4 ms·

I'd dispute that. Everybody can roughly imagine a 1/4 multitude of the 2.5 kW of a typical hairdryer, nobody has a meaningful mental image of the amount of cont

by usrusr 5y ago

I'd dispute that. Everybody can roughly imagine a 1/4 multitude of the 2.5 kW of a typical hairdryer, nobody has a meaningful mental image of the amount of continuous work one could expect rotating a number horses (peak power per horse is about 15 hp)

kube-system 5y ago
This makes sense now. We must not use kW in the US because we have horses but we don’t have any 2500W hairdryers!
- usrusr 5y ago
  Heh, that's interesting: "The country where everything is bigger (*)" (* except for consumer goods that would be designed around a practicable supply current of 10A elsewhere)
  - kube-system 5y ago
    They still are bigger if you measure in amps! But seriously, I do like the split-phase power we have in the US. I think we get the best of both worlds, having lower voltages in most living spaces, and higher voltages reserved for high-power appliances.
    - gambiting 5y ago
      >>I think we get the best of both worlds, having lower voltages in most living spaces How is this possibly a benefit for anything though. It's not like 110V is safer in any practical way, if you stick something in a socket it will kill you just as much as 220V would, so it seems like for literally no reason at all American homes have a much less "ability" to support a wide range of devices that work without any issue elsewhere in the world.
      - kube-system 5y ago
        It's safer because of ohms law. Anything you short it with (whether that be an object that might heat up, or a human) will pass half the current and a quarter of the power. I've been shocked with 120v on bare skin multiple times.
        gambiting 5y ago
        Yes, but my point is that it's still just as deadly for a human. It's like asking whether you want to be in a plane crash going 300mph or 600mph - it doesn't really matter. The #1 improvement in home safety when it comes to the electrical system is the socket design to prevent foreign objects entering(like the British plug design for instance), and second one is a working RCB fuse to kill the power before you even feel a tingle. 110V or 220V doesn't really matter.
        kube-system 5y ago
        Crashing at 300mph is guaranteed deadly. Being shocked with 120v is not. I've been shocked a half-dozen times and I haven't been injured in any way. Current code in US/Canada also requires RCDs (we call them GFCI) in some places (and AFCI everywhere, which the rest of the world hasn't really adopted) and shuttered outlets... but these do not catch all types of faults. For instance, if a human conducts electricity across two conductors connected to an RCD/GFCI, it won't trip. It only trips if current is drawn to ground or to another circuit. Layered safety is a good approach. That's not to say that 240v systems are unsafe -- they just have different characteristics and requirements because of it.
        tim333 5y ago
        Yeah I've been shocked a few times with 240v and it's not nice but doesn't often kill people. Most electricity caused deaths are from something causing a fire rather than shocks I think.
        Kubuxu 5y ago
        re AFCI: In Europe wires running through wooden walls are much less common, so arcing in the wiring is less of a concern.

by usrusr 5y ago

kube-system 5y ago

This makes sense now. We must not use kW in the US because we have horses but we don’t have any 2500W hairdryers!

usrusr 5y ago
Heh, that's interesting: "The country where everything is bigger (*)" (* except for consumer goods that would be designed around a practicable supply current of 10A elsewhere)
- kube-system 5y ago
  They still are bigger if you measure in amps! But seriously, I do like the split-phase power we have in the US. I think we get the best of both worlds, having lower voltages in most living spaces, and higher voltages reserved for high-power appliances.
  - gambiting 5y ago
    >>I think we get the best of both worlds, having lower voltages in most living spaces How is this possibly a benefit for anything though. It's not like 110V is safer in any practical way, if you stick something in a socket it will kill you just as much as 220V would, so it seems like for literally no reason at all American homes have a much less "ability" to support a wide range of devices that work without any issue elsewhere in the world.
    - kube-system 5y ago
      It's safer because of ohms law. Anything you short it with (whether that be an object that might heat up, or a human) will pass half the current and a quarter of the power. I've been shocked with 120v on bare skin multiple times.
      - gambiting 5y ago
        Yes, but my point is that it's still just as deadly for a human. It's like asking whether you want to be in a plane crash going 300mph or 600mph - it doesn't really matter. The #1 improvement in home safety when it comes to the electrical system is the socket design to prevent foreign objects entering(like the British plug design for instance), and second one is a working RCB fuse to kill the power before you even feel a tingle. 110V or 220V doesn't really matter.
        kube-system 5y ago
        Crashing at 300mph is guaranteed deadly. Being shocked with 120v is not. I've been shocked a half-dozen times and I haven't been injured in any way. Current code in US/Canada also requires RCDs (we call them GFCI) in some places (and AFCI everywhere, which the rest of the world hasn't really adopted) and shuttered outlets... but these do not catch all types of faults. For instance, if a human conducts electricity across two conductors connected to an RCD/GFCI, it won't trip. It only trips if current is drawn to ground or to another circuit. Layered safety is a good approach. That's not to say that 240v systems are unsafe -- they just have different characteristics and requirements because of it.
        tim333 5y ago
        Yeah I've been shocked a few times with 240v and it's not nice but doesn't often kill people. Most electricity caused deaths are from something causing a fire rather than shocks I think.
        Kubuxu 5y ago
        re AFCI: In Europe wires running through wooden walls are much less common, so arcing in the wiring is less of a concern.