Do Different Voltages Mean the Same Thing?

Just as with the plethora of different materials in the electrical industry, have you ever wondered why we have so many voltages that can mean the same thing? It can be confusing at best! In the latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin answers this question to bring some clarity to the subject.
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Early on in its life in the US, electricity was run to our streetlights somewhere around 100v. As time went on, this was increased to about 110v to increase the amount of light. This was the norm until recently (say the last 50 or 60 years +/-), where for the same reasons, it again was increased to 120v and 240v where we now currently reside in the voltage scale. However, when we talk about voltage at any particular point, we are referring to NOMINAL voltage, or in other words- Close to. A small percentage (up or down) will typically be acceptable in most instances. For our standard voltage of 120v, generally anywhere between 114v to 126v is common.
Now, you may notice that on some materials, say a light bulb for example, it will be stamped on it with its wattage along with 130v. This means that the lamp is RATED for voltages as high as 130v to handle the fluctuation of voltage throughout the day. Also, notice how on some devices like receptacles, it is labeled as 125v 20a or 125/250v 30a. All this means is that the device in question is rated for that many amps of current at the voltage range listed (usually a bit higher on the scale than normal). Remember from previous episodes, voltage and amperage are proportional to one another. Raise one and the other will also go up. So, if we were to raise the voltage above 120v, the amperage associated with it would also go up. So, they rate the devices at the amperage you are wanting to use at the higher end of the voltage available to have a bit of a safety buffer in there. If that were not to be the case, if your voltage went up, then your device rating (amperage wise) could potentially be exceeded, and a fire hazard could be present.
Another item to look for is dual voltage ratings on a device. Most of our dryer and range receptacles, for example, are rated either 30a or 50a at 125/250v. This simply means that the device is rated to carry the amperage it is stamped with at either 125v or 250v. It is manufactured to work at either voltage, but the equipment you are plugging into it may not be, so make sure to check the equipment requirements/ratings!
Motors on the other hand tend to be on the inverse of this scale. You typically see 230/460 which is on the lower end of the standard voltage scale of 240v or 480v. Knowing that voltages vary depending on load, the manufacturers rate their motors on the low scale to let us know that this is the lowest amount of voltage that should be applied to their motor so it can operate without damage. In any given facility, the more you have operating at once, the lower the voltage typically is overall, so the equipment manufacturers see LOWER voltages as more common than high. Now, damage can also happen by applying to HIGH of a voltage, but the manufacturers deem it more advantageous to label it with the low end of the voltage spectrum than the upper end. Again, check the equipment requirements/ratings before applying voltage to it!
We hope you learned something by watching the video. Continue to look frequently at the site as new videos and content are being added all the time!
#electrician #electrical #electricity
2:00 - Example 1
2:57 - Utility voltage
4:12 - Plug Examples

[@thomasmaughan4798]

"Do Different Voltages Mean the Same Thing?" No.

[@KrustyKlown]

and Yes

[@chaztitan6457]

@@KrustyKlown no. If they were the same, they wouldn't be different. 110 is different than 220. There is a difference in usage. Just as a water tower at 50 feet above is different than 150. Their use is different. U can make them equal by how you use them but them by itself are is different

[@jeebus6263]

Yes :)

[@natyong]

"Do all the white collar Electrical Engineers up vote this comment?" Well technically, Yes. heh heh

[@murkyturkey5238]

@@chaztitan6457 no shit Sherlock. What about 110v 115v and 120v? Do you know the answer? Bc they are the same in the way they are used

[@drewgemus]

I shadowed an (older) electrician for a few days when I was much younger and just learning and we went to an outlet that was supposedly having problems. Put his meter on it and the meter read exactly 121.5 and he said "Well, we're getting 110 no problem." Confused the shit out of me at the time.

[@dtvjho]

Just like how an old TV repairman that kept telling me about "condensers" that dried out. What are those? Turns out they're capacitors. I got the same for control knobs - "rheostats". Today the device type is a variable resistor, and the name now depends on how it's hooked up in the circuit. When only one end and the center tap are wired, that's a rheostat, but when both ends are wired along with the tap, this 3-connection device is a potentiometer, or "pot" for short.

[@2993LP]

@@dtvjho I keep a drawer of them I call my pot stash.

[@Synthstain]

Yea dude, similar situation when referring to refrigerants as "Freon" when Freon was initially the brand of most refrigerants in circulation. Things just stick around and get passed down by generation.

[@therealwilliammullins3356]

@@Synthstain I think you mean"Freeze on" lol

[@Synthstain]

@@therealwilliammullins3356 no, I don't lol

[@kc4cvh]

4:42 With resistive loads, the current does rise in proportion to voltage. However, with the high-frequency commutating power supply used in so many appliances today, the output voltage is regulated, so the current demand from the mains decreases with increasing voltage. With electric motors, of the traditional types, it is even more interesting as the current may decrease with increasing voltage, though the relationship is non-linear, due to the change of phase angle between current and voltage (power factor).

[@tommyhudson9858]

Maybe you should be doing this video instead of this guy. Almost everything he has said is incorrect information.

[@davidfarmer]

The wires connecting the equipment are resistive loads, and the higher voltage gives an opportunity for more current to be used in many circumstances.

[@joemann7971]

@@davidfarmer I think he's talking more about switch more power supplies. A switch mode power supply will compensate for lower voltage by drawing more current. If the power supply is drawing 95W with 95% efficiency, then its drawing 100W from mains. So, if mains voltage is 120V, it will draw 833 mA, but if it drops to 100V, it will draw 1 Amp. Some switch mode power supplies can even handle up to 240V, which makes them great for different countries, and they will draw half the current at 240 than at 120. If you have a laptop, check the power supply. It might be rated from 100-240. Mine is. Some power supplies require you to flip a switch between the two voltages, but a lot of newer once can handle that range automatically.

[@valgardurhalldorsson4006]

Higher voltage = lower current, lower current = smaller wires... becourse ohms law. if you take a nation of ...say 300million and get them to use 240V instead of 115V you could theoretically save one thousand million swimming pools of copper, or 500 million footballfields of copper!!

[@davidfarmer]

@@valgardurhalldorsson4006 You dont understand the reason wires in a house or commercial circuit are rated the way they are. it has nothing to do with protecting the things running off the circuit. the voltage ratings have to do with insulation strength of the wires and the distances between contacts. you cant just run things at a higher voltage, there is a limit, and it usually has to do with the insulation failure point or the proximity of live conductors. the amperage ratings are there so you dont burn the building down, not to protect your appliances etc. you can run a phone charger, and it can short circuit internally. the wires and breakers wont even notice.

[@leotexas3485]

I didn't realize how sensitive the grid was until I learned of Voltage Regulators in my apprenticeship; which makes sense as to why receptacles and loads are rated for minimal/maximum ranges, as you have depicted in your video. Thanks for the lessons!

[@algorithminc.8850]

Kind of going back in time ... some tube circuits, as in 1930's radios, maybe 40's TV's ... were designed to run on the 110v available back in those days (before my time, though fun to fix). Most work fine at 120v, but the higher-than-rated voltage can shorten the lives of some tubes, and can shorten the life of intermediate-frequency (IF) transformers (in some cases). This is way out of range for the topics on your channel ... but I figure electrical engineers, radio hobbyists, electricians, technicians, tinkerers, etc. should share info, instead of attempting to one-up each other - electronics is awesome fun from all points of view - lineman to supercomputers. You've got a great channel ... lots of solid practical info ... cheers ...

[@ronb6182]

You hit it right. Not so much on the filaments or heaters, but the plate voltage is out of the tubes range same with the grid. The resistors need to be changed for higher voltages. A isolation transformer can help if the output is really 110. There are voltage reducers out there so you don't have to redesign the tube radio. Or amplifier if you have a guitar amp that has tubes. Christmas lights last long time if you reduce down to 110 vac. Even LED Christmas lights. I had many burn out when using line current. But when I added the voltage reducer I haven't changed one bulb over ten years now. Light dimmers don't help on mini filament lights. But the voltage reducer does. I cannot figure that one out. Light dimmers reduce the voltage but lights still burn out. In that case I use dimmers on reduced voltage from the voltage reducer. 73

[@ronb6182]

I also seen people use the five volt winding as part of the primary to reduce the voltage on the radio circuits. That means they removed the rectifier tube and put a solid state rectifier in its place. I won't do that because the tube rectifier is part of the tube sound.

[@RandarTheBarbarian]

wonder if this applies to my early 50s oscilloscope as well... the input voltage on the back says 115 so I doubt it, but still...

[@MrTheHillfolk]

I'm just a gen tech ,and basically all I need to know is I need to give you +/- 10% of the rated voltage. You want 240 volts? I can give ya 216-264 if I want to , but I don't I'll dial it in to within a volt or 2. Yeah basically that 110/220 was "old" like before the 50s or something, and the jump up to 120/240 won't hurt any of the old style equipment.

[@ronb6182]

@@MrTheHillfolk wrong the voltage on the plates will be past the safe levels if you just plug in the radio or tv. All the resistors need to be replaced to lower the voltage back down to the safe levels. Light bulbs burn out much quicker even LED if they are not 130 volt types. I was replacing Christmas light bulbs about 12 in an LED set. I bought a voltage reducer and not one bulb burned out. I mainly bought the reducer for my tube Amplifiers but I wasn't using it so I tried it on my Christmas lights and I haven't changed a bulb in over Seven years. My household LED lights are made for higher voltages so they are fine.

[@nathanmielke1977]

230/460 really needs to be understood as 3 phase motors and industrial equipment. Single phase vs 3 phase is big deal.

[@rcayabyab8994]

Don’t forget “Wye” and “Delta” Configurations, when it comes to 3 Phase. That’s another critical piece for discussion.

[@TNTfarm]

Better example would be 208v/240v single phase motor. 460v motors are most likely three phase.

[@murkyturkey5238]

Lol yeah you don’t want to mix up single and three phase

[@kellyhooper6490]

@@TNTfarm Not necessarily. There are plenty of single phase 460 motors out there. 2 hot legs and a capacitor (PSC or CSCR). Very common in commercial HVAC.

[@rkalle66]

230v on three phases results in 400v phase to phase. On a real three phase grid you got 120° phase shifting not 180°. 460v is more likely two hot legs of 230v each doubling the typical household 120v grid.

[@jaym8027]

I'm a utility lineman. My company holds to a standard of delivering nominal voltage +/- 5%. So 120/240 could be anywhere from 114-126/228-252. The low end of that range is obviously more common than the upper. I've seen transformers in service from as far back as the 1930s. I've never yet seen a plate rating anything less than 120/240 for a single phase transformer.

[@absalomdraconis]

I've heard anywhere from 110 to 135 for "120", just depending on conditions at the time

[@tonylam9548]

In Canada , we had rare cases of too much power available a couple of decades ago, plus we are the few places that use 600 volts , if you bolt a motor that ran on 550 v no problem, it is within 10%, but I would hesitate hooking it up to a 480v motor. In that era, because of excess generation capacity, we often see readings of more than 600 v, like 620. I had to buy my first Fluke meter (75) for that was the rare one that was rated to 750V, the rest was just 500V which was useless. Took the industry 15 years to catch up. We still have older areas right now in Toronto where the voltage is 416/240, a nasty surprise when you wonder why the 600V equipment you just installed is not working properly. I used to remember one street that had 208 v instead of 240 V.

[@vladimirmihnev9702]

At my place it should be 220v on my cheap Chinesium multimeter one wall socket was 201v the rest was lower!

[@jmdavison62]

@@tonylam9548 Occasionally, in the United States, one runs into a standalone house that is served by two hots of 120/208 VAC three-phase wye instead of 120/240 VAC split-phase. It's not uncommon in New York City. Someone in Denver, Colorado recently complained to Reddit about discovering that his house was getting two hots of 120/208 VAC three-phase wye and that the electric company told him that it wasn't going to change. Unfortunately, not all architects or HVAC installers understand what adjustments have to be made for 120/208 VAC, particularly with power companies like Consolidated Edison (New York City) that cut voltage by 10% on hot days in certain neighborhoods. Most domestic appliance manufacturers claim that their 240 VAC products will work fine on 208 VAC, but they almost always fail to mention that voltage drops that you probably won't care about on 240 VAC nominal service are very consequential with 208 VAC nominal service.

[@dtvjho]

5:20 I remember hearing of "negative resistance", where things like switching power supplies inside TVs and computers that will respond to a small drop in utility voltage by pulling a bit more current, trying to maintain a certain wattage draw. From the description you made about motors, it sounds a bit the same - lower the voltage a little and current goes up. That of course becomes the worry for an outlet getting hot if the Amp draw rises too far.

[@RexMoore1984]

Voltage (E) and current (I) are inversely related. With a given load (P) if voltage goes down, amps go up to deliver a set wattage. Perhaps I misunderstood your explanation when you stated that volts go down, current goes down. This is why many utility transmission lines are 525 Kv. It’s to keep current as low as possible to reduce I2R losses.

[@shanen.6210]

@tom gavigan That's exactly what I was going to say

[@anonymousperson4363]

Unless I was confused by what he meant, I thought the same thing.

[@hloyhesit8403]

Yeah he confused the inversely proportional relationship and said it was directly proportional. I wondered the same thing because he says it multiple times.

[@tswtx]

I had a feeling someone would beat me to this. V = IR, so they are inversely related. I think he means for resistive loads where R is fixed, if V increases then I increases as well. But we have less and less resistive loads today.

[@haldoglife]

Soon as I heard that I jumped in here to make sure he wasn’t right about this.

[@afnDavid]

Used to repair old TV sets and old consumer electronics. Many old TV sets from the 50's had a selector switch on the back. 95v to 105v in one position and 105v to 115v in the other position. Run the set in the wrong setting and you had more risk of the picture tube producing X-rays because the 2nd anode voltage is too high. Also many of the components were already operating at close to their maximum peak ratings.

[@johnnichols2710]

Very interesting

[@vince9486]

I am in Austin and a Facility manager. I love your videos for the educational content. I have my staff watch because FMs need to know enough to stay out of trouble. It would be incredible to see you, or for you to help support training through a non-profit to help people looking for basic career training. Electrician training is serious and should be, but many can learn it and get above poverty. So many men and women just need a little help to get started. I know the union is there, but not always the best path to get started.

[@kaysonntag74]

Similar to what we have here. Here in Germany, the mains voltage was increased from 220V/380V to 230V/400V to create a European standard. The older people here also still often talk about 220V/380V. In reality, the voltage varies depending on the time of day (and place) so between 225V and 245V. The distance to the transformer also plays a role here. Here it is common that a single transformer supplies entire settlements, sometimes even whole villages. Pole transformers are usually only found in very rural areas.

[@lawoull.6581]

awesome...ahh do you like hamhocks or neckbones with your collard greens 🤔

[@lawoull.6581]

@@LexyDesperado 🍖.. this hamhocks for you..

[@johnstreet797]

spent time in Cambodia, which runs a 3 phase 380 wye volt system around the neighborhood. They pick off the common and one hot to get 220 to the house. The common is not grounded so the whole system floats. The welding shop next door suddenly pulls more current and your incandescent bulbs get really bright. 220 can be somewhere between 165 and 285 depending on the temperature and AC load, and also your distance from the transformer. They use breakers on the hot and common coming in to your panel. Fun times.

[@nealtrevor4792]

Do you mean to say voltage and current are inversely proportional? From my understanding for the same power (watts) delivered, if voltage goes up, current goes down. Conversely if voltage goes down, then current goes up. You tend to have problems is if the receptacle rated for 20a or 15 or whatever is pulling too much current due to an out of range voltage (lower than -5 to -10%). That low voltage means that a higher amount of current is needed to give the same power to the device that’s plugged in. P=I*V helps to show this a bit. 2400W at 120v is 20a 2400w at 120-(12(10% less))=22.22a That low voltage has now subjected your receptacle to more than 20A and exceeds its rating. Thankful for all your explanations, Dustin!

[@mikedu4094]

You are right Neal it threw me for a loop watching the video. I do learn a ton from Dustin and maybe I was misunderstanding his reference with current and voltage. However Voltage and Current are inversely proportional. Power = I x V if voltage decrease, current must increase to get the same power output. It is one point of failure in industrial motors if your voltage goes low your current increases to compensate to have the same power output. The wire used in the windings cannot handle the increase in current and starts to heat up. The heat is due to resistance and the warmer it gets the more resistance it has to current flow and usually melts the insulation on the wire shorting out the motor.

[@brandonrobertson6327]

I agree. But I think he was referring to a simple resistance load. Ex. 110v to 120v to make a incandescent bulb brighter.

[@fortescuegr7573]

This is only true for a constant power load.... For a constant impedance load, he is absolutely correct. 90% of your home consumption is constant impedance load. If voltage goes up, curent goes up.

[@mattheefisher2104]

A very good explanation from a retired Industrial Electrician. Good job.

[@dennisjoiner3717]

Very interesting! I'm 62 and have always wondered why we call a circuit by the values we do.

[@billmoran3812]

The exception being 120/240 vs 120/208. The former is single phase residential supply voltage you might find on a suburban or rural road serving houses. 120/208 Is derived from three phase 4-wire Wye connected service where the voltage between each energized leg and neutral is 120V and the voltage between any two energized conductors is 208V. This is found in commercial buildings like office buildings condominium towers and industrial buildings where the electric service is three phase. Incidentally, with only a very few exceptions, there is no such thing as 220V in the US anymore. However in a very few very old locations 115/230 V two phase service still exists although it’s not offered to new customers.

[@mjr1965]

That's not an exception, as you say that's standard 120V 3 phase. Don't mix up the nomenclatures of single and 3 phase power and call one "an exception".

[@davidhenderson3400]

3 phase power runs at the square root of 3 to ground. Here in the South US it is very common to find buildings wired with just two legs of 3 phase 208. The power companies use to and may still do give a discount for 3 phase power so to get cheaper power rates it common to find this two leg 208 3 phase power. 208 divided by the square root of 3 gives you 120 volts. When our old air compressor went out at work and we got a new one my boss messed up and got a 230 volt unit because that is what he though the shop was wire for. Well all the motor would do was whine when it tried to start. I had to install a buck-and-boost transformer to get it to run. That was a fun day trying to explain to my boss what was wrong and what we could do. And trying to explain the buck-and-boost transformer was even more fun. So it was either send the air compressor back and get the right one or get the transformer. He decided to get the transformer which I wired up. Not sure how common the 2 legs of 208 3 phase bit is but you see it a lot around where I live.

[@irishmike4914]

Don't bring up wye it will confuse folks

[@deang5622]

​@@davidhenderson3400 Just want to correct you, it isn't 2 legs at 208, it's two legs at 120 at 3 phase. The voltage in each leg is not 208. It is only 208 if you measure across both legs. I know you know this, but it is just the way you said which isn't right.

[@deang5622]

​​@@irishmike4914 Wye - it is not even relevant. You still get 120/208 irrespective if the distribution transformer secondary is connected in either Wye (star) or delta.

[@jlyn9047]

I want to thank all of you guys for your explanations on my problem. All I know is that when the power company come and checked at the meter , he pulled the meter and checked the houses below me , he called for a new transformer right away . I saw his meter and it was reading 168 volts and he said that was to much coming to my house . Thank you guys !

[@ericthered9655]

This is a bad neutral. Without the neutral connected, you basically have each leg going through the neutral bar and finding its way to the other leg.

[@pandabacon8120]

Voltage and Current are Inversely Proportional. If Voltage goes Up, Current goes Down. Could be the reason why High Voltage lines aren't as thick as Redwoods. If Voltage goes Down, Current goes Up. This causes excess heating on the conductor as the Load attempts to Draw the Power (Watts) it needs to Operate, which causes the Insulation on the Conductor to Break Down and/or Burn. This is why having proper Voltage, especially for Motors is important, Motor windings have a very thin insulative coating. For Purely Resistive Devices (Baseboard Heater) the Load will Draw less (put out less heat) and not really a concern. Also Motors will struggle or fail to start if the Voltage is too Low as the Motor may not be able to develop enough Torque to spin the Mechanical Load it is coupled to. This can cause an Unsafe Condition as the Motor could be Delayed in Starting (Band Saw for example) causing an Unexpected Surprise for the Operator or bystanders. In a Short Circuit Scenario, Voltage Drops (Approaches Zero) and Current Rises (Approaches Infinity, aka BOOM).

[@Ryan-en7sl]

Voltage and Current are Directly Proportional. If Voltage goes up, Current also goes up. For example, Ohms Law I=V/R 20v/10ohms = 2A 40v/10ohms = 4A ... Directly proportional. The rest of your example is spot on just the first part I wanted to point out should read Directly Proportional as to no confuse folks.

[@danielalfonso672]

@@Ryan-en7sl Current and Voltage are directly proportional when dealing with a fixed resistive load. There is a separate video on resistive vs. reactive loads but there probably should have been some (explicit) reference to resistive vs reactive loads in this video as well, as thats what most of the confusion in the comments is referencing.

[@pandabacon8120]

@@Ryan-en7sl I did mention Purely Resistive Devices, what I am talking about is if Power (Watts) remain the same. To put another way ; If Power remains Constant, then Voltage is Inversely Proportional to Current P=V x I I=P/V V=P/I . If Resistance and Temperature are Constant then Voltage is Directly Proportional to Current R= V/I V= I x R I=V/R .

[@RJ-ej1nr]

It was a while before I learned utility power is delivered within a voltage range, not a highly fixed value. I found the utility company's specification graphs (for example look for pge voltage tolerance) helpful to visualize and understand in more detail.

[@180degreeedu]

The Real Electrician U will never use WhatsApp

[@180degreeedu]

Help The Real Electrician U get rid of this spam bot mucking up the channel with fake WhatsApp comments. Click on the ElectricianU* name in this comment then go to About, click on the flag then Report User and then Impersonation.

[@cujbaion1]

It's talking about the nominal declared value. In 220V you can't reach 262V(+10% of 240V) while in 240 you can't reach 198V(-10% of 220V) by the contract.

[@additudeobx]

What are you talking about? Voltage at the poles is thousands of volts. ou realize those cans on the poles are "Step-Up" transformers, right"

[@fauxque5057]

@@additudeobx wrong, they're step down transformers. The lines on top of the pole are around 36,000v the transformer drops it to a safer 120v

[@ferminbf2224]

Your comment: “…voltage and amperage are proportional to one another. Raise one and the other will also go up. So, if we were to raise the voltage above 120v, the amperage associated with it would also go up”. (That´s right in DC) My comment: Maybe I didnd´t understand your explanation because I didnt see previous episodes. It´s the other way around. Voltage and current are inversely proportional (in AC).

[@pauledwards1157]

Thank you. I’m a mechanical engineer and I have asked this question of electrical engineers several times and have never received what I considered to be an accurate answer. It is good to have confirmation that it’s pretty much what I thought it was.

[@Electric_Sherlock]

That’s because electrical engineers aren’t ever exposed to this information. So it’s surprising that you were in a totally different trade. This guy explains it somewhat good. Decent enough that it’s understood. Although, not all of what he said is accurate. This is not new news, he’s usually late to the game to explain topics.

[@jkbrown5496]

I found a document from PG&E called 'Voltage Tolerance Boundary' that lays is all out. The modern standards for utilities and equipment mfrs: Nominal, the service range +/-5% which is normal, the utilization range (-13/+6%) that can happen but the utility has to take prompt action if it happens too much. and then you have the NEMA voltages on equipment which where the equipment is most efficient, but can be efficient in a wider band if the mfr desires. And has to operate +/-10% of the nameplate voltage. You might notice the NEMA voltage is about 96% of the nominal voltage. This is because the mfrs design taking into the account the NEC permitted

[@Electric_Sherlock]

@@jkbrown5496 Good document but it’s easier than that. Utilities start with a voltage and as power demands go up, they change the tap on the transformer and go up 5% each time. You can usually tell a persons age just by the voltages they use. 110v , 115v , 120v etc…all go up 5%. 10min video shortened in two sentences. Haha

[@SuzukiKid400]

@@Electric_Sherlock “late to the game to explain topics.” Did you tell your 9th grade science teacher the same thing when he explained to you about gravity?

[@Electric_Sherlock]

What I meant was he piggy backs off of other peoples videos. Meaning he isn’t original. And then the stuff he tries to make his own is incorrect. You can stop by anytime you want a lesson on anything electrical and anything gravity. I can promise that you don’t want to step off into a brain span comp here. Have a fantastic weekend kid.

[@nolongeramused8135]

Way back when I was building my own radios for kicks the standard for house voltage was listed in textbooks as 115V +/- 5V. Everything I ever designed could easily handle the entire expected range.

[@bricefleckenstein9666]

The actual standard is 120 VAC give or take 10% - but 110-120 VAC is COMMON.

[@cheynebest7028]

4:40 I don't think so tim... voltage is inversely proportional to amperage.

[@fortescuegr7573]

For home applications? Not really, V=R*I which represent 90% of home applications is clearly a linear function between current and voltage. If voltage goes up, current goes up also.

[@marcmathes41]

@@fortescuegr7573 until you want a home audio amp to be powerful and you are stuck with 107volt.....

[@AngryJulien]

@@fortescuegr7573 No

[@borntwice4724]

I’m in the plumbing industry and I found this to be very educational, thanks brother.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Just remember, if you find 120V on the hot line, there's something very wrong.

[@Painrunner]

don't know about the US but over here in Belgium the decision to incrementally increase the voltage was based on 2 things, 1 over time the power demanded by users tends to go up faster than you can keep up in replacing your infrastructure. Raising the voltage allows you to get more out of the same landlines. 2 although historically the norms on how to build electrical infrastructure where a national concern and thus tend to differ, we are ever moving to a standardized EU ruleset for all member states.

[@benjaminpopp5761]

Residential apprentice here. he said voltage and amperage are directly proportional, but going off my basic math knowledge, aren’t they inversely proportional according to ohms law?

[@mikeboggs0]

He was talking about light bulbs (or resistive loads in general). If you increase the voltage to them, the amperage also increases, causing them to blow if they're not rated for the higher current.

[@brandonrobertson6327]

Michael is correct in his statement. You are thinking about transmission. For example, in a 540kV transmission line. It will carry a relatively lower overall current so long distance transmission can be more effective. But when getting into distribution voltage, it is typically step down to 7.2kV to 14.4kV with a relatively higher current flow. You may assume that lowering the current is safer, and that is true. But, at roughly 540kV, electricity can arc 10 to 15ft roughly. So, at lower voltage, the electricity can be better controlled. Electricity can arc approximately 1 inch for every 10kV in pure ambient outside atmosphere.

[@bukarabdullahi127]

@@brandonrobertson6327 interesting

[@glazeddoughnut7613]

Ben is correct, the math does not change depending on the voltage. If a resistive load is not rated for higher voltage it will pop the same as it will fail due to high amperage if the voltage drops.

[@bluenadas]

No, current and voltage in ohms law are proportional. But his explanation isn't completely correct since ohms law applies to resistive loads and not complex devices in homes.

[@allanrichardson9081]

When too low a voltage to make a motor turn is applied, the initial spurt of current stays in effect too long, which can burn out the motor (or hopefully, trip a breaker first). So there must be a minimum voltage to generate enough starting torque to make the motor turn.

[@murkyturkey5238]

I’m gonna be honest, electricians that actually have a good understanding of electricity are very impressive.

[@bricefleckenstein9666]

A few of us have also been Electronic Technicians (I have more years experience as an Electronic Tech than as an Electrician).

[@douglasboyle6544]

"I'm gonna rip these walls out. And of course, rewire it..." "You gonna make it all 220?" "...Yeah 220, 221...whatever it takes." That movie quote is from waaaaaaaaay before your time.

[@traditionaltools5080]

Just to clarify, voltage and current are inversely proportionate when dealing with Power (watts). I see others have mentioned that and its a big part of the video that is wrong. Receptacles have higher voltage ratings as a built in safety buffer. Again, not because of load. Same with motors. The voltage rating is because of volt drop on distribution conductors which is typically allowed to be 5%. It has nothing to do with load. In reality, when you're measuring voltage what your measuring is actually RMS voltage. True peak voltage is actually around 330VAC. The reason it's (110v - 220v) is because of voltage drop. If a house is closer to the neighborhood transformer they will likely see 126V. If they're at the end then 110V. So items that are voltage sensitive are designed to work with the min. Edit: Did you just say, "if a motor goes faster"? Please work on your explanations. AC motors run at a constant speed based on frequency and poles, minus slip. If they somehow manage to hit synchronous speed they stall but it doesn't damage anything.

[@johnchestnut5340]

You weren't paying attention. Power supply varies. Power supply is not highly regulated. And It is not a transformer. It's a load. Voltage goes up; current goes up. Try it with a resistor or a light bulb. And there's more than one kind of motor. They are not all tied to frequency though most are. And synchronous motors are a whole other topic.

[@atmacm]

Voltage and current are directly proportional in resistive loads and inversely proportional I’m inductive loads where the power stays the same.

[@ericcollier9028]

I couldn't agree more. There are a lot of inaccuracies in these videos. Even more concerning is if these inaccuracies are also present in the CE curriculum. He could simply write out a loose script ahead of time and fact check it before recording an episode

[@traditionaltools5080]

@@johnchestnut5340 power supply don't vary. They are regulated to within a few percentage points. It's complicated but in general, when dealing with Power, the are inversely proportionate. I=P/V. So no matter your load you are not going to get voltage spikes. All motor speed, except DC, is based on poles and frequency. Even synchronous motors. It's the fundamental equation for synchronous motors speed. That's why we can have vfds.

[@traditionaltools5080]

@@ericcollier9028 exactly. That's the problem with trying to explain a very complex topic in short youtube videos. Ohms law is only one piece of a very large puzzle. I mean, he showed a 3 phase, 230/460v motor and said that was actually a single phase voltage. Its not.

[@jacobstrozyk1287]

Hey! Do you know ohms law? I feel a few of your statements based on voltage and current going up and down at the same time are incorrect assuming you’re talking about the same thing being powered. If you were running say a heater that drew 10a on a 120v circuit. If you bumped it to 240v it’d only pull 5a. I think you may have just miss worded it

[@louf7178]

Why does it not use what voltage it gets? This phenomena has baffled me - the load dictates or the supply dictates? E.g. Even on D.C., putting a "large" fan on a "small" circuit.

[@mikedu4094]

@@louf7178 It does use the voltage it gets but the resistance or work required doesn't change so the current must increase/decrease to get the same work out of the circuit. Think of voltage as the ability of electricity to jump through the air between two conductors. The higher the voltage the more it will want to arc across that gap to make a connection. Current on the other hand is like the force pushing the electrons through that wire similar to water flowing through a pipe. The size of the pipe is like the resistance in the wire. So if you have a bunch of water being forced through a small pipe you end up with pressure and/damaged pipes. Its not a perfect analogy but its the best way I can explain it.

[@VeritasEtAequitas]

Maybe he means both voltage and current waves rising and falling at the same time in AC, and the difference in phase affects what's called power factor. If they don't rise at exactly the same time, you get leading or lagging based on a capacitive or inductive load and fix it with the opposite. It's interesting and definitely matters.

[@sethsturtevant9082]

A=v/I, so if voltage goes up with no increase in resistance/ impedance, amperage increases.

[@nunyabusiness4765]

If voltage goes up, amp decreases. If voltage goes down, amps increase 1200w/120v =10A 1200w/125v= 9.6A

[@warrenpeterson6065]

Something most home owners do not understand is voltage drop and as such I recommend you create a vlog on this topic. Please use the following common situation as your example. The homeowner's house panel board is 200 feet from the power line transformer, the circuit is 15 amp, the distribution line is typical 3/14, the distance to the garage receptacle is 50 feet, the homeowner has plugged in a 100 foot 3/14 extension cord to power a 1500 watt 1,800 psi portable pressure washer to clean his driveway. What actual wattage is arriving at the pressure washer? I think this would be very interesting for most people once you present them with the actuals.

[@jeebus6263]

What's the ambient temperature?

[@warrenpeterson6065]

@@jeebus6263 Ambient temperature is the current temp in the room that you are trying to increase.

[@mrl22222]

Great review! One thing you should probably say up front is that this only applies to the US Split phase system, as other countries have the same voltages that are derived in different ways. If you say 220V in the US it means something very different than 220V in most of the world, as here it would be L-L and most everywhere else it's L-N

[@ronb6182]

I was wondering if you can put a 220 transformer from a European nation and put it across our 220 lines. I never tried it I don't have a 220 varac to try it. We used to use half of a 220 outlet to run a fan because all the other outlets were being used in the sound booth. That was Jr high school days. We used the hot and ground to run the fan. 73

[@richardmartin6533]

@@ronb6182 Here's the issue with Asian or European power delivery... It's not the voltage as much as it's more about the frequency, the U.S. is around 60Hz, the other countries are usually rated at 50Hz. even short-term usage is frowned upon because the part will either brown out with time or will get too hot. F.Y.I. current frequency was used in the early days of television to properly time T.V. sets with the T.V. camera.

[@ronb6182]

@@richardmartin6533 yes I know but mostly today will work on 50hz as well as 60 hz I'm talking about them solid state converters. Wide range of voltages 100 - 250 and 50 and 60 hz. I do remember Heathkit had computer monitors that had a label "do not ship to Canada" on the outside box. Canada uses 50 hz . There regulated pay phones used different collection system than ours did. We had to change two resistors in our boards. Well there you go 50 hz is a problem for the most part. 73

[@alfrednewman292]

Not derived in different ways, exactly the same. The only difference being the values and the fact that the US uses a center tap transformer to supply two 120V legs. Electricity is electricity no matter where in the world you are. European nations use 240V because of current and wire size. Whereas a 20 amp circuit needs 12 ga wire at 120V it only needs 14 ga at 240V as the current would be only 10 amps. To have 60 hz power then a generator runs at 3600 rpm whereas at 50 hz the generator is running at 3000 rpm.

[@alfrednewman292]

@@ronb6182 Yes you could would be the same but then you have no common which is normal in 240V circuits. Using ground as a conductor is dumb but then when young you are invincible so safety means nothing.

[@cameronphilgreen1079]

I was searching for a video to explain this literally 2 weeks ago. And here you are, with a perfect explanation. Thank you so much!

[@ElectricianU]

Glad it helped!

[@matthewfoster7007]

@@ElectricianU can you make a video explaining when you use the different columns in 310. 15 (B) (16) like when n why do I use the 75 degree column versus the 90 or 60 degree? Thanks bud

[@MrMaxyield]

4:40 sorry Dustin I love you but you're wrong on this. When voltage rises amperage decreases... This is the 2nd time you've gotten this wrong. Not sure what you're thinking here...???

[@bradphillips7074]

If power increases then volts and amps increase, as in a power surge.

[@DapperChe]

I feel like I’m going to school all over again with these videos, i love them! Thanks!

[@tarekyared4404]

Regarding "130V" incandescent light bulbs: It's a marketing gimmick. They spec the wattage at 130V, but they spec the operating life hours at 120V. They advertise them as "long life". So a 130V, 60W incandescent light bulb will not be as bright as a standard 60W incandescent light bulb.

[@ikerivers1795]

Oh boy! There are a number of inaccurate statements in this video. 1. Receptacles are rated at 125 volts to accommodate the fluctuations in Service Voltage. 126 being the max. And NO current does not rise when you raise the voltage on an unloaded receptacle. The resistance on a receptacle is basically zero. So no current of consequence. 2. Motors are rated at 460 because of voltage drop. That one is half right. But no more. No other reason. NEMA standards place the acceptable voltage level at + or - 10%. 3. Voltage levels from 110 to 120 are NOT because of need for brighter lights 🤦‍♂️. They are so because of the rising service voltages at Power Plants. The GSU ( Generator Step Up) Transformers at Power Plants have an OLTC (On Load Tap Changer) which keeps their Plants Voltage at specified voltage level in spite of the Grid voltage rising or falling. Up to a certain capacity. In the case of OLTCs it is about + or - 5%. The “old” Power Plants utilized 12.47 KV. But when the load on the grid increased due to expanding load, i.e., the electrification of the Nation the Distribution Voltage was raised to keep up. At the 5% capacity of the OLTC, new transformers would be made at higher primary voltage levels from the Power Plant side. And so 12.47 KV became 13.2 KV and the that became 13.8 KV. Corresponding to the ~5 % increase from 110 to 115 and now at 120. In fact the power plant standard has now been for some time at 14.4 KV. So eventually we will have 125 nominal voltage.

[@TnTBLACK95]

You're not entirely correct on primary voltages being raised to accommodate load. ANSI standard is still 120 +/-5% at the service entry. 12470 did not become 13.2kv and going to be 13.8kv to accommodate a 5 volt raise in nominal voltages.. Different utility companies utilize different voltages. We use 12.5 (could be 12470 or 13090 substation transformer), 13.8, 24 and 34.5kv for distribution. All the 4kv has been converted to 12.5. But regardless of the voltages your distribution transformers TTR is to produce 120v nominal at the given distribution voltage. You don't replace a 12470 with a 13090 to raise the voltage. Voltage regulation begins with the LTC at the sub.The No Load Tap Changer is to compensate the over or undervoltage of the transmission lines.

[@ikerivers1795]

@@TnTBLACK95 the power plant service voltages did NOT raise to accommodate rising nominal voltage, 110 to 120. But the other way around. As the “infinite buss” grid voltage would be raised then newer power plants would incorporate higher “base” voltages. Of course, older facilities will keep their existing equipment as long as feasible. Our older plants, circa 1980, utilize 13.8 kv. Two of those plants WITHOUT an OLTC. When the summer comes, and load rises, Distribution raises their voltage level 3 or 4 KV above nominal. All our Protection relays in alarm with voltages at 14.5 or above. And yes utilities use differing service levels. Our own are half 13.8 and the others 14.4, the latter built in the 90’s. Even on our 14.4 units we have to have the Distribution guys tap down their Substation Transformer because our GSU OLTC is at max. So bad sometimes we can’t even put units online because of the higher voltage on the lines. But it all stems from that. The IEEE recommendation papers will tell you so. It’s not something to be said in general company, not does it matter. The nominal voltages are what they are. Correct as you stated. ANSI C84, if I remember correctly.

[@matthewmiller6068]

Its interesting to log the voltage over time...seems throughout the day can swing anywhere from about 110 to 127 at the outlet according to the meters and smart-plugs I've done any long term measurements with. I originally started trying to log stuff when I noticed a few times a day the UPSs on my computers would go bonkers clicking and light bulbs would change in brightness slightly getting a bit dimmer or brighter (most visible on dimmer-lights).

[@desertoutlaw3317]

it will bring it down to 120 when you draw a load from the outlet

[@javabeanz8549]

I just checked two wifi remote outlets in my home, maybe they aren't very accurate, but one was showing 111V and the other 121V. The lower one has a number of devices plugged in to a UPS, but mostly chargers for phones and tablets, the other is in a plug strip directly to the wall, with no other loads.

[@garybulwinkle82]

I was wondering how this affects appliances that have computers in them? I live at the end of the street and have lost several appliances and recently a TV blew all have microprocessors! I have no issues with simple motors or resistive devices but computer operated equipment seem to have short life spans at my residence. I also notice the lights "flicker" when the microwave is used and my heating blanket doesn't preheat well when the small radiant heater is on! Being at the end of the line, so to speak, I was figuring my house would be susceptible to voltage spikes as people are turning things on and off up the line!? I was thinking about buying surge protectors buy they have gotten pricey and add to the clutter!

[@javabeanz8549]

@@garybulwinkle82 I personally use UPSes on my equipment: computers, TVs, phone chargers, security camera system, weather station, Blu-ray player, home assistant devices. A refrigerator would be a bit heavy usage for a UPS, I think, but maybe an industrial power conditioner unit for the kitchen appliances? I need more circuits in my kitchen, as I can cook and run the window AC unit at the same time, microwave and counter top convection oven pull too much.

[@jasnonya3005]

@@garybulwinkle82 youay want to have someone who knows what they are doing tighten all the circuit breaker lugs and especially the ground and neutral screws on the neautral buss on your panel. Even at the recepticals and switches. Weak or intermittent ground/ neutral connections can negatively impact more sensitive equipment. Also use surge strips. Lightening strikes can also cause similar issues. A surge strip. Is typically good for one spike/ surge, yes it's expensive to replace them, but much cheaper than an appliance that costs a whole bunch more!

[@howardcox7993]

off topic concerning residential; I can't find any videos explaining home runs. they show the home run but never say why start at that box? ideally start at switch, outlet? then what about the path of box to box after home run, why? how to plan to avoid overfill on boxes? thanks. your explanations are always clear and concise

[@XORBob]

Thanks for the explanation. This is something that I've wondered about as I work on old components (jukeboxes).

[@justsumguy2u]

I restore antique, tube-based equipment from the 30's to the 50's, and today's higher line voltages actually make a difference. In some cases, the extra 10-15 volts can raise B+ to parameters the equipment was never designed for. One solution is to use a variac to power the equipment, another is to drop voltage in the unit with wire-wound power resistors

[@davidyetter5409]

You can also use buck/boost transformers to change the supply voltage. Though they are generally used for motor voltage.

[@James_Knott]

One trick I read about many years ago was to wire a filament transformer to act as an autotransformer to lower (or raise) the voltage.

[@michaelbradley7529]

UL listed equipment/appliances (anything that uses electricity) is required to operate normally at plus or minus 10% of its rated voltage. That is why the different voltages (110,115,120,125v) make little difference to the end user.

[@kalijasin]

In United States national standards specify nominal voltage at the source should be 120V.

[@oldgysgt]

While working for a phone company, we had a central office in a rural community where the back-up generator was tripped, and started running. After a while we called the power company to see when the power would be back on. They said there was no outage, but when we checked, the middle leg of our three phase service was only 107 volts, (the SACO controller on the back-up generator was programed to start and transfer power if any one leg got under 108 volts) We reported the low voltage to the power company, and they sent out technicians, who went along the line, rearranging two phase customer's service drops so that fewer customers were on the middle phase. So yes, voltage matters.

[@tikigodsrule2317]

Yep balancing the load on transformers matters. Noise on the line can be introduced by unbalanced transformers too. Tech equipment does not like dirty/noisy power.

[@Southern.84]

Michigan, a buddy of mine got to meet you. Awesome meeting he said!

[@alancornwall5589]

Actually had a job where required voltage was 220 +/- 3%. Bit of an issue since all I had was 120/208v. Had to install a buck/boost transformer for 1 piece of equipment.

[@White000Crow]

Usually single phase voltage is 240v between hots and 3 phase power will have 208v between hots.

[@alancornwall5589]

Yeah, I forget to specify. I do mostly commercial work, which is primarily 3 phase.

[@cpK054L]

Theres no such thing as a buck/boost transformer, did you mean step up/down transformer? Buck/Boost is a SMPS term

[@alancornwall5589]

Buck/boost is a common term for a transformer that slightly raises or lowers the voltage. At least it's common in the commercial/industrial electrical field

[@cpK054L]

@@alancornwall5589 transformers can be either though if you switch the primary and secondary coils is is not? Is there some wizard magic in the electrical industries that they keep from engineers?

[@robertoliver6980]

Explain please using ohm's law how when voltage goes up current goes up. The power equation is P=IE so for a constant power When E goes up current goes down.

[@louf7178]

Why does it not use what voltage it gets? This phenomena has baffled me - the load dictates or the supply dictates? E.g. Even on D.C., putting a "large" fan on a "small" circuit.

[@tswtx]

It doesn't... you are correct, they are inversely related. V = IR is Ohm's law.

[@robertoliver6980]

@@louf7178 It does use what voltage is present. Wat then varies is the amperage. That is why utilities use high voltage transmission lines, to reduce the amps. Reduced amps means less losses due to wire resistance, Commonly called "i squared r losses".

[@louf7178]

@@robertoliver6980 I get that, but I'm talking about why something, like a large fan, automatically attempts to draw a large current as opposed to operating at a lesser amount.

[@robertoliver6980]

@@louf7178 A motor should only draw a large current when starting, referred to as locked rotor current. After the motor starts current should drop off. If the motor continues to draw a high current something is wrong with teh motor or the motor is the wrong size for the circuit. To determine if the motor is sized for the circuit take the rated watts divide the voltage supplied. That will give the currnet it should draw at the voltage. Then check the breaker to ensure the breaker is sized for that amount of current.

[@bobfleischmann5208]

I teach middle school science and a kid asked about this the other day during our electricity unit! I'll post this video for him. Thanks

[@ProfessorMurray]

Great explanations, but please check Ohm's law a little closer. You may discover that amps and volts are inversely related. So, with a given load, if voltage rises, amps should decrease.

[@chavogarland4145]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@James_Knott]

That depends on how the load reacts to the voltage change. What you said is true for resistive loads, but not motors, which tend to do the opposite.

[@jc2102]

If someone wants to add a 50amp breaker to a 100amp subpanel that is already hooked up to a 50 amp for an electric stove and then also breakers for a pool, panel lights, and dishwasher, is that not going to work? the item i'm running on the 50amp would be a minisplit condenser (rated minimum 42amps circuit and max fuse 50, compresser load 30amps). I don't know about Ohms law and what it means

[@AldinJamal]

Man I love to see Dustin’s videos average the view percentage that we’re seeing in comparison to subscribers. So many channels I’ve seen through the years struggle to keep that vts ratio; whether that be gaming, educational, unboxing you name it, Dustin’s got a great thing going here. Isn’t much of a surprise either, likeable educated guy = likeable channel. Editor gets his props too.

[@fortescuegr7573]

5:50, the reason that motor have a lower voltage than the nominal is to represent the voltage drop in the cable. So they mean that after the voltage drop in the cable from the drawn current, you need to have at the motor, this minimal voltage. These voltages are the limit of 5% voltage drop criteria described in the NA code. 600*0.95 = 570VAC, 480*0.95 = 460 (if you round up)

[@CurtWelch]

I've heard different answers to this 110V 120V question than you gave here so I googled for more data. What I found left me even more confused. Now I'm going to have to be on a hunt for a greater truth behind all the myths! The general answer I agree, however, is just what you said, that for many reasons you can't guarantee what voltage you might find at any given receptacle or circuit and it will ways vary depending on wiring and load and supply conditions so all devices must be made to operate over a range of voltages close to the expected standard. On the motor being rated at the lower voltage, there is a different reason for this than you mentioned. Because the motors are synchronous to the A/C frequency of 50Hz, when you lower the voltage, the motor doesn't slow down. It keeps spinning at the same rate. So a 4 pole AC motor will spin at 60*4*60(seconds/minute) or 1800 rpm no matter what the voltage. But when that motor is pushing a load that requires 1 HP to spin at that speed (like a fan pushing air), when the voltage drop, the motor will draw MORE CURRENT, to keep the motor spinning at 1800 rpm. But the max current the motor can safely draw is defined by the size of the wiring used in the motor. So when a motor has a HP rating, like.1HP, it means that at its rated voltage the wires can handle the needed current to deliver 1 HP of power. But if the voltage is DROPS, more current will be needed to deliver the rated 1HP. So the voltage rating is the LOWEST voltage the motor can operate at, while still not exceeding the current limit of the wires while still delivering the rated HP of the motor. Because of this strange inverse relation that synchronous AC motors have with voltage and current, they must rate the lowest voltage the motor will run safely at, not the highest voltage. They have high voltage limits as well of course, but the one that is often more important is the low voltage limit. This is also why motors built for 220V operation can't always work safely at 208 (Three phases) levels. They must be rated to run at 208 at the given power output. They all run just fine on 208, but they can't all guarantee the same power output at the lower voltage and if you put too high a load on the motor when you running it at a lower voltage, it can be damaged.

[@jasonbowers4388]

If voltage is higher wouldn't current be lower? Great video.

[@spen.surrr1199]

I kept noticing this too, he mentioned it a few times, making me question everything I know..

[@ruffryder13]

Nope. Ohm's law, bra. Maybe you're thinking how current *can* be lowered if the voltage is higher? That's different-has to do with getting the same electrical power at different voltages.

[@CAMMEDcivic]

Yes that’s why theres 277 lighting on 10 amp breakers. Less amperage draw on a higher voltage.

[@barryomahony4983]

For a given (resistive or resistive-like) load, if you increase the voltage the current will increase, per Ohms Law. On the other hand, for different devices that a designed for different voltages but the same power consumption, higher voltage devices will draw less current; e.g., a 3 HP 115V motor will draw more current than a 3 HP 230V motor.

[@brad885]

The more important thing is "how consistent is it?" Had a customer going from 95 to 121 within 2 minutes. Appliances were randomly shutting off. Turned into a complete rewire.

[@dracula3811]

@@TechHowden if the service power numbers were good, then it would likely be bad/loose connections. Whole house rewire tells me they were seeing a lot of problems.

[@jakesully5402]

Sounds like a loose neutral somewhere early on in the system. Although I have seen the loose neutral occurring at the pole before.

[@Al_Gore_Rhythmn]

@@jakesully5402 my supervisor told me loose neutrals cause house fires

[@brad885]

@@jakesully5402 when its all junk replace it.

[@brad885]

Can't I comment on my own comment youtube wtffffffff stop auto deleteing my own comments.

[@iamblaineful]

As Volts decrease, Amps increase for a fixed draw. As Volts increase, Amps decrease for that same fixed draw. Pretty sure you didn't explained that correctly in this video, or were thinking about one thing while saying something else. ....but this is why Brownouts can be scary, as the Voltage sags it can produce much higher Amps used through a circuit and begin heating up your wire or triggering your breakers. As Voltage decreases, wire gauge needs to increase to carry the increased amount of Amps for a given draw. If you've ever built a solar power system, this would be burned into memory. 12vdc is a HUGE wire, whereas 400vdc can be run on a comparatively tiny wire, meaning far less cost to wire it safely. The Amps are inversely proportional to Voltage. Basic electrical laws here.

[@dustinweiser8536]

This is a great video. Tomorrow I'm going to wake up with a hangover and rewatch this so I can actually learn something

[@normILL]

I've heard most commercial equipment rated at 240V can actually function normally on a 208V system. Can you talk about this? Also would love to hear about how some of the international voltage levels came to be and try to standardize internationally. Keep up the great work!

[@TnTBLACK95]

When you say commercial equipment rated at 240V, I assume you're referring to motors that are rated at 230 V. In the short the answer is yes, a 230 V motor can operate at 208 V as long as the nominal 208V supplied by the utility is maintained or exceeded. NEMA standards for motors is plus +/- 10% of rated voltage at rated Hz. A230v motor's operating range is between 207 and 253 V. For a 208v system you would use a 200v motor.

[@brycelawmaster3746]

@@TnTBLACK95 they dont make 200v motors or compressors for ac systems. in those systems they still use 230v motors and compressors on 208v power.

[@danimayb]

Yes I'd love to hear the reasoning behind differences. In the UK, Our nominal mains voltage is 230v AC at 50 Hz. In north America it's 120v @ 60 Hz. I find this stuff interesting hence why I'm watching videos from both sides of the Atlantic on electricity lol

[@TnTBLACK95]

@@brycelawmaster3746 yes they do make 200v AC motors.

[@brycelawmaster3746]

@@TnTBLACK95 in 28 years of doing air conditioning ive never seen a fan motor with 200v on it. always 208-230 or 460v. same with compressors.

[@j.t.johnston3048]

Current and voltage are inversely proportional not directly proportional. For a given load (power consumption), if you increase the voltage, current will decrease.

[@AegisRick]

Plug in a 60W light bulb (given load) and tell me what happens when you increase the voltage past it's rated value. Why does it explode? It doesn't blow because there was too little current in it that's for sure. It blows because you exceeded it's rated wattage because you increased the voltage, which proportionally increased the current (Ohm's Law). In this case the device is not capable of managing it's load, it takes what it is supplied. Your statement would only be true if the load were managed via internal circuitry to maintain a certain wattage.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

@@AegisRick That’s how I understand it-what some folks seem to be missing is that we’re talking about availability not the draw, and whether the availability meets the draw requirements.

[@currentliveoccupant]

@@MarcosElMalo2 depends on the load, a resistive load like a non LED light or toaster will increase in amps as the voltage increases. It’s useing more power. In an inductive load like a motor the work the motor is doing is basically constant(power used toremains same). When you lower voltage amps increase proportionally. Increased voltage gives lower amps for same work done by motor.

[@JohnJonnyBerry]

JT, are you drunk? Power is not constant. Resistors are. So if you double the voltage you will also double the current. Which would quadruple the power.

[@currentliveoccupant]

@@JohnJonnyBerry in the real world for motors the work is pretty much constant so power is constant. Motors are NOT a resistive load.

[@marusholilac]

I believe professionals should make an effort to say "120" rather than "110", to help make this nonsense disappear. I am 77 and there has never been a time in my life when the standard voltage in the US was 110, and most of my life it has been 120. Regarding the 130V incandescent lamps, Bosch states that running a bulb at 95% of its rated voltage yields 83% of the light intensity but increases the service life to 210%. Running an incandescent at 90% yields 63% of the light and service life of 440%. Since 120/130 is 92.3, the figures for the 130V bulb would be between these values. Increasing the voltage 5% cuts the service life in half. So an LED that is designed to run at anything between 100V (Japan) and 250V has an additional advantage if your mains supply is a bit high. Thanks for making this the subject of a video. We still have "coal oil" (kerosene), "tinfoil" and "pencil lead" . . . .

[@mlee81]

100% agree to use a phrase like 110 when it isn't that and hasn't been that for years when math matters is confusing and dumb.

[@breezetix]

If you increase voltage, current drops. Decrease voltage, current rises. Same wattage. Just because the receptacles are rated for only 15A max, doesn't mean it'll fail at 16A or more. 15A receptacles could handle at least 20A or less. 30-50A receptacles can handle a bit more. The current rating is just there to let people know it's only for around 30A, so they don't use, like 60A or more and damage the receptacle and wiring.

[@rudolfskukainis5357]

Is it actually true - if you increase voltage, current drops? Explain me how

[@breezetix]

@@rudolfskukainis5357 if you're using, for example only 1200 watts, thats 10 amps at 120v. If you increase to 240v, it decreases to 5 amps, still at 1200w. If you were to stay at 10 amps, but increase voltage to 240v. it would change to 2400w. Look it up.

[@breezetix]

@@rudolfskukainis5357 but the power we have here, if the voltage is fluctuating between 114 to 126v, current may be the same.

[@rudolfskukainis5357]

@@breezetix Yea, you are right. I thought you were talking about the Ohm's law :) misunderstood you

[@Ai2K7]

120 is the average voltage. Voltage fluctuates up and down in a sine wave. True RMS voltage.

[@lelandclayton5462]

and with 120 at Peek To Peek you're looking at around 170 volts.

[@dhelton40]

I have always understood that 110 volts was the standard in the first half of the 20th century and was the standard until the 1940's. Electricity was used mostly for lighting and small heating and motor driven appliances. New homes after the war began to have electric heat and many new power hungry appliances. For this reason power was raised first to 115 and finally to 120 to lessen voltage drop and improve efficiency. If they had wanted brighter street lamps higher wattage bulbs could have been produced. In fact, increasing a 110 volt bulb to 120 would shorten its life expectancy, which is the reason 130 volt bulbs are produced intended to operate at 120 to increase their life for commercial use. I think this needs a little more research on your part.

[@dtjackson1647]

Does higher wattage also decrease a bulb's life expectancy?

[@calmeilles]

Yeah, the brighter streetlamps thing strikes me as urban myth to be honest. Never heard it in learning the history of electricity.

[@rupe53]

@@dtjackson1647 ... higher wattage is designed in, same as higher voltage. What people often confuse is wattage (power draw) versus lumens. (light output) Yes, a higher voltage will get you more lumens on an incandescent bulb, at the risk of a shorter life. OTOH, a higher wattage bulb will also get you more lumens.... while generating more heat.

[@dtvjho]

@@dtjackson1647 The answer depends on the voltage. When voltage is applied to a bulb, the filament, which is a metallic resistor made of Tungsten, goes from cold to very hot in milliseconds and tops out. Raising the voltage a bit makes the filament a bit hotter and brighter. I once experimented with a small indicator bulb that was likely designed to run on 6V. When I lit it with a 9V battery, it was noticeably brighter. I tried 12V and it blew instantly. The limit is when the filament melts. Lifespan does shorten at higher temps. When the tungsten is hot, atoms come off (or "sputter") and hit (and stick to) the inside of the glass, which is why blown bulbs often have a dark spot. The sputtering is what limits filament life, the metal gets thinner over time, and hot spots develop. The sputtering rate goes up when the bulb runs hotter. That's what causes shorter life. When thinner metal gets hot spots, once the first one reaches melting point, it blows.

[@dtjackson1647]

@@dtvjho That makes sense. Higher voltage means higher wattage assuming the current is kept at a constant amperage. Raising the voltage raises the wattage and lowers the life expectancy of the filament. Thanks for the explanation!

[@sbennettyt]

Thanks for clearing that up. Great video.

[@RealRocdad]

I was an electrician for a large city we used 300 volt light bulbs running at 120 volts in the jail cells for night lights... They were behind security screens with security screws that were a pain to remove, they lasted for decades and in fact we're never turned on and off always left dimly burning.

[@Joe-bm4wx]

HIGHER CURRENT because of the LOWER VOLTAGE with the light bulb example. As available voltage decreases, the bulb will draw higher current

[@ianbelletti6241]

The voltage on disconnects and wires has nothing to do with current and everything to do with the capacity for the insulation and intentional air gaps designed in the equipment to resist current from flowing through them. Voltage is a "push" force for electricity. If the voltage is high enough you will have electricity flow an burn through insulation or arcing through the air. That is why disconnects, switches, receptacles, and many other devices have an amperage and a voltage rating. Powered equipment such as computers and vacuums have the voltage rating not just because of insulating design but also because the currents at voltages that are too far out of spec can cause equipment failure. A motor under max load will become closer to a locked rotor state the lower the voltage you apply. A locked rotor has a high current flow and is the state in a motor that most resembles a dead short. Too high of voltages on such equipment causes excessive current, excessive heat breaking down insulation, and increases the likelihood of arcing, current flowing through the insulation, and fires.

[@RageKage1776]

Talking about the whole 110-120v sparked some old memories being taught the trades by my grandfather and great-grandfather.

[@calmeilles]

American National Standard for Electric Power Systems set the nominal delivered voltage to 120 in *1967.* Time to catch up! 😀

[@beanbag889]

I like your videos, however, I would like to point out that voltage is inversely proportionate to ampacity. Ohms Law and Power Theory. Example: 1200w/120v=10A 1200w/122v=9.836A

[@rajkrishna336]

That’s not completely true. For example, if you have a hair dryer (assuming it is 100% resistive) rated for 1200 W @ 120 Volt and you apply 122 volt, it will draw 10.16 A current and work at 1241 watts.

[@JenkinsStevenD]

Electrical engineer here. You are holding the power constant which is what is wrong with your theory here. The entire video is regarding receptacles and loads. A load has a finite impedance at 60Hz. If you cut the voltage in half, the current doesn't magically double. The power draw is determined by the load and voltage given, provided that the supply side can maintain that voltage with current drawn. E.G. If I run a 120V(rms) supply to a 20 ohm load, it is going to draw 6Amps (rms). If I run a 60V(rms) to that same load, the current is going to be 3Amps(rms), not 12A. The load stays the same, not the load's power drawn. You are thinking about transformers and how the voltage and current ratings need to change in order to transmit the same power. On the other hand, I could program a load box to pull the current needed based on the supply voltage but that is very nuance.

[@ecospider5]

And to confuse things even more a 250v breaker means it can handle an average voltage of 250v because the top of the cycle in a 240v AC system is 339 volts.

[@user-rr3fo6hy9q]

Best explanation so far. I have to admit I underestimated the complexity that goes into electricity. It is not basic, it takes some time and research to fully understand. I have a healthy respect for electricity so I'm trying to understand as much as possible. Thank you for the lesson.

[@PetePuebla]

Best electrical education channel on the internet.

[@40arpent]

Well then I blame my dad for me saying 110/220

[@aredditor4272]

It's called a "legacy voltage" In the 70s, my text book explained nominal voltage was utility specific, because there was no single national or regional standard set like there is today. It was the same situation in Europe. North America and most of Europe decided on one standard at about the same time. For Europe it's 230.

[@Ratkill9000]

About 7 or so years ago, my brother bought a power conditioner for his bass rig. The idea is because music equipment is sensitive to voltage and amp changes, it's there to protect the equipment.

[@jaco7675]

Probably got himself a Furman (or something similar), I imagine.

[@nunyabussiness4054]

Do the fish really care how the music sounds?

[@ottoroth3066]

Hey Dustin....here is a good topic to cover...3 phase wiring. I've ran across a few applications where the legs were not in the proper order, L1 L2 L3 and during troubleshoot, the piece of equipment ran backwards....like a Hobart commercial mixer....the customer wondered why bags of flower was being strewn all over instead of proper mixing. Legs were crossed .

[@jsl6155]

It appears you made a mistake. Voltage is actually inversely proportional to current. So as voltage increases, current decreases.

[@surferdude642]

Don't think so. Ohms law I=E/R, so if the voltage increases, so will the current as long as the resistance is constant or less.

[@davidbruce3632]

@@surferdude642 P= I x V, More voltage less current. I =E/R tells you how much current an appliance will use at a given voltage.

[@surferdude642]

@@davidbruce3632 ok, thats interesting, thanks

[@TnTBLACK95]

@@surferdude642 that is a DC circuit. AC circuit you would use impedance in place of resistance.

[@jkbrown5496]

You might want to add the requirement of "for the same amount of power"

[@TnTBLACK95]

Keep saying when you raise the voltage you raise the current. That's not true when you raise the voltage, you lower the current.

[@fortescuegr7573]

You are wrong in 66% of existing loads..... Only constant power load behave this way, constant impedance and constant current really don't behave this way...

[@misterwest69]

Does this have anything to do with if it is in parallel or in series

[@kepaloha]

Now that was the best comprehensive explanation I've heard... Thank you

[@nohandle227]

"220, 221, whatever it takes." -- Mr. Mom ...LOL

[@MrMockingbird1313]

Hey, this is a good job. With regards to voltages, a motor salesman told me that 115/230/460 volts were developed in China for some reason. In my area the public utility varies the voltage at peak demand but keeps the amperage pretty stable. Many utilities tend to do the opposite approach, at peak use. Regardless, a large piece of equipment in my facility kept burning up motors rated at 230. When we switched to a motor rated at 240 VAC the problems stopped. The salesman said I told you so.

[@timrolfes9761]

How do you explain the 117 volts rating, along with 127 volts? I've seen both of those figures in my travels.

[@darrennew8211]

The rating there is "RMS" rating - square the voltage number, take the average, then take the square root again. It's a more mathematical way of getting an "average" of an alternating current.

[@wictimovgovonca320]

Yes, I remember the 117 ratings, I think it was on old audio equipment ('70s and earlier).

[@robertball3578]

My team had 60 days from completion of construction to first patient in a new hospital. Recessed can fixtures kept blowing incandescent bulbs. Finally someone checked voltage and measured 138V! The contractor found the Stepdown transformer was on the wrong tap.

[@fredflintstone8048]

I lived in a neighborhood that had underground feeds into the area, and the pad mount transformer was behind the house. The measured voltage most of the time was 130/260. The elements on our 240v electric stove were always short lived, and I put in a quartz floodlight and the bulbs would only last about a week or so. I called the power company and they came to the house and did some checks. The tech explained that the transformer was a bit overloaded for the area so they set the taps to deal with the high load periods of time, so I would just have to live with it. Changing the bulb in the quartz fixture from a 240v to 277v version solved that problem and we just had to get used to the shorter life spans of the electric stove elements. One other thing to consider if you are trying to use older 100v - 115v tube type amplifiers in stereos or musical instrument amplifiers is that the 120-125v supplies are very hard on the vacuum tubes in the amps that are getting more expensive and harder to find because the amps typically have step up transformers which raise the plate voltages to several hundred volts, plus the fact that the filament voltages will be a little higher. The slightly higher input voltage translates to a substantially higher plate voltage. The best solution is to have a tech, or DIY if you're capable wire in a small transformer configured as a 'buck' transformer to drop the voltage going into the power transformer back down to 100-115, a little lower is better for longer life on the tubes. A small 120 to 12 volt stepdown transformer is usually enough and fairly common.

[@Sparky-ww5re]

Very interesting indeed. You must have a large quartz floodlight. I've seen some 1000 and 1500 watt versions that are 240 volt rated, but 277 is available. As far as your normal household lighting, not sure how the modern LED bulbs fare, but when I was a little younger incandescent bulbs were widely used, and you could get 130 volt lamps, which I've used in hard to reach areas because they seemed to have a much longer life. As a kid I understood watts means how bright the bulb is, but wondered what the heck 130 volts vs 120 volts meant. Of course now we don't do that anymore, we use lumens as a measure of brightness and watts as how much energy the bulb uses. Ex. a 100 watt metal halide used in an outdoor fixture is much brighter than a 100 watt incandescent.

[@fredflintstone8048]

@@Sparky-ww5re The quartz floodlight is 1500 watts. It lit up the backyard. I used it for working on cars at night. The bulbs were very expensive at the time. I was thrilled to be able to get 277 bulbs and they lasted a very long time. Of course the amount of over voltage I was getting was greater at 260 than at 130 so the devices that ran at 240 suffered the most like the electric heating elements on the stove.

[@willfergusson724]

Informative video, I like the lil bit of history in there I didn't know.

[@lprice5583]

This question has been bouncing around in the back of my head forever. Thank you.

[@joeldube6662]

Add Canada 🇨🇦, as a maintenance electrician for 25 years. Your knowledge, I can share with past co-workers that teach the college electrician courses.

[@jllaine]

Cool and thanks. The 125/250 on the receptacle doesn't mean its set up for either voltage, it means it won't air-gap-short/arc with 125 between each hot leg and neutral/ground, and 250 between the 2 hot legs. You could demonstrate the low voltage issue using a light dimmer and a box fan, turning down the power till it stalls to show why motors need minimal voltage.

[@howtodoitdude1662]

Thanks for sharing. I always use 120/240 as my reference. Homeowners that I work for usually say 110/220. It could be the age difference?

[@danfreiday8390]

Dude, that was was very well spoken, I couldn't have said it better myself, I now know why people are so confused, but you are right on the money, I'm 62 and an 01 journeymen in the industrial world for 30 years, you are absolutely correct, I've worked with 01 journeymen who are still confused,

[@omc7109]

Very helpful and easy to understand for a rank amateur who wondered these things.

[@armus550b]

Products are rated for 110v. Utilities base their substation voltage on a 120v standard. This is the expected voltage on the secondary side of the pot. In rural areas they may actually increase this to 122 or 124 expecting a longer secondary or greater drop to the pot. From the pot to the wall outlet in a home, they expect another 4v drop. All of this is done to guarantee at least 110v - which is the rates minimum for appliances.

[@MrTech226]

I always told by Ohm's laws about any circuits of AC or DC. DC - no problems but with AC - worried about Impedance and Phases. Every day, worked as an electronics Technician. I use this important law of Electronics. From 110 to 220 VAC to Microvolts, I give credit to electricians because they make sure and go by code that my or others' equipment are working properly. I have worked in Electrical Contruction before getting into Electronics. I know that licensing for Journeyman requires understanding basic electronics because I helped one of my friends on preparations for his test. Electrical and Electronics worked together properly.

[@tylerbarbaree7007]

Reading these comments cracks me up... It appears that many of these people working the electrical field but have zero clue on how small voltage trading differences can make disasters.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

The shop I work at is a motor shop that dates back to the 1930s, one of the older guys showed us some literature that if you owned a 1hp or bigger motor and was on the outskirts of town ,you had to call the power company before starting and stopping that motor. Blow out half the towns lights if you don't 😄 I'm in the generator dept ,so I don't get to see alot of that motor side.

[@melainewhite6409]

I just assumed it was because utility power is spec'd to be in a range, say 110v-120v, and some people use the bottom of the range (110), some the top (120), and some the middle (115), to mean the same things.

[@jacobstrunk7615]

In regards to motors. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) standards recommend that motors should be designed to operate satisfactorily at a voltage variation of plus or minus 10 percent. For 230 volts, that range is 207 to 253 volts; for 460 volts, it is 414 to 506 volts.

[@maxcooper9852]

Please please please do an in depth video on nec ampacity/corrections, when to derate, what °c table to use for ambient and temperature corrections and some real world examples of when to derate. The nec doesnt explain simply (it's easy to mess up when youre trying to find the very minimum gauge) when to use the 60c 75c or 90c column for different situations or wire types for branch ckts or feeders or when to use the 30c or 40c for temp corrections. Thanks so much

[@theknucklehead9518]

It actually does, for services you always use the 75 degree scale. For residential wiring you use the 60 degree scale that’s what I know so far but I’ll look into the codes and get back to you

[@highvoltage1979]

Check out KZbin channel Master the NEC.There are some excellent videos on that subject .

[@andymcgowan9819]

That will most likely be the most useful video I will watch all week! Thank you.

[@lucaraaska8938]

It's so weird to think how different electricity is distributed around the world. Here in Finland it has been standard for ages that all panels get 3 phase 230 volt lines. Maybe a small sub panel to a barn might get only one phase from the main panel, but mainly always 3 phases are used to balance the load. Outlets are usually 10A/16A.

[@mattjaskot2347]

No description on WHY low voltages are bad for motors. Also the voltage rating has a lot to do with dielectric constants and distances between things that could arc. So much potential for a good video