Why is the US the only country that uses 110 voltage for wall sockets?

Question

The rest of the world uses 220. I find that strange.

Answer 1

110 volts was selected in the USA in the late 1800's before alternating current (AC) was selected over direct current (DC). Safety was considered, but the lowest usable voltage may have been selected due to fears stirred up by the battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over the choice between AC and DC.

Although ordinary wall sockets are now 120 volts and 15 amps in the USA, homes are supplied with two 120 volt circuits sharing a neutral connection. That provides 240 volts for such equipment as electric cooking ranges, clothes dryers, water heaters, air conditioners and furnace blowers. The clothes dryers and ranges are usually connected through 240 volt, 4-wire, 30 to 50 amp plugs and wall sockets. Small air conditioners are sometimes connected through 120 or 240 volt, 20 amp plugs and wall sockets. Other equipment is directly wired without a plug and socket.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why is the US the only country that uses 110 voltage for wall sockets?
The rest of the world uses 220. I find that strange.

Answer 3

Us Voltage 110

Answer 4

Sorry; electrical engineers have no control over what things people find strange.

The development of electrical distribution systems proceeded along different lines in the US and Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The current usages are just the way things worked out. No real technical reason, though it is true that thinner wire can be used at 220 than at 110 volts.

The overall distribution system involves many different voltages, from hundreds of thousands on down.

Answer 5

The United States is not the only country using ~110v.

The table I will direct you to reports the United States as having 120v, 60Hz, and measurements from my own outlets gave results closer to 125v, 59.9Hz. I understand that the actual voltage is not particularly critical, and that the difference between 110v and 125v is of little consequence. I believe that the cycling rate is more critical for some applications, but haven't researched it.

Other countries using the same power standards (for obvious reasons, I think) are Mexico and Canada. Japan has 100v power, cycling at either 50Hz or 60Hz, depending upon the region of Japan.

There are a smattering of smaller countries which seem to roughly conform to US power standards also, and I expect that each country has strong reasons to conform to one of the major power standards (e.g. American or European), and find themselves deciding on one or the other for any number of reasons, including (I imagine) what they were using previously, and how closely it matches with a more common standard.

One of the benefits of running higher voltage is that you can transmit the same amount of energy and use lower amperage to do it. Amperage is the main concern of wire size, and so lowering it allows you to use thinner wires safely.

I have a lot of tangent issues and questions myself related to electricity standards, but I hope this is helpful.

Answer 6

Don't even take the U.S. - type power strip with you. Power strips made for 120V may not be safe on higher voltages in other countries because the insulation might be underrated, and they may even be illegal to use there (you'd have to check on that). If your strip caused a fire, the local authorities would discover that, and you could be liable for all the damage it caused. Additionally, using a U.S. power strip on a higher voltage could cause you to forget that you can't safely plug in a 120V appliance or whatever other item; damage could result. Plug adapters are cheap, so get as many as you will need, plus two more for spares. If necessary, buy a suitable Irish power strip and plug everything into that.

Answer 7

The US was the first country to start installing wall sockets, and they chose 110. Other countries opted for 220. Note that most houses do have 220 wall sockets for things like the refrigerator, washer and dryer and possibly the oven.

Answer 8

No one above seems to have mentioned that higher voltages allow for a much higher efficiency usage of electricity. Huh. I'd think this was very important, and one of the great benefits of using higher voltages (like Europe does).

110 V is terribly inefficient, but it is harder to kill yourself with it.

Answer 9

110 voltage are relative cheaper for consumers but needs expensive generators which the US and other 1st world countries can purchase..

Answer 10

Many people in the world use because of so much equipment made for that voltage. 120 V is much safer.