Who's rewired their house for this hobby?
Chuck Guzis
cclist at sydex.com
Sun Nov 23 12:35:37 CST 2014
On 11/23/2014 07:24 AM, Holm Tiffe wrote:
> Can't see any advantage of the american system to the german, sorry.
> Frome here it looks pretty outdated.
Well, that's what evolution sometimes gets you. The US 3-wire
residential distribution system dates from Edison's 1882 DC system
(+100,0,-100). One of Edison's original carbon-filament lamps will
screw into any modern residential lamp socket. There are homes in the
US still using knob-and-tube wiring, as well as Edison-base fuses in the
distribution box. Originally, residential distribution was intended for
lighting only, so AC versus DC was not an important concern for the
average homeowner. 100V (plus a certain amount for line drop) was
selected because it was felt not to be a significant electrocution hazard.
Although the NEC dates back to 1897, it never has been the sole
governing standard in the USA. For example, in the city were I was
raised, non-metallic-sheathed cable was illegal; Rigid conduit was the
rule. Kept the very strong IBEW in control, it did.
When I worked in a steel mill, the distribution panel in our small 4-man
shop looked like 460V, 230V, 115V 60Hz AC, 440V, 110V, 220V 25Hz AC and
250V DC, all with accompanying transformers. Larger shops included
3-phase distribution of both 25Hz and 60Hz.
The point is, that the US has adopted a course of compatibility with
older standards, rather than a revolutionary course.
I understand that parts of Europe were also slow to abandon DC
residential lighting.
--Chuck
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