand limits (the US has none, I have installed 400A residential panels) is that the system is underbuilt. What's a 'contract'. We connect to the utility (actually, they connect to us) and we use whatever we want. If our load is too high, and there is some legitimate reason, they will simply run a bigger drop and probably install a bigger transformer. They're in the business of selling electricity, not telling their customers that they buy too much.
Here we go again. In all of North America, the newest utility meters can turn off the power to your house without even going outside the main power station, its all done remotely. If the cops want to get you off guard to invade your home, all they need to do is cut the power to your house and you will come outside to see what the fuck is happening. Gotcha, without every getting their hands dirty. It's your world, more ways to have your liberties die.
More popular is Time of Use billing and, around here, that is pretty much a dead issue.
(the US has none, I have installed 400A residential panels)
We do have 120/240V single phase in the US. Other countries have 240/415V three phase or perhaps the house doesn't get 3 phase, just 240V single phase. I don't see why the video author is so amazed, it's been this way forever!
(the US has none, I have installed 400A residential panels)
I doubt those McMansions ever actually pull that much power at once, but might one reason to get a 400A service might be to get approval for more breaker spaces? I don't know if the code limits subpanels, but my 200A service is maxed out on breakers even with a 12-space subpanel and separate panels for the solar and the pool stuff. If it wasn't for tandem breakers, I'd be screwed. And yet there's almost no way to get my max current over 100A, even if I run the AC, charge the car and bake a cake all at once.
We do have 120/240V single phase in the US. Other countries have 240/415V three phase or perhaps the house doesn't get 3 phase, just 240V single phase. I don't see why the video author is so amazed, it's been this way forever!
.. did you watch the video at all?
We do have 120/240V single phase in the US. Other countries have 240/415V three phase or perhaps the house doesn't get 3 phase, just 240V single phase. I don't see why the video author is so amazed, it's been this way forever!
.. did you watch the video at all?
About the first exciting 30 seconds!
(the US has none, I have installed 400A residential panels)I doubt those McMansions ever actually pull that much power at once, but might one reason to get a 400A service might be to get approval for more breaker spaces?