thewaggonerfamily
SE Michigan
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Okay, I may be stupid, but I thought power was usually 110 (AC), which would be normal household power, and of course there is 12v (DC) which is battery power, and 220 (AC) which is what big appliances like some Dryers and stoves and welders are. Right? But often I've seen people on here referring to 120 power, which by context I assume (infer) they are talking about regular old ordinary household power. Could somebody explain it to me?
Scott & Katie
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smkettner
Southern California
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Joined: 03/21/2005
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There is no 110 anymore even though the term is used to describe home electric power. Home power in the USA was standardized at 120/240 volts and 60 cycles. Google might find the specific history.
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millerfamily
Red Feather Lakes, Colorado
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Some people 
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donn0128
Pronounced Ore-gun
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Using a common volt meter and doing a check yourself you will see that the actual voltages used in the USA are 120VAC/240VAC/480VAC. While people commonly refer to them as 110V220V/440V. Don't really know where this stems from. I guess from the really early days of electrification of this country? In Europe the common household voltage is in fact 220VAC at 50Hz, while the most common industrial current is 380VAC 50Hz.
Donn
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kaydeejay
SE Michigan, USA
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thewaggonerfamily wrote:Okay, I may be stupid, but I thought power was usually 110 (AC), which would be normal household power, and of course there is 12v (DC) which is battery power, and 220 (AC) which is what big appliances like some Dryers and stoves and welders are. Right? But often I've seen people on here referring to 120 power, which by context I assume (infer) they are talking about regular old ordinary household power. Could somebody explain it to me? US domestic power is 120 +/- 10% so it can range from 108V to 132V and still be within spec.
Keith J, Retired from GM Engineering
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE 2WD/CC/SB/DA.
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver
Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin-box, Multi-vex mirrors.
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Wayne Dohnal
Banks, OR.
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This is a clip from Wikipedia that may or may not explain the 110 volt terminology. At the time, this was a DC system:
"Edison selected 100 volts as a compromise between distribution costs and lamp costs. Generation was maintained at 110 volts to allow for a voltage drop between generator and lamp."
In the same vein, most AC devices are rated to operate at 115 volts, assuming a 5 volt drop between the utility drop and the device.
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ScottG
Bothell Wa.
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millerfamily wrote:Some people
He probably meant "you people" 
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Chris Bryant
DeLand, Florida, USA
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Reminds me of Michael Keaton in "Mr. Mom"-
Quote:You going to put 220 in it?
220... 221, whatever it takes.
-- Chris Bryant
My RV Service Blog
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TEXAS
Centerville Tx
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Joined: 08/17/2003
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For the most part it is just a matter of terms used. The voltage in your house will vary from 110 to 120. When I first started in this field it was called 110 or house current. We also had 460 which is now 480. I would say you will find house voltage around 115-118.
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TEXAS
Centerville Tx
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Also no stupid questions when you are trying to learn. We all have to learn at sometime.
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