Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V?

Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by rootusrootus on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @02:47PM (#37312134)

But are they more powerful? AFAIK it's pretty common for a European range to be in the 7000-1000 watt range. That's also normal in the US on single phase 240V. And I can go buy a 36000 watt tankless water heater from Home Depot. I think it's a wash, either system can deliver however much power you need.

The reason for gas in the US is because people like it. It's been seen as upscale for decades to have a gas cooktop. It also helps that gas water heaters don't require electricity and work in an outage. Our residential natural gas distribution network is extensive and reliable, and it's pretty straightforward to use the same appliances on propane for people out in the sticks.

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Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by vel0city on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @03:58PM (#37313063)

Depending on the market it can also be cheaper per BTU to heat with gas than with electricity, at least resistive heating. Heat pumps are starting to challenge that math, but with higher upfront costs and more complexity as tradeoffs.

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