Toller wrote:
"Pete C." wrote in message
...
wrote:
That's one thing people often do not understand. If you have a 100A
service and only use 120V items in the house, you can actually draw
200A. But if you have all 240V appliances, you can only use 100A. Of
course most homes have both, so that's where the mathematics comes
into play.
Mark
The total power is the same either way or in combination.
100A x 240V = 24,000W
or
200A x 120V = 24,000W
or
50A x 240V = 12,000W
+
100A x 120V = 12,000W
=
24,000W total
etc...
If you happen to have a perfectly balanced system, which is most unlikely...
It makes no difference how balanced or unbalanced you have the system,
you will not be pulling more than 24,000W at least not for more than a
few min before the main breaker trips.
It could well be less than that number if you max out one leg first. You
need to have the system balanced to reach the 24,000W load, but the
total amount of power available from the service is 24,000W no matter
what.
Pete C.