I find that much of Europe uses 220V 50 cycle AC, while USA uses 110-120v 60 cycle AC. Why is this so, and does the 50 to 60 cycle variance cause significant problems?

Thanks,
Bob

Seems there is no clear answer why Europe chose 50 hertz, while 60 hertz was chosen by NikloaTelsa here in the US. Running 60 c units on 50 c will cause heat to be created and premature burnout. Many appliances are now rated for both.

Here is a bit of information:
Alternating current Summary

Very interesting link. A few years ago there was a question here about why voltages are often multiples of 11 such as 110, 220, and 440. I think in the US it may be closer to 12 now. There weren't any real answers. I speculated that perhaps that was just what George Westinghouse got when he wired up an early transformer. Anybody here now that knows?

For the same reasone that sockets are different in many countries. The history of the development was not common and now it is too late and too costly to change all into a universal one

One of the reasons was that since US got electricity first we got the beta version and we just haven't upgraded yet.

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Originally Posted by rj43wesley

... Europe uses 220V 50 cycle AC, while USA uses 110-120v 60 cycle AC. Why is this so, and does the 50 to 60 cycle variance cause significant problems ?

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Different sockets in many countries is more of historic heritage and is partly based on protecting own economy and interests. Has little to do with 110 - 220 Volt or 50 - 60 c/s.

Also the 110 Volt system is something historical. Europe soon went to 220 Volt, as that reduced the total current going through the supply lines (reducing losses).
In the US Westinghouse and other suppliers had interests in power supply and in the supply of copper cable. The higher the current, the higher the sales of thick expensive copper wire...

Europe went for 50 c/s from the start, as at 60 c/s current loss in massive wiring is 20% higher due to `current-crowding´ : more current is than passed via electrons at the surface of wires, than those inside the wires.
At very high frequencies cables are therefore often hollow, as their inside is not used at all for transfer of power. The surface of such wires is often covered with gold or silver for maximum conduction.

As to problems for 60 c/s equipment on 50 c/s systems : induction is directly related to frequency. The higher the frequency, the higher the inductance.
At 50 c/s equipment made for 60 c/s provides insufficient induction, and therefore heats up.
The other way around (50 c/s equipment on 60 c/s systems) is less harmful, but has the effect of lowering the actual power (for instance of motors and in transformers).
;)

I am not sure of the difference in Hertz (50hz vs 69 hz) but the difference in line voltage(220V) is because usung 220v has a lower current demand. A motor that will use let's say 6 amps on 110-120 vac , will use less than 4 amps if designed to use 220vac. This is the reason for higher voltages AND different types of phasing. The US is kind of backwards in it's technology for electric services. If we were to use 220v and also use more DC, the total load of electric use would drop dramatically.

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Originally Posted by rj43wesley

I find that much of Europe uses 220V 50 cycle AC, while USA uses 110-120v 60 cycle AC. Why is this so, and does the 50 to 60 cycle variance cause significant problems?

Thanks,
Bob

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How much more efficient is a 220v electric water heater vs a 110v electric water

Beside the technical aspect of the question, circumstances had a big role to play. Most of the conversion to 220V in western Europe was done after WWII when everything had to be rebuilt. Wars have fringe benefits!. Implementation of the 220 was done geographically . Local state (& Marshall Plan ;) would subsidies the replacement of appliances that were mostly utilitarian at the time . It was before the boom of entertaining equipment ( TV, sound systems.. etc) that would have made the switch prohibitive . Beside the obvious benefit of switching at the right time, it was also a boost for the electric industry.
Great Britain must have paid a heavy price for waiting too long.

Interestingly enough, those were also the days of AC electrical railways experimentation in Japan and France.

Been reading stuff for about an hour and haven't found a answer to this VERY SIMPLE question: Will running a 220vac/50 hertz transformer on 220vac/60 hertz circuit cause overheating of the transformer... like a fire?

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Originally Posted by oldduffo

Been reading stuff for about an hour and haven't found a answer to this VERY SIMPLE question: Will running a 220vac/50 hertz transformer on 220vac/60 hertz circuit cause overheating of the transformer....like a fire?

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I'm not sure why you'd post on a thread that's one to two years old.

The answer to your question is "probably not". It depends on the actual construction of the transformer, but this frequency difference is not usually important in transformers.

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Originally Posted by Perito

I'm not sure why you'd post on a thread that's one to two years old.
The answer to your question is "probably not". It depends on the actual construction of the transformer, but this frequency difference is not usually important in transformers.

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Interesting subject.
Is 110 less deadly than 220?

Would only 10 Hz difference be "noticeable" to a coil?
My 10 hp three-phase air raid siren lists the frequencies (pitches) that it produces on 60 Hz and 50 Hz power. Does cps matter less in three-phase motors?
Thank you.

Higher voltages allows transmission power over distances at greater efficiency-transmission losses can be high 30%to40%of the power generated.220v is SENSIBLE BALANCE OF SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY.