4 ms·

Then you could also say that Europe uses 400 V. You get three-phase power with 230 V phases in your home, and high-powered appliances are often designed to use

Then you could also say that Europe uses 400 V. You get three-phase power with 230 V phases in your home, and high-powered appliances are often designed to use all three phases. But when people speak of voltages, they usually mean what you get from a typical socket.

ryao 2y ago
This explains why a number of people in Europe seem to love the idea of having triple phase to DC on board chargers on electric cars, even though it makes more sense to have those at the charging points. That said, a typical socket likely varies more in the U.S. than in Europe since anything that is high draw in the U.S. gets 240VAC while Europe's 220VAC likely suffices for that. I actually have experimented with running some of my computers off 240VAC. It was actually better than 120VAC since the AC to DC conversion is more efficient when stepping down from 240VAC. Sadly, 240VAC UPS units are pricy, so I terminated that in favor of 120VAC until I find a deal on a 240VAC UPS unit.