How many volts are supplied to a house

To calculate the maximum power that your meter can supply expressed in volt-amperes , multiply the voltage U by the intensity I of the current that supplies your home. We have used the same number here as well. Fun fact: the difference between both outcomes is a factor And this is explained by the fact that a V voltage also happens to be 1. If you require more electrical power than your meter can supply, the power switch trips to secure your installation. If your power switch regularly trips , this indicates that your installation has insufficient power for your requirements.

The more voltage and intensity, the more power your meter will require. The table below displays the power required to supply the intensity that you need. Power in V single-p hase in kVA. Please first ask your electrician for advice. He can provide you with more information about the most appropriate solution for your needs. As an example, 10 gallons per minute of water may flow through a certain pipe.

This flow rate of water is analogous to amperage or current in an electric wire. The pressure of the water flowing through the pipe is not a measurement of the amount of water, but rather the amount of energy that is generated by the water inside the pipe. Similarly the voltage carried by an electric wire is a measurement of the amount of energy that is being carried. Once again, the amperage of an electric service determines its capacity and the voltage of the service volts or volts is a determination of the form of the electric service that is utilized.

In residential applications volt service is utilized for lights, outlets, small appliances such as microwave ovens, irons, toasters, clocks, televisions etc. Almost all modern homes will have volt electric service capability in the house. There are still a few houses around that do not have volt capability at the present time.

These are usually old homes that have not had electrical upgrades for a period of many years. They are a rarity. At the risk of oversimplifying, an easy way of determining whether a house has volt or only volt electric service would be to visually examine the overhead electric wire that connects to the house.

The overhead wire is referred to as the service entry cable or service lateral. The neutral is usually bare, meaning that you can actually see the metal wire.

The hot legs are insulated, typically with a black rubber covering. To the contrary, if one of the hot wires for the overhead service is not connected to the riser cable Determining the Capacity of the Service. The electric service capacities that one might see in residential buildings are 30 amperes, 60 amperes, amperes, amperes, amperes, and amperes. In a few instances the capacity is greater than amperes, but this would only be the case for large modern upscale homes with greater electrical needs.

We would offer the following in regard to these various capacities:. To put in it simple terms, the capacity of the electric service in a house is determined by three factors, the capacity of the service entry cable the cable feeding the house , the capacity of the main electric panel, and the capacity of the main disconnect. In most cases these three factors are the same. In other words, it is very common for a ampere capacity cable to feed a ampere capacity circuit breaker panel with a ampere capacity main disconnect.

Sometimes the actual capacity of the service entry cable is printed directly on the cable. This easily identifies the capacity of the cable. More often, the capacity of the cable can be estimated by the size of the cable. Once again, at the risk of oversimplifying:. The rating of a panel is usually indicated on the label inside of the panel door.

Most modern panels have a single main disconnect. The capacity of the disconnect is labeled directly on the disconnect. As it gets closer to your house it goes to a sub station where the voltage is lowered and then sent on its way. It finally arrives in your neighborhood and is sent to a transformer where the voltage is lowered to volts. This is what comes into your house and goes to the circuit breaker box.

The next section describes a bit of technical mumbo jumbo about sine waves and phase relationships. You can skip it if you aren't interested. Alternating current AC is what is delivered to you and is what runs everything in your home. The alternating part means that the voltage changes constantly from zero to plus volts and then back to zero and then to minus volts. This cycle repeats itself 60 times a second thus the description of your service is VAC 60Hz.

The Hz is the abbreviation for Hertz, a famous scientist from Germany who also invented the rental car business and as a sideline invented radio and wireless communications along with a lot of his co-workers, Avis, Enterprise and Alamo. The cyclic variation of the voltage occurs very smoothly and is described as sinusoidal variation, named after Samuel Sinus, a famous mathematician and nose doctor.

Now this is important - the volts comes to you in a kinda weird way. There are three wires coming to your house. The one in the middle so ta speak is called the common. On each side of that wire are volt wires - volts is measured between that wire and the common. If you measure across the two outside wires you will get volts. It all happens in the complex vector math of the two volt sinusoidal waveforms, but suffice it to say that it works and you get your choice of or volts to run your appliances.

Remember the middle wire I called "common"? It comes all the way from the power generating station as the common wire and it also is attached to the cold water pipe that comes into your house through the ground.

It's important because you should realize that the earth is part of a circuit of our power distribution system. What it really means to you is that you can get zapped if you happen to be in contact with some form of ground, be it a kitchen sink or a puddle of water on the ground outside, and come in contact with a "hot" wire.

Ground is ground and if you touch a "hot" wire and are grounded elsewhere on your body, current will flow through the circuit. If one of your fingers is in a light socket and another finger on the same hand touches ground, you will feel a shock across your hand. Close Search. Last updated: 12 March Check out all plug types used around the world. Type B. Type C. Type D. Type E. Type F. Type G. Type H. Type I. Type J. Type K.