Using 220V Ac appliance on 240V AC grid

[M. Azeem]

Hi, 

What is the effect of using a 220V AC 50Hz appliance on a 240VAC 50Hz grid country?

does it make a difference if the appliance has motors or just circuits?

Will the higher voltage (240V AC) reduce the appliance life?

Will the higher voltage (240V AC) increase or reduce power consumption or efficiency? And please provide the formula to calculate any change.

Is the effect related to the size and power consumption of the appliance, for example, if the appliance consumes 100 watts the effect will be different from an appliance that consumes 1000 watts?

Does the use of 220V AC appliances have any effect on the 240V AC grid (the power company)?

Thanks,

 

[roys]

Why do you ask?

Curiosity

Homework

Practical Application

or none of the above.

I ask as it does effect how we answer the question?

Welcome to the forum by the way.

 

[rapparee]

It will depend upon the components in the appliance.

If you are using an electric element that is rated 2000w at 220v and you increase the voltage by 10% to 242v then the output of the element will be 2200w.

 

[Evans Electric]

So you have an appliance rated at 220V    ...our declared voltage is 230V   ....our REAL  voltage is  (usually)  240V .    Hmmm.  

 

[Geoff1946]

Looks like college homework to me, but if it's for real my approach would be "what's the specification of the appliance?" 

If it's 220 +/_ 10%, for instance, then that can be 220+22, ie 240v is apparently ok, but then you also have to consider your supply.

230v or not officially, I've often seen 245v here, which would be out of spec. for that item.

Regardless of specifications. increasing voltage increases the stress on components and often shortens their life.

 

[M. Azeem]

Thank you for all the questions and replies,

The local government does not allow the import of equipment designed for 220V AC 50Hz in the country as the power grid in the country is 240V AC 50Hz,  and I was planning to challenge this restriction or limit it to high powered devices. As rapparee answered I think it will make a difference if the device uses high power and little effect if the device uses, for example, less than 100 watts.

We are assuming that we don't know the detailed specification of the device, only that it is designed for 220V AC 50Hz.

Thanks,

 

[Doc Hudson]

What country are you referring to?   The UK voltage tolerances that appliances have to work to are:  'Nominal 230v'  +10% / -6%.  So the permitted voltage range is  216.2v to 253v.  How stable is your declared 240v supply. What min/max tolerance are allowed for variation?  All appliances should work to a satisfactory level between the max min, of the country they are intended for. It is not a case that it would suddenly fail if the supply voltage wasn't exactly the same every day.  That total 16% variation allows for over 36v difference that the same appliance must carry on working OK. How accurate is your assumed 20v difference?  

Doc H. 

 

[Tony S]

This smacks of government protectionism. Which country are you from? In the EU Belgium as far as I know is the only country with 220V declared voltage.

From your screen name I would assume you’re somewhere in the Middle East.

 

[M. Azeem]

Thank you all again,

The country is Kuwait (Yes, in the Middle East), The official grid voltage 240V 50Hz, British Standards with Type G plug. 

I also believe that it is government over-protectionism and over-regulation and I need to understand the subject well before going after trying to change this regulation.

I am an electrical engineer graduated from States more than 30 years ago but have more experience with computers than electrical circuits. 

I have done some testing but became more confused with the results.

I used an appliance ( Shoes Cleaning machine, made in  China and designed for China 220V AC 50Hz) and measured the power consumption using sonoff WiFi energy monitor  https://www.itead.cc/sonoff-pow-r2.html. The appliance contains a motor (Label on the motor says DC 220V) and a small circuit with a relay to turn on the machine when a light beam was broken by placing a foot on the machine. The appliance is CE certified and the label states the power consumption as 80 watts

When the machine is connected to the local 240VAC power, the energy monitor shows about 50 watts.

After connecting a bucking transformer that takes 240V input (Primary) and outputs 220V (Secondary) between the grid and the device,  the energy monitor reports the consumption at about 70 watts.

I was not expecting these values, can anyone shed some light on these results.

Thanks,

 

[ProDave]

It will be very dependant on the load how well it behaves or not.  A lot of modern stuff with switch mode power supplies will probably work well over a very wide range of voltages without issue.  But some things, like a direct motor may not.

e.g I have a water pump rescued from scrap at a former employer.. It is rated at 208V.  Any attempt to use that on 240V and it gets very hot very quickly.  I use that (or did when I was using it) from an autotransformer to drop it to 210V

 

[Tony S]

It will be very dependant on the load how well it behaves or not.  A lot of modern stuff with switch mode power supplies will probably work well over a very wide range of voltages without issue.  But some things, like a direct motor may not.

e.g I have a water pump rescued from scrap at a former employer.. It is rated at 208V.  Any attempt to use that on 240V and it gets very hot very quickly.  I use that (or did when I was using it) from an autotransformer to drop it to 210V

208V is American and so rated for 60Hz. The change in frequency is the most likely cause of the motor heating up.

 

[Tony S]

Thank you all again,

The country is Kuwait (Yes, in the Middle East), The official grid voltage 240V 50Hz, British Standards with Type G plug. 

I also believe that it is government over-protectionism and over-regulation and I need to understand the subject well before going after trying to change this regulation.

I am an electrical engineer graduated from States more than 30 years ago but have more experience with computers than electrical circuits. 

I have done some testing but became more confused with the results.

I used an appliance ( Shoes Cleaning machine, made in  China and designed for China 220V AC 50Hz) and measured the power consumption using sonoff WiFi energy monitor  https://www.itead.cc/sonoff-pow-r2.html. The appliance contains a motor (Label on the motor says DC 220V) and a small circuit with a relay to turn on the machine when a light beam was broken by placing a foot on the machine. The appliance is CE certified and the label states the power consumption as 80 watts

When the machine is connected to the local 240VAC power, the energy monitor shows about 50 watts.

After connecting a bucking transformer that takes 240V input (Primary) and outputs 220V (Secondary) between the grid and the device,  the energy monitor reports the consumption at about 70 watts.

I was not expecting these values, can anyone shed some light on these results.

Thanks,

CE or Œ there’s a difference, China Export or Conformité Européenne. To give your test better credence I’d suggest finding something else to test.