Why does Japan have 110V but UK has 220V?

Question

Why does Japan have 110V but UK has 220V?

Answer 1

Japan followed the US in using 110 (in the US, now 120) as the US use of 120v AC 60Hz, (240 for heavier use such as stoves and air conditioners and cloths dryers and 480 for industrial {was 440 at one time}) is far more efficient than the European 50Hz system.

Answer 2

We us e 110 on building sites for health and safety perposes.

It must have somthing to do with health and safety. If not they do not produce enough from the power stations AC for the distance needed to  travel.

240 UK and Europe. 220 USA.

Answer 3

The Japanese are smaller than we are and don't require as much energy.

Answer 4

240v UK

Answer 5

Power (the actual USE of energy in watts) is a function of the voltage required to induce current through a cable.  Power cannot be be created, only converted and transferred.  So if voltage is doubled, the current is reduced by half.  It's the current flowing through power lines that generates heat, so a lot of power is wasted.  Using higher voltages results in lower current and less heat is generated in the power lines, getting more power to the homes.

The U.S. began most of the national electrification for homes.  Other countries followed suit later on and saw some of the problems of power transmission.  Europe realized that 220v was superior to 110v.  Other countries decided to copy the American system for compatibility.

For other reasons, too long to go into here, Europe decided that 50 hz was better than 60 hz, perhaps due to the metric system, but hindsight shows that there are flaws to that concept.  But now it's standard for those countries and can't be changed.

For most purposes, there is really no difference in the exact voltages since power transmission normally fluctuates constantly within a range.  There is 100v systems and 200v systems.  People will refer to 110v as 100v, 115v, 117v, 120v, 125v, and even 130v.  It's all the same since at any time it can be as low as 90v or as high as 130v.

Same thing with 200v systems.  It can also be 208v, 210v, 220v, 225v, 230v, or 240v.  Stay away from 260v or 280v, though, as they're really 300v systems running very low.  You won't encounter them unless you're a professional electrician working in industrial settings.

Answer 6

japan has enough to worry about with fumes and over population