sqlsavior
Lunatic Member
Must be private enterprise!Why does my water boil faster when I am working in Scotland than it does at home in North Carolina
Mains cables...
- Thread starter Bigmoonface
- Start date
dysmike
0xDEADBEEF
Yes, the last time it approached (as I recall) $3/gal average in the US. As soon as prices hit a level that affects consumer spending, strategic reserves are released. This shouldn't be news, or shocking (or even political). It's just one of the reasons that US prices stay where they do. They are effectively controlled to stay there. Ultimately this affects what the US consumer will purchase for a vehicle. And why not? There's not too much penalty for driving a pickup that gets 16mpg compared to the rest of the world.
In that timeframe, I was living in Germany. Prices were not much cheaper in the UK or France then.
DaveVoorhis
Addicted Member
3000 watt kettle.Why does my water boil faster when I am working in Scotland than it does at home in North Carolina
Or higher altitude.
Or you're not watching the pot.
David_NC
Super Member
That's not how it works. A 240 volt supply doesn't make appliances consume twice the energy of a 120 volt supply.
Hot Ovaltine?
Actually, it sounds like what a certain grumpy someone needs is a big hug.
I'm curious if some know how electricity / electrical consumption is measured. Just think of your power bill; it's measured in kilowatt hours. Note the time component. As for whether higher voltage makes things use more power, remember: P=I*V (where P= watts, I=current, V=volts); 120 volts @ 20 amps is 2400 watts (in the US) and 240 volts @ 10 amps is 2400 watts (in the UK / Europe). They are the same: 2400=2400.
Now, it's possible to say that on a higher voltage circuit, one could use a bigger appliance and thus use more electricity. Say we're limited to 10 amps. 120 x 10 = 1200 an 240 x 10 = 2400. The lower voltage may make it look like it's using less power, but now let's add the time component in. The heater that runs on 120V/10A will take twice as long to heat a given area vs the one on 240/10A. The only time the higher voltage could cause one to use more power is if one wanted the biggest heater possible and ran it wide open with no regard for time, such as an electric heater being used outdoors in the winter, etc.
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You mean '240 volts' here.
David_NC
Super Member
Yup, I did! I changed it while you were posting, I think. The good thing is that somebody caught it, which means they understood the point being made!You mean '240 volts' here.
) - just so long as our 3kW kettle does its stuff so we can have that all important cup of tea. 
loopstick
Lunatic Member
Yes - you're not buying power. You're buying energy. A gallon of gas is about 33 kilowatt hours.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_gallon_equivalent
cpt_paranoia
Addicted Member
As I said earlier, I fear some don't appear to understand electricity at all...
Indeed. Some don't seem to understand the distinction between power and energy, or the simple relationship energy = power * time.
DaveVoorhis
Addicted Member
And speaking only for myself, "some" occasionally carelessly interchange power and energy, despite knowing better.
I think you're associating the wrong cause and effect. Pricing averages $2.847 today. What was different then was a spike in production that led to record breaking levels. We simply didn't need that much.
Djcoolray
Addicted Member
To be fair Germans engineers are the 2nd best in the world!
NOT...
And some where keeping Dave busy chasing his tail.
Ok then; my 2 pence; 1st pic shows about the average emi distortion on my home electric lines at 9:30pm where it tends to run a little higher than it does during the day. Second reading is from a dedicated audio line using spiral wound multi strand wiring as opposed to standard solid core wiring. Last pic is the reading I get from my preamp's extra outlet after it passes through a balanced Furman conditioner.
I have what I consider to be decent power with zero problems. But as the meter shows everything matters and yes the reduction of emi from 600 down to 42 is audible.
Attachments
Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
And most likely, the source(s) of the noise are in your home!
Possible but more than likely not. These reading were taken with nothing running on the noisiest circuit which has solid core wire and it doesn't make any difference in the readings if something noisy is running on a nearby circuit. Led dimmers and newer fluorescent fixtures are terribly noisy and they were all shut off. 5-600 is average line noise on solid core line while I've never seen over 125 on the 3 circuits that have multistrand wires. This tells me the wiring is making the improvement, Normally I get my lowest readings during the middle of the day which I think may be due to the power provider switching to cleaner form of power; possibly solar.
No doubt. If your audio system has any digital components, you have a powerful local source of RFI.
DaveVoorhis
Addicted Member
Big sources of electrical noise are household WiFi (sometimes from other households), cheap LED lighting (good ones are not noisy), and mobile/cell phones and their chargers.
^^^^^^So far the newer fluorescent lights (small transformers) are by far the biggest offenders.They will go well over the 1000 mark. The older ones with the heavy and better shielded transformers add little to none. Wifi makes no difference and dimmers on leds will hit 800 if the switch is on it's highest setting. This meter has given me lots of surprises in the past month I've had it. I always thought tightly coiling a cord would add emi; the meter says no it doesn't.