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What is the true impact of power supply differences - Japan, US, Australia?

I am used to British / European / Australia domestic mains where the nominal AC voltage is 240-Volts and the frequency is 50-Hz.

In Australia, the standard domestic outlet (General Purpose Outlet) is rated for 10-Amps, so can deliver up to 240 x 10 = 2,400 Watts of power by design. Many devices like electric heaters, hairdryers and kettles are rated at 2,400 Watts.

Most streets have three phases, and every third house connects to one of the phases.

In the US, the nominal voltage seems to be 120-Volts. At face value, this means you need 20-Amps for the same power and by inference you need twice the cross-section in the feed wires.

But that is only part of the story. The wires have resistance, and the voltage drop is directly related to the current flowing. To have the same proportional voltage drop at 120-volts as compared to 240-Volts, you would need to double the cross-section again, to four times.

Is this why there is so much discussion here about power cords, power conditioners and so on?

richardbrand

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richardbrand OP
365 posts
 

All General Purpose Outlets in Australia have three pins - live, neutral and earth.  So every audio component is connected to 'earth' unless it is deemed to be double insulated in which case the earth is disconnected.

In rural locations, the power can be a single wire with earth return (SWER) in which neutral uses the planet to complete the circuit.  SWERs make life particularly difficult for glider and balloon pilots who have to look out for a drunken row of widely space poles supporting just one deadly wire.

I have all three phases connected at my place.  The three phases are 120-degrees apart, unlike the US 180-degree anti-phase arrangement.  The nominal voltage between any two phases is about 415-Volts, and the power is almost constant overall.  I have never seen audio equipment that connects to three phases though.

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