Differnt Voltage and Frequency Levels Around the World

Because.

(There's not much more of an answer than that.)

Well there are certain advantages of of high voltage over low and vice versa

For a particular load if the voltage is low the current will be proportionaly higher

So a higher current means more heating of conductor, loss of wattage and voltage drop

heating = I sq*R so losses increase @ square of current

and Voltage drop= I*R proportional to I

so we need better conductors in terms of conductivity at lower voltages, thicker and more ventillation so higher cost

Incase of high voltage the current lower to same ratio

but we need more insulation at higher voltages, the danger to personals is more etc

but high voltage distribution system is cheaper nut shall

poor countries cant afford to use better and bigger condutors for same power out put

It has a lot to do with commerce, neighboring availability, special needs, evolution and the way the first implementation and distribution has been developed.

Ideal should be that everywhere on earth the same standards could be used. But people have different religions, speak different languages, and use the voltages that have been implemented or have changed by evolution.

Some drive cars on the left, others on the right side of the road, because the middle is too dangerous and complicated?

Not so far back history shows factories, powered with diesel and central transmission shafts, where all the machinery had a coupling to it. Others were powered by a steam engine. Some companies used low frequency generators, even 16,6 Hz to make electric motors run slower for their applications.

Nations with colonies implemented mostly their system in these too. GB, France, Germany, Portugal. I remember in the sixties that Europe introduced the 220 Volts, coming from a 110 Volts system, because of the demand boom for electrical power and the profit in it to use the thinner conductors. (the transformer use vision US>< EU is different).

During the years system grow to each other and differences can disappear, but that is not for tomorrow.

See also the metric system versus imperial. Standardization takes willpower, adaptation, education and a lot of time and money, while everyone likes to stick with their usual "best" system.

It's due to a complete lack of global standardisation on the topic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_power_around_the_world

http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/11301

Generally, a wire is less expensive when the voltage is high. The cross section of the copper wires is smaller for higher voltages.

But from the safety point of view lower voltage circuit are safer than the high voltage ones.

The reasons for the selection of 60 Hz are:

1- It is high enough frequency to eliminate light flickers in certain types of incandescent lamps.
2- It is conveniently synchronized with time.
3- Machines designed for 60 Hz can have less iron and smaller magnetic circuit than the the ones designed for 50Hz.

Now can you tell my the reason for aircraft power sytsems,
Why the frequecny is 400Hz?

Answer to this question will help you to know the advantage of high frequecny.

I do understand why 400Hz is more effective and "lighter" to design for.

A question back:-

Do you know why only the Navigation lights on Royal Navy (older) Direct Current (220 volts) ships were always supplied by higher frequency AC, 400Hz was quite common for example.......? As was 333Hz if I remember correctly.....

Now can you tell my the reason for aircraft power sytsems,
Why the frequecny is 400Hz?

by higher frequecies, the core of the transformator is not satuarted as quickly. That allows a smaller sizing. So it brings a weight reduction.

Quote: "All that being said, Tesla was more than a little nuts and he believed in "magic of numbers" and 60 is one of those kind of numbers, so who knows?"

For an interesting and fun read: The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix

... a little teaser from an article citing from the book:

Numerical coincidences abound, and they are often so remarkable that it is difficult to explain them rationally. Not surprisingly, many people become convinced that these coincidences have irrational explanations. What, for example, should be made of the following similarities (not all of them numerological) between U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, taken from a far more extensive list in Martin Gardner's The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix (1985)?

• Lincoln was elected president in 1860, Kennedy in 1960.
• Both were assassinated on a Friday.
• Lincoln was killed in Ford's Theatre; Kennedy was killed riding in a Lincoln convertible made by the Ford Motor Company.
• Both were succeeded by Southern Democrats named Johnson.
• Andrew Johnson was born in 1808, Lyndon Johnson in 1908.
• The first name of Lincoln's private secretary was John, the last name of Kennedy's private secretary was Lincoln.
• John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839, Lee Harvey Oswald in 1939.
• Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre and fled to a warehouse; Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theatre.
• John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald both have 15 letters.
• The first public suggestion that Lincoln should run for president proposed that his running mate should be John Kennedy. (John Pendleton Kennedy was a Maryland politician.)
• Shift each letter of FBI forward by six letters in the alphabet and you get LHO, the initials of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Typical guest, states a lot of total rubbish.....Kennedy was assasinated on November 22, 1963.......

Every schoolboy or girl (of any age or time.....even the halfwit ones, know that!

Guest, if that is how "good" you and your data are, then I cannot even be bothered to check the rest through!!!

There's really no much significant difference w/ the two standards between safety and efficiency, power supplied by transmissions are all high voltage in KV anyway.. it's just that there's different standards all along and making it to one now will just make a lot of skirmishing, i could see it will be chaotic lots of struggle/

i think, they had developed the networks simultaneous, and like the development for BlueRay/HD Disk, in this time there was no standart established.

and now the networks are to big for a global adjustment.

Oi! Too NOISY. Keep it down, mate! <Splutter>

Haven't we discussed this to death already somewhere else???? At a much earlier time in the life of Planet Earth!!

Yes, but this time the train of thought has progressed a bit differently than the last two times, not allowing me to get in my digs at the Europeans trying to kill people with higher voltage to save on wire size and cost. Oh, there - I got it in!

And, just to finish off a little . . .

The journals of the Westinghouse Club from the early 1900s show some of the decision processes in going (finally) with 60 Hz. The articles show that everybody was having trouble with synchronizing power converters; over 40 Hz, the converters did a lot of "hunting". Westinghouse simply "pushed the envelope" a bit more than, say, AEG by moving to 60 Hz and making all sorts of little "fixes" to get the required stability.

For the 400 Hz, the answer really lies in the development of heavy bombers prior to WWII. They needed good motors to open the bomb bay doors and adjust all those flaps. They saw the need to go to 3 phase motors (so dc was out right away) and there is an obvious trade-off between weight (higher frequency) and losses (lower frequency). The 8th US Army Air Force won the argument and it became 400 Hz.

This is based on safety and business model along with technology

Safety: 120 Volt is safer than 230 volt when a person by mistake runs in electrical shock. This is purely related to voltage. In general higher the voltage higher current carrying ability of wire.

Business: 110 V system is different than 230 and the battle is on for business and generated full line of adopter and floating voltage systems

This thread has been very educational. I've often wondered that. We manufacture conveyors and install them in both the United States, Canada and Mexico. I've wondered why we have to have motors that are 570v/50hz in Mexico and Canada and 440v/60hz in the States. Especially when we are neighboring countries. You'd think they'd make consistent throughout the three countries so we wouldn't have to buy an adapter to plug in our electric shaver.

It is time for standardisation of voltage,frequency,socket(receptacle),currency,language etc.If MKS unit is acceptable,why can't they sit down and come to a decision on this. Consider a tourist carrying an electric shaver visiting different areas of the world where 110 or 220v is used,the shaver socket should be suitable for dual voltage(BS).If inserted into the wrong socket it will burn. Also a 2pin plug cannot be inserted into the BS 3pin receptacle.

Maybe I should not write this here, but careful usage of a screwdriver in the earth socket will allow a European 2 pin + ground plug to be used in a UK 3 pin socket.

Of course if the unit to be powered needs earth, then its not a good idea, but many laptop power supplies for example are double insulated and do not need earth.

There are even better cheap adaptors that allow a person from one country to use the sockets of another with no problems provided you have at least dual voltage devices.

Some devices can accept ANY AC voltage from 80 to 250 volts 50-60 Hz, which makes them particularly useful to have around!

The US plugs I have seen need a proper adapter because as far as I am aware, they only fit their own type of sockets......

It gets even worse for higher powers and voltages, US plugs and sockets are completely different to the rest of the world.....but that is seldom a problem for a tourist!!

Should visitors including tourists to other countries carry a toolbox in addition to their luggage? Standardisation is the best solution.

Lord luv a duck, the generating capacity is already built. There is no possibility of replacing it all except very, very gradually.

You will never ever get it.

When the UK joined the EU, the EU (among many other "hair brained" ideas) wanted that the UK change to the European plug system.....

The UK said basically "No thanks, we had a similar system many years ago and its simply not safe enough". "Why don't you all convert to the UK system BS1363 which is really safe (for that time, its had a few tweaks to improve it even further since then!)"

Not one European country converted!! So how will you get the whole world to convert????

You can read about it here:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_wiring_in_the_United_Kingdom

and here:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_1363

The 50 hz is easier for normal pair of poles which gives 3000 rpm

the 60 hz is inline with time division of 60 sec/min and 60min/hr

the higher voltages for transmitting power across long dist. to reduce transmission losses

The lower voltages at domestic level at 110v to avoide electric shocks

the countries must understand and chang to this practrice.

kiran nawathe

110 volts is a big waster of copper......you need twice as much as a 220 volt system!!

It still kills just as many people because the plugs and other equipment used are very badly designed.....some people thought that it wasn't dangerous!!!! Partially plugged in, you can touch live pins. Many do, especially children.

Also the 110 volt system has problems that generally speaking, for example you cannot have 3 phase in a domestic situation without very high costs.

Here in Germany, we have 3 phase in every house to try and achieve balanced loading, so if you want to run a big 3 phase induction motor - you can!!!

I have 3 x 50 mains amp fuses, and could have them uprated if I wish.....at 240 volts phase to neutral!!

Even using aluminum is not a fix, you still need vast amounts of metal....very thick cables....difficult to bend and install....

There are many different arguments for both 50 and 60 Hz.....

An even higher frequency would have been, with hindsight, better......but the mechanics of the day when that was decided were not up to higher frequencies.....

In a perfect world.........

50hz vs. 60hz, not much in it, and I can understand how these choices came about. But 110v vs. 230v ? I agree with Andy, a total waste of copper, for what benefit? I've felt how hot the plug gets on a Canadian kettle mains lead, seen how it sparks when you unplug it, seen how close my fingers were to live prongs. Scary! I've seen what an inquisitive boy can do with a scalextric car and a half-inserted plug (the boy survived, the car was toast!). I've heard that many/most house fires in Canada are the result of poor 110v electrics and timber construction. So 110v was clearly not chosen for reasons of safety or economy, unlike the UK ring-main system. I'd be interested to know how it came about, probably something quite random.

I may be wrong but 220 V came out based on its losses when is done in village or town after dropping voltage from main transformer. I am not electric engineer but it made sense to me.

Yes, you are right, but there's more to it than that, otherwise they would have standardized on 220v in the US aswell. 100v was initially chosen in the US (and other places) because early incandescent bulbs were rather fragile, with their carbon filaments, and worked better at 100v. Furthermore, generators were generally fairly close to the point of use, so transmission losses were deemed acceptable. At a certain time and place in Germany one of the utilities decided to switch to 220v to reduce transmission losses, and this gradually spread to other parts. This may also have coincided with the development of the more robust metal filament bulbs. It is likely in the US at this stage that they were already too far down the line with 110v supply and appliances to warrant the upheaval of a change to 220v.

110V is the result of Edison having used 110VDC for early lighting. Since a light bulb doesn't know AC from DC, Westinghouse used 110VAC early on because it was compatible with Edison's light bulbs. The appliance mfrs followed suit and a defacto standard arose.

i do not know,

but in south america there is--similiar to ON DEMAND water heating...that is a small 220 set up thet when you turn on the tap....hot water. shut tap; heats off. no bulky hot water tanks,extra hot water lines, think about it.

all the plumbing in a high rize, the appartments, all the tanks in the dump, hot water heating....propane, gas, electrical.

some body said....do it thet way......a billion dollar industry with parts and repairmen would be out of buisness.

i know and it should be researched, in larger industrials the systems are often 220 440 even 660.

the mining industry uses it.

the old street-car overhead wire systems were vry economical,

there's writings on cost and maintence fee ;s in major us city's, when they turn transit into deisel and gas.

some one once said, the only blunders are political,

Voltage and frequency are not the only difference. Ground fault protection(Earth leakage) is also different. In UK protection is generally provided in the distribution centre(consumer unit) while in north america it is in the socket(receptacle). In UK tripping time is 30mA in 300ms while in USA it is 6mA in 6secs. Also in UK 13A plugs have fuses which will blow for a fault(OC/SC) in connected appliance while in USA GFCI trips for GF only. Lamp sizes and holder sizes too are different.