New G2 HP Prime

[cyrille de brébisson]

Hello,

- "US is 100V: They must love the metric system" "Does that mean that it is safer..."

Actually, they are 110V (nominal) and anything from 90V to 120V real! which is a HUGE variation (note, these are voltages that I mesured at my house when I lived in Boise)...
This variation, to me, means that the US electricity infrastructure is carp. It should not have such large swings...

In comparison, the french system is 220V nominal, but oscilate, in reality betweeen 230 and 240V (mesured at my place in the boonies). showing much less variability, but absolute and in percentage.

Is the US system safer? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

First, what kills you is mostly Amps, not volts (you can easely take a multi Kilo volt shock without harm. Thnk of an electrostatic discharge).

Second, if you half the voltage, to get the same power you need to double the amps...
BUT, the energy released through heating in a conductor is RI² (where R is the conductor resistance and I the intensity: Amps)...
As a result, things in the US heat a lot. Use the vacum cleaner (typically 1~1.5KW) and touch the cable, you can feel the heat.
This leads to a large number of house fires, especially in old houses with old wires.

Third, american have access to a WHOLE lot more power than other countries. Building code specified a minimum of 200A, at 220V, comming in the house (but a lot of house have more, 300 or 400A). In France you can choose between 15, 30 and 45A (at 220V also). This means you have, potentially, 4.5 times more power to kill yourself, should you do something dumb.

On the other hand, I love the US electrical boxes with their build in back planes and clip on fuses. I hope that they adopt this in other countries!

Cyrille