[wrycoder]

The transformer on the pole delivers 240V rms center tapped, with the center tap being connected to ground at the pole. The center tap wire is actually uninsulated, and the two hots are wrapped around it for support. The center tap is connected to the neutral bus at the breaker panel.

Half the breakers are connected to one hot, and half are connected to the other hot. For 120V you wire hot/neutral to the receptacle, while for 240V you wire hot/hot. (Plus ground, of course.)

In the EU, receptacles are wired hot/hot, and there is no neutral conductor.

[kuschku]

What? That's wrong.

The typical EU configuration:

The transformer delivers a neutral and three phases, in a star configuration.

That means you've got L1, L2, L3, N and GND.

N to any L is 230V, any L to any other L is 380V.

That also means a typical grounded socket has e.g., L1, N and GND, so a neutral and a hot.

A high-power socket or e.g. a stove will have GND, N, L1, L2, L3.

My stove has the oven running on L1 and N in a 230V hot/neutral and the stove at L2 and L3 in a 400V hot/hot configuration.

(Belgium is the exception, having phases at 113V off the center point, so sockets are in hot/hot to get 230V between the phases)

[wrycoder]

Thanks for the EU detail! Are you saying the typical house in the EU has three phase power delivered to it? All three phases?

Here in the US, where split-phase is the residential standard, a house with three phase is quite rare. The HV lines running on poles in a neighborhood are mostly single phase, at least in rural areas like mine.

[kuschku]

> Thanks for the EU detail! Are you saying the typical house in the EU has three phase power delivered to it? All three phases?

Yes! And many electrical devices rely on it, though sometimes fallback to regular 230V single-phase at 32A is possible, e.g. for stoves.

And considering a typical stove runs at 11-15kW and a typical electric water heater between 15kW to 25kW, you'll need it as otherwise you'll need far higher amps than is reasonable.

Honestly, only due to the technology connections video did I realize that the US does not use triphase power in most homes, which was genuinely surprising.

[wrycoder]

Although I use a propane range, I'm wired for a 240V 30A electric one. That's only 7.2KW. My water heater is also propane.

I have a friend with a Bridgeport vertical mill in his garage/workshop. He had to build a single phase to three phase converter, so he could run its three phase motors.