110v VS 220v

hi u guys can someone tell me what is the difference if my light would be on a 110 or a 220 volts plug , my monthly bill wouldn't change wright to my understanding its just power voltage , what i mean by that is if my 1kw light is on 110v plug lets sey it needs 15amp breaker than if it would work on 220v it would need less breaker amperage , because of easier power flow , idk maybe someone of you know the answer and will let me know, thanx

First of all u need to talk to an electrician. Wow that's what I do for a living. At 220 volts ur amperage will be lower causing ur bill to be lower. Simple ohms law. Voltage and amperage are inversely proportional. So voltage go up amps go down and vice versa. Lower amps means lower power usage and lower bill. Can I get a + rep please.

i disagree completely. say a 1000w ballast takes 10a on 120v, it takes 5a on 240v. but you are pulling two hots so it is equal. 1000w is 1000w and it will not decrease the bill. what it will do is let the ballast run cooler, the wires run cooler, and extend the life. lower amps does not mean lower bill, bill is based on kilowatts. if that were the case everyone would be using 240v.

superstoner1 said:

i disagree completely. say a 1000w ballast takes 10a on 120v, it takes 5a on 240v. but you are pulling two hots so it is equal. 1000w is 1000w and it will not decrease the bill. what it will do is let the ballast run cooler, the wires run cooler, and extend the life. lower amps does not mean lower bill, bill is based on kilowatts. if that were the case everyone would be using 240v.

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OK dumbass when did u top out or graduate the apprenticeship? Cause ur are a retard. Why do u think ur oven, AC unit and other big power users are 240 volts. Cause if u were running a 120 volts then ur amps would be through the roof. First of all I'm the electrician not u. Do u even know ohms law. If so do the math. U must be none union or a JW wanna be. I walk around with a union journeyman's license how bout u? Do u even know what JW means? Ha ha

superstoner1 said:

i disagree completely. say a 1000w ballast takes 10a on 120v, it takes 5a on 240v. but you are pulling two hots so it is equal. 1000w is 1000w and it will not decrease the bill. what it will do is let the ballast run cooler, the wires run cooler, and extend the life. lower amps does not mean lower bill, bill is based on kilowatts. if that were the case everyone would be using 240v.

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OK Mr electronic just do some simple math for me and show me how u get a kilowatt. Do u know the formula. No I didn't think so. So while ur trying to Google it I will sit back and laugh cause i have been using this math for over 10 yrs. Show me ur math. Please can't wait to see this.

superstoner1 said:

i disagree completely. say a 1000w ballast takes 10a on 120v, it takes 5a on 240v. but you are pulling two hots so it is equal. 1000w is 1000w and it will not decrease the bill. what it will do is let the ballast run cooler, the wires run cooler, and extend the life. lower amps does not mean lower bill, bill is based on kilowatts. if that were the case everyone would be using 240v.

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I agree with this, good post. P=IE. A watt is amps times volts. The utility meter meters power usage which is watts. Higher voltage translates to lower amperage.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A 1000 W (1 kW) appliance running for one hour will use 1 kWh (one killowatt hour) of energy. This is true whether it is running on 240 V or 120 V (V = volt).

The difference is that the current going through the appliance is different in the two cases. Since P = IV (power in watts (P) is equal to current in amperes (I) times voltage in volts (V). So at 240 V a 1 kW appliance is using 4.17 A and at 120 volts it would use 8.33 A. [/FONT]

OK kids here the lesson for the day. We are on a 120 volt residential system. Ur bill is measured in kilowatt hours. Basically how many kilowatts u use in an hour. To get kilowatts u need volts times amps divided by 1000. Remember ur on a 120 volts system and if ur amps are lower them the number u divide a 1000 into will be smaller. So in turn less kilowatts used per hour, which is a kilowatt hour. This is what ur bill is measured by. Damn who would of known there were so many electricians on this site.

shaun2000 said:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A 1000 W (1 kW) appliance running for one hour will use 1 kWh (one killowatt hour) of energy. This is true whether it is running on 240 V or 120 V (V = volt).

The difference is that the current going through the appliance is different in the two cases. Since P = IV (power in watts (P) is equal to current in amperes (I) times voltage in volts (V). So at 240 V a 1 kW appliance is using 4.17 A and at 120 volts it would use 8.33 A. [/FONT]

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Finally a man with some sense. Thank you. Now take 8 amps and multiply it by 240 then divide by 1000. Now take 4 amps times 240 divided by 1000. This is a kilowatt. Which is less 4 amps or 8. U guys are geniuses.

See that's the only prob I have with a lot of members. They give advice about shit they have no clue about. The bad part is they come off like they really know what their talking about. If u don't know for sure or don't have any experience, please please sit back and shut up. I can't stand someone who gives terrible advice and have no knowledge about it, but yet swears they are right.

Vonkins said:

OK kids here the lesson for the day. We are on a 120 volt residential system. Ur bill is measured in kilowatt hours. Basically how many kilowatts u use in an hour. To get kilowatts u need volts times amps divided by 1000. Remember ur on a 120 volts system and if ur amps are lower them the number u divide a 1000 into will be smaller. So in turn less kilowatts used per hour, which is a kilowatt hour. This is what ur bill is measured by. Damn who would of known there were so many electricians on this site.

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Really? Dude, power consumed, watts, is the product of volts x amps. Doesn't matter if its 240 volts and 10 amps, 2.4 kw or 120 volts and 20 amps, 2.4 kw. Same power consumed, metered and billed. Residential systems are 240 volts, with two 120 volt legs 180 degrees out of phase with each other with a common neutral and an equipment ground.

wow, do you find it hard to get work? you sound like a complete moron. so you are telling me that a 1000w ballast uses 1000 watts at 120v and 500w at 240v? no its 1000w. the lower amperage just allows easier flow of electricity through the wires. i just switched my 3000w from 120 to 240 3 months ago, show me my savings. it didnt show up on my bill. maybe i should get you to call the utility company and explain it to them so i can get my lower price.

Vonkins said:

First of all u need to talk to an electrician. Wow that's what I do for a living. At 220 volts ur amperage will be lower causing ur bill to be lower. Simple ohms law. Voltage and amperage are inversely proportional. So voltage go up amps go down and vice versa. Lower amps means lower power usage and lower bill. Can I get a + rep please.

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You're very hostile for someone who shows up to a thread with misinformation.

you get billed by kwh.
Amps * volts = watts.

Say you have a 10 amp 120v appliance.

10A * 120V = 1200 watts/hr

If you run it on 240v you run half the amps:
5A * 240V = 1200 watts/hr


This is what you do for a living???? You might want to look into a new profession.

superstoner1 said:

i disagree completely. say a 1000w ballast takes 10a on 120v, it takes 5a on 240v. but you are pulling two hots so it is equal. 1000w is 1000w and it will not decrease the bill. what it will do is let the ballast run cooler, the wires run cooler, and extend the life. lower amps does not mean lower bill, bill is based on kilowatts. if that were the case everyone would be using 240v.

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correct but not only this but less wire is needed for bigger loads using 240v.

Vonkins said:

Finally a man with some sense. Thank you. Now take 8 amps and multiply it by 120 then divide by 1000. Now take 4 amps times 120 divided by 1000. This is a kilowatt. Which is less 4 amps or 8. U guys are geniuses.

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LOL. dude the 4 amps is running on 240, not 120.

8*120 is the same as 4*240.

I REALLY hope you are either lying about being an electrician, or are just baked out of your mind and not comprehending any of this.

Vonkins said:

See that's the only prob I have with a lot of members. They give advice about shit they have no clue about. The bad part is they come off like they really know what their talking about. If u don't know for sure or don't have any experience, please please sit back and shut up. I can't stand someone who gives terrible advice and have no knowledge about it, but yet swears they are right.

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you dont know what your talking about you need to relax and learn. maybe you work with an electrician but you are definitely not one. and there is no malice behind these words all im saying is you got a lot to learn. read more, post less.

You guys are such morons. Is it that hard to figure out. Ur oven is 1000 watt oven at 120 volts u pulls 8.3333 amps. OK now apply 240 to that same oven, now ur using 4.166 amps. Now ur on a 240 volt system let's figure out our kilowatts used at 120 verses 240. Ur kilowatts are determined at the meter and not the appliance. Ur meter is based off 240 volts so let's do the math. 240 volts ×8.333 amps÷ 1000 =2 kilowatt. Now let try the same 240 volts cause that what the meter is on × 4.166 amps÷ 1000 = 1. I don't understand how u guys can figure this out. By the way I have a govt job and I just pulled in 2900$ for 1 week. Damn good pay for a shitty electrician. Now if this appliance ran for 24 hours at 120 volts that would be 48 kilowatt hours that day. Now at 240 volts 24 hours would be 24 kilowatt hours. Damn simple math. Just pm me. I will show u apprentices how to be a JW.

Math has to be done in 2 places. At the appliance to get amps used by the appliance. Then at the meter to figure ur kilowatts. Ur electricity bill is based off kilowatt hours so u would have to figure out how long the appliance runs, now just multiply kilowatts by hours and their u go kilowatt hours. I will bet my freaking house on this. Just call any electrician u know and he will tell u. I can tell none of u are electricians cause if u were u would know the difference. I'm at work now and me and my buddies are dying laughing at this. We are all very skilled electricians with about a century of experience between the 5 of us. We are dying laughing right now.

Vonkins said:

You guys are such morons. Is it that hard to figure out. Ur oven is 1000 watt oven at 120 volts u pulls 8.3333 amps. OK now apply 240 to that same oven, now ur using 4.166 amps. Now ur on a 240 volt system let's figure out our kilowatts used at 120 verses 240. Ur kilowatts are determined at the meter and not the appliance. Ur meter is based off 240 volts so let's do the math. 240 volts ×8.333 amps÷ 1000 =2 kilowatt. Now let try the same 240 volts cause that what the meter is on × 4.166 amps÷ 1000 = 1. I don't understand how u guys can figure this out. By the way I have a govt job and I just pulled in 2900$ for 1 week. Damn good pay for a shitty electrician.

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im done. your just fucking stupid and pathetic at this trolling shit im not gonna sit here and explain a house electricity. 1000w is 1000w no matter what voltage. 120v is drawn from 240v if your drawing 10 amp on the houses line this means your drawing 10 amps from one "pole" of your 240v main elec, which can be divided into 2 poles both at 120v. if you are drawing 1000w from 240v this mean 5amp on each 120v pole.

YOU CAN NOT CHANGE THE FACTS 120 VOLT DOES NOT MAIGCALLY CHANGE INTO 240 VOLT

Math has to be done at the appliance and at the meter. I will say this'd one more time. At the appliance to find ur amps, then at the meter to get kilowatts.