Just as with the plethora of different materials in the electrical industry, have you ever wondered why we have so many voltages that can mean the same thing? It can be confusing at best! In the latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin answers this question to bring some clarity to the subject.

⚡MEMBERSHIP⚡
JOIN ELECTRICIAN U become a member and get:
FREE Continuing Education every year
FREE Practice Exams
FREE Monthly Video Courses
FREE Weekly Live InstructorLed Classes
FREE Monthly Educational Newsletter
Premium MembersOnly Content
Private Discord Channel
Monthly MembersOnly Discord Chats
Sign up here https://www.electricianu.com/electric...

MUSIC AND VIDEO:
  / descantmv  

✍ART AND ILLUSTRATION:✍
https://www.daverussoart.com

Early on in its life in the US, electricity was run to our streetlights somewhere around 100v. As time went on, this was increased to about 110v to increase the amount of light. This was the norm until recently (say the last 50 or 60 years +/), where for the same reasons, it again was increased to 120v and 240v where we now currently reside in the voltage scale. However, when we talk about voltage at any particular point, we are referring to NOMINAL voltage, or in other words Close to. A small percentage (up or down) will typically be acceptable in most instances. For our standard voltage of 120v, generally anywhere between 114v to 126v is common.
Now, you may notice that on some materials, say a light bulb for example, it will be stamped on it with its wattage along with 130v. This means that the lamp is RATED for voltages as high as 130v to handle the fluctuation of voltage throughout the day. Also, notice how on some devices like receptacles, it is labeled as 125v 20a or 125/250v 30a. All this means is that the device in question is rated for that many amps of current at the voltage range listed (usually a bit higher on the scale than normal). Remember from previous episodes, voltage and amperage are proportional to one another. Raise one and the other will also go up. So, if we were to raise the voltage above 120v, the amperage associated with it would also go up. So, they rate the devices at the amperage you are wanting to use at the higher end of the voltage available to have a bit of a safety buffer in there. If that were not to be the case, if your voltage went up, then your device rating (amperage wise) could potentially be exceeded, and a fire hazard could be present.
Another item to look for is dual voltage ratings on a device. Most of our dryer and range receptacles, for example, are rated either 30a or 50a at 125/250v. This simply means that the device is rated to carry the amperage it is stamped with at either 125v or 250v. It is manufactured to work at either voltage, but the equipment you are plugging into it may not be, so make sure to check the equipment requirements/ratings!
Motors on the other hand tend to be on the inverse of this scale. You typically see 230/460 which is on the lower end of the standard voltage scale of 240v or 480v. Knowing that voltages vary depending on load, the manufacturers rate their motors on the low scale to let us know that this is the lowest amount of voltage that should be applied to their motor so it can operate without damage. In any given facility, the more you have operating at once, the lower the voltage typically is overall, so the equipment manufacturers see LOWER voltages as more common than high. Now, damage can also happen by applying to HIGH of a voltage, but the manufacturers deem it more advantageous to label it with the low end of the voltage spectrum than the upper end. Again, check the equipment requirements/ratings before applying voltage to it!
We hope you learned something by watching the video. Continue to look frequently at the site as new videos and content are being added all the time!
#electrician #electrical #electricity
2:00 Example 1
2:57 Utility voltage
4:12 Plug Examples