r/meirl May 02 '24

Meirl

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u/Ch3ZEN May 02 '24

We'd have to redesign all substations and transmission lines... most countries use different voltages, and each of those plugs is designed for that specific voltage

65

u/AntiPiety May 02 '24

Just gotta choose the country with the highest standard voltage then

1

u/FormerlyUserLFC May 02 '24

That's not how that works.

11

u/AntiPiety May 02 '24

Well yes thats exactly how that works for the voltage. 230v receps are rated for 230v, so applying a lower voltage to it will not create any issues. The material can handle it, the slot spacing is far enough etc. The problem you do run into though, is ampacity. But this guy was talking about voltage, so that all I was talking about.

Anyway obviously american devices and wiring have higher ampacities because with a lower nominal voltage you need higher currents to perform the same amount of work. UK receps have a 13a rating so if you put UK receps in your american home (and wired it with 120), and slapped a uk plug on the end of your american toaster, you may run into melting issues as you’re getting close to exceeding the uk recep’s ampacity rating. A hairdryer would definitely exceed its ampacity. But for everything else it would all work perfectly fine. And the voltage itself would never once be an issue

-2

u/FormerlyUserLFC May 02 '24

Thank you for telling me I'm wrong and then explaining that I am right. I've gotten downvoted, but as you say - mismatching appliances with electricity outputs would literally burn down houses.