EDIT: I stand corrected by the comments below. Readers Ignore most of what I said on this comment. I was mistaken. -------------------------------------- You

EDIT: I stand corrected by the comments below. Readers Ignore most of what I said on this comment. I was mistaken. -------------------------------------- You have some misunderstandings in your comment. Unless it is a very old construction or a smaller home, houses in the US as well as most of americas are provided with one or more phases derived from the secondary of a step-down transformer in Y configuration (3-phase, 1-neutral => 4 wires). So, for a small apartment, maybe you'll get a single phase wire plus the neutral, or more commonly 2-phase wires plus neutral, up to the full 3 phase wires plus neutral. The phases are usually 220V between then and 120 between any individual phase and the neutral connector. Europeans don't have this convenience because the step-down transformers give homes 3 phases in a delta configuration (so, 3 phase wires, no neutral wire), so, they only have the 220V between any two-phases. Also, split and wall ar-conditioning systems are almost universally bi-polar with a capacitor, in Europe, Asia, or the Americas. As well as most refrigerators, freezers and other similar appliances. In the past we used to have driers that would be multi-polar, but it was never very common. It is more usual to have tri-phase motors in bigger motors, like those used in central AC units. And HVAC systems in the US accordingly will usually require an upgrade if your home is not wired with 3-phase plus neutral, unless it is a small HVAC. Electrical vehicle charges also usually require 3-phase. People are confusing what they have the electric outlets inside their homes with what gets from the street into the distribution panel in the house. Most power outlets inside a house are bi-polar connectors (so, in europe, they can only be 220 phase-to-phase, and in the US and most of the American continent, they can be either 220 phase-to-phase or 110 V phase-to-neutral. The third connector in a domestic outlet is usually the ground, not another phase or the neutral. The three-phases are usually split between different circuits at home, trying to ensure that the load is somewhat evenly split, but at the outlets, you'll have either phase-phase, or phase-neutral, and this is the same in Europe or America, but the americans have the flexibility to have phase-neutral dipole with half the voltage that europeans don't have. Regarding having smaller step down transformers close to homes instead of a single giant unit, we need to remember that keeping the low-tension wires short is more efficient, and this is achieved by having the transformers closer to consumers, instead of having a giant transformer distant from the consumers. I am not an American, and I know that a lot of things in America could be more efficient, but power distribution to residences is probably not something were europe have an edge over the US.