Thursday, March 11, 2010
What is the definition of Volts or Voltage?
Volt, formally, is defined as the potential difference across a conductor when a current of one ampere dissipates one watt of power. This definition is not very helpful to consumers. Using a water-in-pipes analogy, volts is analogous to water "pressure" in the electrical system. Having higher "pressure" in a pipe (or electrical conductor) means that conductor is capable of delivering more energy to the user. Later in this article we further explain electrical potential. Mathematically Volts = Watts / Amps. (Volts equals Watts divided by Amps).
Just as a 10 gpm flow rate of water through a pipe provides half the amount of water as a 20 gpm flow rate, 10 amps of current in a conductor provides half the energy as 20 amps of current.
Amps,as we discussed above, is a measure total current flow (or "gallons per minute" or "gpm" using the popular water analogy) available from an electrical service.
A ten-amp 240V electrical service is capable of delivering, speaking roughly, twice the energy to the end-user than a ten-amp 120V electrical service. So volts is a measure of the strength of an electrical source at a given current or amperage level.
If we bring 100A into a building at 240V, we have twice as much power available as if we bring in 100A at 120V. Volts (continuing the same water analogy) is the "pressure" in an individual electrical conductor.
Some people explain volts as similar to water pressure in a pipe, and amps as water current or total quantity flow. We discuss volts and amps below and in detail at this website. Sketch courtesy of Carson Dunlop.
The total current ("gpm") that will flow through a conductor is doubled if the pressure is doubled. Twice the power or energy can be delivered on a # 12 conductor by doubling the voltage and holding the current to 20 amps. Doubling voltage and also doubling the amperage will deliver four times the power or energy.
Why we need circuit breakers or fuses: In either case, if we exceed the current rating of an electrical wire, it will get hot, risking a fire. That's why we use fuse devices (or modern circuit breakers), to limit the current flow on electrical conductors to a safe level to avoid overheating and fires. - thanks to Lousi Babin for technical review and edits to this text.
Is "240V" really exactly 240 Volts?: Don't expect a "240V" circuit to provide that exact voltage level. We've already said that "120V" and "240V" are "nominal" ratings, meaning that the actual numbers may vary. In a three phase circuit, even if you are using only two phases, the voltage between the phases is 1.732 x 120 = 207.6, or approximately 207 Volts and not 240 Volts. In various countries the actual voltage level varies around the nominal delivered "voltage rating" and in fact depending on the quality of electrical power delivered on a particular service, voltage will also vary continuously around its actual rating.
Most (but not all) modern electrical equipment can handle small voltage variations and differences without a problem. Sensitive electronic equipment may require that a voltage stabilizer be installed. For example a "240V" appliance can usually handle "208V" just fine.
The technical detail of how "240V" (or 207V if you prefer) is actually delivered to a building may be a bit confusing, so let's follow this carefully. In fact 240V delivered to a building does not mean that the individual service drop wires are carrying that voltage. Rather, 240V in the building is obtained as follows: the two "hot legs" are on different electrical phases provided by a step-down transformer at a neighborhood utility pole or box. Each service conductor on its own phase delivers 120V to the building.
The two (in this case) phases are arranged so that connecting a circuit across the two "hot legs" produces "240V" in for that circuit. An electrician or engineer, trained in safe volt-ohm meter (VOM) or digital multimeter (DMM) use can easily demonstrate this fact. Connecting a voltmeter from either incoming service conductor to ground will display 120V, and connecting a voltmeter across the two incoming 120V service conductors will display approximately 208V or 240V depending on just how the supplying transformer is designed.
Technical detail about phases of electrical power: Three phase power with the star (Y-connected) connected secondary and the neutral grounded, you get 208 Volts line-to-line, and 120 Volts line-to-neutral. With a single phase transformer (240 V secondary with a center tap and the center trap grounded), you get 120 Volts line-to-ground (neutral) and 240 Volts phase-to-phase (line-to-line). -- Thanks to N. Srinivasan for these clarifications.
Just as a 10 gpm flow rate of water through a pipe provides half the amount of water as a 20 gpm flow rate, 10 amps of current in a conductor provides half the energy as 20 amps of current.
Amps,as we discussed above, is a measure total current flow (or "gallons per minute" or "gpm" using the popular water analogy) available from an electrical service.
A ten-amp 240V electrical service is capable of delivering, speaking roughly, twice the energy to the end-user than a ten-amp 120V electrical service. So volts is a measure of the strength of an electrical source at a given current or amperage level.
If we bring 100A into a building at 240V, we have twice as much power available as if we bring in 100A at 120V. Volts (continuing the same water analogy) is the "pressure" in an individual electrical conductor.
Some people explain volts as similar to water pressure in a pipe, and amps as water current or total quantity flow. We discuss volts and amps below and in detail at this website. Sketch courtesy of Carson Dunlop.
The total current ("gpm") that will flow through a conductor is doubled if the pressure is doubled. Twice the power or energy can be delivered on a # 12 conductor by doubling the voltage and holding the current to 20 amps. Doubling voltage and also doubling the amperage will deliver four times the power or energy.
Why we need circuit breakers or fuses: In either case, if we exceed the current rating of an electrical wire, it will get hot, risking a fire. That's why we use fuse devices (or modern circuit breakers), to limit the current flow on electrical conductors to a safe level to avoid overheating and fires. - thanks to Lousi Babin for technical review and edits to this text.
Is "240V" really exactly 240 Volts?: Don't expect a "240V" circuit to provide that exact voltage level. We've already said that "120V" and "240V" are "nominal" ratings, meaning that the actual numbers may vary. In a three phase circuit, even if you are using only two phases, the voltage between the phases is 1.732 x 120 = 207.6, or approximately 207 Volts and not 240 Volts. In various countries the actual voltage level varies around the nominal delivered "voltage rating" and in fact depending on the quality of electrical power delivered on a particular service, voltage will also vary continuously around its actual rating.
Most (but not all) modern electrical equipment can handle small voltage variations and differences without a problem. Sensitive electronic equipment may require that a voltage stabilizer be installed. For example a "240V" appliance can usually handle "208V" just fine.The technical detail of how "240V" (or 207V if you prefer) is actually delivered to a building may be a bit confusing, so let's follow this carefully. In fact 240V delivered to a building does not mean that the individual service drop wires are carrying that voltage. Rather, 240V in the building is obtained as follows: the two "hot legs" are on different electrical phases provided by a step-down transformer at a neighborhood utility pole or box. Each service conductor on its own phase delivers 120V to the building.
The two (in this case) phases are arranged so that connecting a circuit across the two "hot legs" produces "240V" in for that circuit. An electrician or engineer, trained in safe volt-ohm meter (VOM) or digital multimeter (DMM) use can easily demonstrate this fact. Connecting a voltmeter from either incoming service conductor to ground will display 120V, and connecting a voltmeter across the two incoming 120V service conductors will display approximately 208V or 240V depending on just how the supplying transformer is designed.
Technical detail about phases of electrical power: Three phase power with the star (Y-connected) connected secondary and the neutral grounded, you get 208 Volts line-to-line, and 120 Volts line-to-neutral. With a single phase transformer (240 V secondary with a center tap and the center trap grounded), you get 120 Volts line-to-ground (neutral) and 240 Volts phase-to-phase (line-to-line). -- Thanks to N. Srinivasan for these clarifications.
What is the definition of Amps or Amperage?
Amperage or Amps provided by an electrical service is the flow rate of "electrical current" that is available. Mathematically, Amps = Watts / Volts. (Amps = Watts divided by Volts)
Speaking practically, the voltage level provided by an electrical service, combined with the ampacity rating of the service panel determine how much electrical demand, or in another sense how many electrical devices can be run at one time in the building. Sketch courtesy of Carson Dunlop.
Branch circuit wire sizes and fusing or circuit breakers used set the limit on the total electrical load or the number of electrical devices that can be run at once on a given circuit.
If you have a 100 Amp current flow rate available, you could, speaking very roughly, run ten 10 amp electric heaters simultaneously. If you have only 60A available, you won't be able to run more than 6 such heaters without risk of overheating wiring, causing a fire, tripping a circuit breaker or blowing a fuse.
Ampacity, in the electrical code, refers to the current, measured in amperes, that a conductor (a wire) can carry continuously under the conditions of use without exceeding its temperature rating - in other words, the ampacity of a #14 gauge copper wire intended for residential electrical wiring is 15 Amps because that's the amount of current that the wire can carry without getting too hot. "Too hot" means a temperature that could damage the wire insulation and thus reduce its safety.
Speaking practically, the voltage level provided by an electrical service, combined with the ampacity rating of the service panel determine how much electrical demand, or in another sense how many electrical devices can be run at one time in the building. Sketch courtesy of Carson Dunlop.
Branch circuit wire sizes and fusing or circuit breakers used set the limit on the total electrical load or the number of electrical devices that can be run at once on a given circuit.
If you have a 100 Amp current flow rate available, you could, speaking very roughly, run ten 10 amp electric heaters simultaneously. If you have only 60A available, you won't be able to run more than 6 such heaters without risk of overheating wiring, causing a fire, tripping a circuit breaker or blowing a fuse.
Ampacity, in the electrical code, refers to the current, measured in amperes, that a conductor (a wire) can carry continuously under the conditions of use without exceeding its temperature rating - in other words, the ampacity of a #14 gauge copper wire intended for residential electrical wiring is 15 Amps because that's the amount of current that the wire can carry without getting too hot. "Too hot" means a temperature that could damage the wire insulation and thus reduce its safety.
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