I had to google the Japan frequency thing. I had no idea!
Feel like elaborating on the UK issues/ why they’re problematic?
Comment on Why are plug sockets region locked?
FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world 3 days ago
US voltages are stupid and pathetically inefficient (kinda a metaphor…)
Japan has a double-whammy of a stupidly low 100 VAC, and to make it worse, half the country is 50Hz and half is 60Hz
The UK has a good voltage and great plugs, but silly earthing arrangements. Their use of ring-circuits is also problematic
simonlm@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world 3 days ago
If the earth conductor fails, then it’s difficult to tell, and painful to repair
The Australasian system where each installation is earthed at the switchboard is far superior
With ring circuits, a broken conductor doesn’t become apparent until the remaining part of the circuit burns because it is carrying the entire load
DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
As a Brit, I’m guessing their issues with earthing is that we make everything to have a earth post, even when it’s not needed on a device, but the longer prong that is the earth post on our 3-pin plugs is a security feature of our plug/socket and makes any item that requires earthing to be earthed before it is even powered.
Couldn’t say why they have issues with ring mains though. It became the norm in a post-war Britain when copper was still scarce.
lime@feddit.nu 3 days ago
ring-mains are the reason everything needs to be fused, because a short in one appliance could otherwise take out an entire building. they’re not used in new construction, and afaik are also being taken out of older buildings.
also schuko is the better plug because it has the same security feature as the british one but it’s reversible, recessed, and you can’t step on an upturned one in the middle of the night.
DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
I can’t agree on Schuko because I always found them to be awkward to plug in, sometimes needing to wiggle them while applying an uncomfortable amount of force.
Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
I do love me a good ring main when I’m in the UK - never heard them described as problematic though.
manualoverride@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Yeah not a problem if you just plan it correctly, I use 4mm t&e on all socket circuits, in trunking and just use a 25A or 30A MCB, that way even if there is a break in the ring it’s still within spec. Modern homes just don’t have the power draw to worry about overloading sockets, especially when I can get a 30A.
OwOarchist@pawb.social 3 days ago
US runs on 240V, just like the UK. Pretty much every house in the US has 240V available. But we use split phase power for lower-power appliances, so most plugs in the house are wired to get only half that power – 120V.
Really, there’s only a few appliances in a house that really benefit at all from the higher voltage: electric ovens, electric clothes dryers, (sometimes) electric heaters, and water-boiling kettles.
For ovens and clothes dryers (if electric), US houses almost always have 240V outlets wired specifically for those.
Electric heaters are often wired for 240V if they’re built in to the house. (But movable, portable space heaters are almost always 120V.)
The only odd one out is the tea kettle. But tea is a lot less popular in the US anyway, so not many houses have one in the first place. And the ones who do … just kind of deal with their water taking 6 minutes to boil instead of 3 minutes. Not worth re-wiring an entire country (entire continent, really) just to boil your tea a little faster. The switchover would be chaos, would result in a lot of things being made obsolete earlier than necessary, and would suddenly require a ton of inefficient voltage step-down adapters for people who didn’t want to throw away all their existing 120V appliances.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
The thing is… Europe also uses split phase. You get three phase power coming in at 380V in most houses on the, 415 in the UK. The 240V is what you get on a single phase.
fullsquare@awful.systems 3 days ago
split phase is 2-phase system but everyone else uses 3-phase distribution. in reality americans also use 3-phase distribution, this is where 207v 3-phase comes from (it’s 120v phase to neutral)
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
Ah I didn’t know about 2 phase systems. In my corner of Europe you’re on either 3 phases or 1 phase. 1 phase gets you 240V, 3 phases gets you 380V + ability to have different consumers on different phases to distribute the load if your house’s wired for that.
I’ve got a few outlets in my house that take this type of plug:
Image
Built in the 80s so grandpa got soviet plugs lol
blackbeans@lemmy.zip 3 days ago
Europe doesn’t use split phase.
US split phase uses a local transformer to split a phase voltage in half. We don’t have such a complication. We use just the three phases that are transported all the way from the power plant.
The phases are 120⁰ apart. The voltages between the phases is 400V and the voltage from any phase to neutral is 230V (all voltages ± 10%).
380V is a decades old standard from the time when different European countries still had minor voltage differences
FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Yeah, it makes so much sense to have many different voltages across your domestic installations…
It’s dumb as fuck, but you lot are stuck with it
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
Same in Europe. 240V and 380V.
FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world 3 days ago
There’s a difference between the madness of 'Murica and having single phase and three-phase power in an installation
greyscale@lemmy.grey.ooo 3 days ago
Never seen 380v in a residential setting. I know theres a circuit for it in my building for the elevator.
fullsquare@awful.systems 3 days ago
blame edison for that
FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world 3 days ago
He really was a dickhead
kboos1@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. Lots of countries split voltages in just every single building because it’s expensive not to.
FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Well fuck me, I guess being in the electrical industry for a quarter of a century doesn’t carry any weight, oh internet expert
fullsquare@awful.systems 3 days ago
in EU there are really only two standards. for single phase loads up to 3.8kW, regular 16A plug is sufficient. above that, 3-phase 5-pin 32A plug (most common of them) is used which can deliver up to 23kW. there are common variants of 3-phase 5-pin plugs rated up to 125A that can deliver up to 89kW, and uncommon up to 800A variants that are also part of the standard, but it delivers up to 0.57MW and it’s a bit silly
OwOarchist@pawb.social 3 days ago
The wiring in the wall can handle 125A or even 800A?! What the fuck wire gauge are you guys using over there?
fullsquare@awful.systems 3 days ago
50mm^2 for 125A, just under 8mm diameter solid copper rod if it was solid copper rod. but it’s stranded so it’s a bit bulkier than that, bundled five per cable so also squished into a wedge. it adds up to some 4cm in diameter
towerful@programming.dev 3 days ago
150mm^2 obviously (tho only for 400A). Don’t know that I’ve ever seen 800 amp powerlock, I guess they would be 240mm^2 and above.
I think they are talking about more industrial/commercial applications that use ceeforms or powerlock for 1 or 3 phase: 16A, 32A, 63A, 125A. Anything over that is powerlock, and I don’t know if any single phase powerlock.