120 vs 240

[twodko]

What is the advantage of 240v over 120v with regard to machinery? I'm tooling up a woodshop and I want the machines to be as efficient as possible. Will using 240 drive my electric bill higher than staying with 120v power?

[elacruze]

You have 240 up to the main box anyway, and there is no difference in consumption *when everything is optimal*. Voltage and Amperage have a direct correlation-double the voltage, half the amperage and vice versa.

We had 3-phase 460 service up north, and using 110v the amp draw wasn't enough to turn the huge meter...had free power for about 5 years until Granny accidentally gave us up by asking why the bill was Zero. 

[RECHRGD]

On any given load the amperage at 240 volt will be half of what it would be running on 120 volts.  You pay for watts, so there is no difference in the power consumption, as previously stated.  The main advantage is that with less amperage draw, you can use a smaller wire guage, saving you money on the installation of the circuit.....

[1969chargerrtse]

You have 240 up to the main box anyway, and there is no difference in consumption *when everything is optimal*. Voltage and Amperage have a direct correlation-double the voltage, half the amperage and vice versa.

We had 3-phase 460 service up north, and using 110v the amp draw wasn't enough to turn the huge meter...had free power for about 5 years until Granny accidentally gave us up by asking why the bill was Zero. 

OMG nooooooooo.

[twodko]

Thanks! I just won a $20 bet. Trying to convince someone that the more efficient a device is the less energy it will use. Another big hat guy. 

[skip68]

It's a wash.  Say you have two hot tubs.  One runs on 120v and the other runs on 240v.  The one that runs on 240v will heat up about twice as fast as the 120v one will.  This means the 120v one will take 2 times longer to reach the same temperature but use the same amount of electricity as the 240v one more or less.  The advantage of 240v vs 120v is recovery time.   Sometimes a 240v heater, pump or motor can be more efficient than 120v because it doesn't work as hard.