Electircal Potential Differences...its all Voltage to Me

Dear 100 (Day?) Board:

Q: Why does the United States use 110 voltage and Europe 220? And why the different plug system for them?

Sincerely,

220V A,L Plug

A: Dear Anti-Adapter,

In short, to answer your question laziness and unilateralism has caused the issues regarding inconsistent voltage, Hz and plugs not to mention that pesky metric system. To help you with the confusion visit the World-wide Electricity guide.

We have addressed these questions earlier with our brilliant article, Dirty Power Done Cheap. Your lack to adapt and understand previous answers is unfortunate. But because you are an ex-Pat it is almost a given that you will never fully adapt. For more detailed answers, well let us get started:

How values were selected
The type of electricity delivered to homes and businesses was first direct current (DC) but then changed to AC electricity. The standard voltage level started at 110V, went to 240V, back to 110V, and then to 220V. Voltage is just a fancy way to say, electrical potential differences. It is the force of electricity. The frequency started at 60Hz and then went to 50Hz in most areas simply because these frequencies were most efficient and optimal although it is argued 60Hz is better, faster and stronger... like the US.

Tesla starts AC
Early in the history of electricity, Thomas Edison's General Electric Company was distributing DC electricity at 110 volts in the United States and kicking every one's butt. Then Nikola Tesla devised a system of three-phase AC electricity at 240 volts. Three-phase meant that three alternating currents slightly out of phase were combined in order to even out the great variations in voltage occurring in AC electricity. He had calculated that 60 cycles per second or 60Hz was the most effective frequency. Tesla later compromised to reduce the voltage to 110 volts for safety reasons.

Europe goes to 50Hz
With the backing of the Westinghouse Company, Tesla's AC system became the standard in the United States. Meanwhile, the German company AEG started generating electricity and caught the fascist bug and became a virtual monopoly in Europe. They decided to use 50Hz instead of 60Hz to better fit their metric standards, but they kept the voltage at 110V.

Unfortunately, 50Hz AC has greater losses and is not as efficient as 60HZ. Due to the slower speed 50Hz electrical generators are 20% less effective than 60Hz generators. Electrical transmission at 50Hz is about 10-15% less efficient. 50Hz transformers require larger windings and 50Hz electric motors are less efficient than those meant to run at 60Hz. They are more costly to make to handle the electrical losses and the extra heat generated at the lower frequency. Those stupid fascists.

Europe goes to 220V
Europe stayed at 110V AC until the 1950s, just after World War II. They then switched over to 220V for better efficiency in electrical transmission. Great Britain not only switched to 220V, but they also changed from 60Hz to 50Hz to follow the European lead. Since many people did not yet have electrical appliances in Europe after the war, the change-over was not that expensive for them.

U.S. stays at 110V, 60Hz
The United States also considered converting to 220V for home use but felt it would be too costly, due to all the 110V electrical appliances people had. A compromise was made in the U.S. in that 220V would come into the house where it would be split to 110V to power most appliances. Certain household appliances such as the electric stove and electric clothes dryer would be powered at 220V.

Some countries can't decide on a standard.


This lack of standardization has caused multiple plugs and appliance prongs. I mean come on what do we even have a UN for?

But just think it could be worse. Just look at these countries:

Brazil
In Brazil, most states use between 110V and 127V AC electricity. But many hotels use 220V. In the capital Brasilia and in the northeast of the country, they mainly use 220-240V.

Japan
In Japan, they use the same voltage everywhere, but the frequency differs from region to region. Eastern Japan, which includes Tokyo, uses 50Hz. In western Japan, which includes Osaka and Kyoto, they use 60 Hz.

The reason for this is that after World War II, Britain was in charge of helping reconstruct Japan's electrical system in the eastern part of the country and the United States set up the electricity in the western part of Japan. Since Great Britain (United Kingdom) had been using 60Hz before the war and had just switched over to the European 240V 50Hz, it is strange that they set up Japan at 100V and 50Hz, especially when the U.S. was using 60Hz.

Having different voltages and frequencies within the country not only must be confusing for the people but also can result in extra costs for appliances and adapters. That MacArthur missed this is a mystery. Maybe he was preoccupied with his ever present personality.

Summary
The voltage and frequency of AC electricity varies from country to country throughout the world- it ain't changing anytime soon. No US or foreign president has had it on their platform for election/re-election. Most use 220V and 50Hz. About 20% of the countries use 110V and/or 60Hz to power their homes. 220V and 60Hz are the most efficient values, but only a few countries use that combination. The United States uses 110V and 60Hz AC electricity.