[Clouseau2]

I think most houses in the US get 220 v, it just gets split. Someone with a better knowledge of electrical systems can explain the details. I thought we basically had the same system as other countries, it's just that we (USA) downgrade some the outlets we plug the majority of our equipment into whereas 220v countries do not.

It's been over 10 years since I took EE and I failed it the first time around, ha!

[Daculling]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lotrfan55345', 'A') map of the world electricity voltages:
World Standards
175 countries use 225v and 39 use 110v. Is there an advantage/disadvantage to using 225v or 110v?
What has better efficiency/less losage?

[MD]

actually, the peak-to-peak voltage in both cases is approximately 340 volts. 115 is the root-mean-square(average) voltage of single phase, 230 is the root-mean-square of dual phase, 180 electrical degrees apart.
In fact, if you measure from the "hot" prongof one plug in your house to the "hot" prong of another, you may actually read 230 vac.
Back to efficiency. Higher voltage is more efficient at installation because it takes half the copper to transport the same power when the voltage is doubled.

[lotrfan55345]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'Y')ou don't have 220 in your house? Take a closer look, I bet you have both. What voltage does you A/C or clothes drier run on?

[Jaymax]

Wikipedia
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')riginally Europe was 110 V too, just like Japan and the US today. It was deemed necessary to increase voltage to draw more power with reduced loss and voltage drop from the same copper wire diameter. At the time the US also wanted to change, but it was deemed too costly to change all of the existing infrastructure.

[ChumpusRex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')UT, with all those transfromers, how much power is lost through those?

[Caoimhan]

When we start using plug-in hybrids or pure battery-electric vehicles, it'll be 220V chargers most of us will use to start, because our houses have those 220V circuits.

I wonder what amperage they usually run at. 40? 60? 80?

[ubercynicmeister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lotrfan55345', 'A') map of the world electricity voltages:
World Standards
175 countries use 225v and 39 use 110v. Is there an advantage/disadvantage to using 225v or 110v?
What has better efficiency/less losage?

[Daculling]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Caoimhan', 'W')hen we start using plug-in hybrids or pure battery-electric vehicles, it'll be 220V chargers most of us will use to start, because our houses have those 220V circuits.
I wonder what amperage they usually run at. 40? 60? 80?

[pea-jay]

Having lived in both Europe and the US, I have had 220V and 110V appliances and appliance sized transformers so that our US appliances ran in Europe and our European appliances ran in the the US. In Europe we had to have these step down transformers (not those cheapie travel sized ones, but those car battery sized, non electronic versions) or we would fry our appliances. In the us we simply reversed the terminals on the transformer and boosted the voltage or utilized the 220 dryer circuit which wasnt being used.

When my parents moved to the Philippines in 1993, they lived in a house that had 120/240 service to almost every room (dual wired). The funny thing about it was that all US style outlets were 240 and all Euro style outlets were 120. My dad spent the first weekend reversing all of them so he didnt fry all of the appliances.

Finally, right here in CA, I have metered my power and have seen the voltage as low as 107V and spiking as high as 128V (on a consistent basis). The current problems fried my CPU on my last computer, which is why I only use a UPS now. Bastards.

[Devil]

Easily seen there are no engineers here.
There is no way that voltage changes could fry a CPU as the voltages from the PSU are stabilised. OTOH, they could fry the PSU. Aren't you confusing CPU and PSU?
The 110 V is from phase to neutral in the US. The 220 V in the US is from phase to phase of a 2-phase system. It is dangeous to use a single phase 220 V appliance across 2 phases, unless it has been specifically designed for it. It is probable that doing so may invalidate your fire/accident insurances.

The European 230 V is also from phase to neutral but of a 400 V 3-phase system. Our storage heater circuits are 3-phase star connections (delta connections would be less safe), but the rest of the house is on one single phase. It may be dangerous putting a US 220 V appliance on a European single phase circuit (inadequate insulation).
The choice of voltage for household use is a compromise between safety (electrocution), safety (fire), IR losses, cost of copper, cost of insulation etc. Low voltage = less risk of electrocution, more risk of fire, higher ohmic losses, more copper in the wiring but thinner insulation.

[pea-jay]

Yep, I meant power supply. It may as well fried the motherboard itself though, since the power supply on my was long since out of manufacture. No functioning PSU, no CPU. Oh well, it WAS out of date...

[mistel]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ChumpusRex', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')UT, with all those transfromers, how much power is lost through those?

[ChumpusRex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')e did the calculation in school, (5 years ago!) and I remember it to be around 30%. If they could perfect super conducting transmission lines, there are huge efficiencies to gain.

[Kylon]

Hello, I was wondering if any of you have any experience selling to the power grid from your own private generators.

I'm interested because very soon I may be able to produce a surplus amount of power, which I can sell to the power companies.

However, I talked to my father about this, and he said that if you try to sell power to large companies, they will hit you with a frivalous lawsuit, in order to tie you up in court, and eventually shut you down. Even though the law is on your side, he said the average court cost for those entering the business is about 6 million dollars. Even though they lose(do to the fact that what your doing is perfectly legal), ultimately, they tie up your resources for so long, and create such court cost, that you either back out, or go broke.

Anyway, does anyone have any experience selling power to the power companies?

Also, I was wondering, if they did a case against me, and I was technically not incorporated, but rather a sole proprietarship, could I be eligible for a public defender, that would fight the case for me, and therefore use the public courts legal resources, thus eliminating the ability of big corporations to destroy me with court cost?

Any assistance when it comes to knowledge in these matters would be much appreciated.

[AQIUS]

hello

your topic caught my interest, and I can give you some info re the legal system: most states only appoint a public defender if you are charged with a criminal offense & you claim you are broke.
Even then, the state could keep track of the expense of the public defender and force you to sign an agreement to pay back the amount at a later date, or a nominal charge, before assigning one to your case.
Bear in mind that this all applies to criminal charges, and not civil cases, where your case might go.
I'm not a lawyer / this is not legal advice so relax all you JD's, just relaying some personal experience.

[Kylon]

Thank you for your assistance, I was afraid that might be the case.

[Micki]

I thought the easiest and fully legit way of selling was to sell it to the electricity company. That should not result in any legal issues.
Try contacting some of your local elec utilities companies and see what they have to say.

[miraculix]

Kylon

it all comes down to where you are located

I presume somewhere in the good 'ol US of A

If that is the case you need to start talking to your city officials first, trying to get a feeling for what kind of regulations they have on their books.

Next step is to contact the PR office of your local utility company and ask them some hypothetical questions.

Say you are doing research for a school project or so and want to know something about that subject - try to get a written statement

Then contact your state government - write to the appropriate office for energy issues.

After making this round you may be more confused, but depending on your locale you may have some answers.

There are huge differences among states and even from county to county.

I am afraid if you end up being sued - you will be all on your own.

Maybe there is some advocacy group that may support you - I think there is - just search the web.

If you are not in the US things might be a lot easier.

Many countries in Euope have supportive legislation forcing the utility companies to pay entities that feed into the grid retail rates for the energy provided

[Frank]

Most (if not all) States have net-metering requirements and are required to purchase excess power (usually generated by PV) from consumers. Requirements vary based on how much you're thinking of selling but unless you're a very large generator you shouldn't have any problem getting an agreement. It's generally very straightforward.

Call you utility and ask about net-metering; if they don't know then look at:

http://www.dsireusa.org/ for details on your State.