|
We have 230v in the Netherlands, and i think in the rest of europe as well nowadays and i never heard of any problems here with over or under voltages, it's tight at 230v all the time.
Is it some kind of USA thing then? maybe because of the bigger distances?
Might be nice to know that some years ago (maybe even 10) we had 220v but the powercompanys turned it up really slowly (over a period of 3 or 4 years that is) to the 230v we have right now.
Reason: transporting a higher voltage is easier and cheaper because you need less thicker cables to have the same amount of power (P = U x I > Watt = Voltage x Amperage).
That is also the reason why they use these high voltages (380KV) to transport it over long distance > a LOT less thick cables = cheaper.
So maybe they are slowly raising voltages as well in the states without telling people and they turned it up just a 'bit' to fast?
|