Hi,

I'm a little confused about the whole 120V vs 240V things. More
specifically, I'm now deciding whether to put in 120V or 240V mats to
heat the tile in my bathroom. My electrician told me to "of course,
put in 240V" because you then need a smaller current for the same
amount of energy. Yeah - I understand that from my physics class - but
so what? Is it safer? Is it more efficient? Does it work faster?

Further, I called the floor heat company and they told me that 120V is
for up to 150 sq ft and 240V is for 150 sq ft to 300 sq ft. So I don't
know which one to go with anymore.

Please shed some light on this issue. Thank you!

Aaron Fude

240 V will be cheaper to operate.




"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

I'm a little confused about the whole 120V vs 240V things. More
specifically, I'm now deciding whether to put in 120V or 240V mats to
heat the tile in my bathroom. My electrician told me to "of course,
put in 240V" because you then need a smaller current for the same
amount of energy. Yeah - I understand that from my physics class - but
so what? Is it safer? Is it more efficient? Does it work faster?

Further, I called the floor heat company and they told me that 120V is
for up to 150 sq ft and 240V is for 150 sq ft to 300 sq ft. So I don't
know which one to go with anymore.

Please shed some light on this issue. Thank you!

Aaron Fude

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

I'm a little confused about the whole 120V vs 240V things. More
specifically, I'm now deciding whether to put in 120V or 240V mats to
heat the tile in my bathroom. My electrician told me to "of course,
put in 240V" because you then need a smaller current for the same
amount of energy. Yeah - I understand that from my physics class - but
so what? Is it safer? Is it more efficient? Does it work faster?

Further, I called the floor heat company and they told me that 120V is
for up to 150 sq ft and 240V is for 150 sq ft to 300 sq ft. So I don't
know which one to go with anymore.

As you double the volts, you half the amps. That means you can run smaller,
less expensive, easier to work with wires. Operating cost will be the same.

The 150+ is 240V for the reasons described. You don't want to have to run
#8 wires for the lower voltage units.

"HotRdd" wrote in message
...
240 V will be cheaper to operate.



How so? Watts is watts and you pay by watts.

On Oct 29, 3:25 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"HotRdd" wrote in message

...

240 V will be cheaper to operate.

How so? Watts is watts and you pay by watts.

240 uses less copper, skinnier wire costs less.

beecrofter wrote:
On Oct 29, 3:25 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"HotRdd" wrote in message

...

240 V will be cheaper to operate.
How so? Watts is watts and you pay by watts.

240 uses less copper, skinnier wire costs less.

Installation cost, yes; operational cost, no (unless is grossly
undersized so wire voltage drop is significant making wiring I^2R losses
sufficient to not be ignored at the higher current of 120V).

--

According to Edwin Pawlowski :

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
ups.com...

I'm a little confused about the whole 120V vs 240V things. More
specifically, I'm now deciding whether to put in 120V or 240V mats to
heat the tile in my bathroom. My electrician told me to "of course,
put in 240V" because you then need a smaller current for the same
amount of energy. Yeah - I understand that from my physics class - but
so what? Is it safer? Is it more efficient? Does it work faster?

Further, I called the floor heat company and they told me that 120V is
for up to 150 sq ft and 240V is for 150 sq ft to 300 sq ft. So I don't
know which one to go with anymore.

As you double the volts, you half the amps. That means you can run smaller,
less expensive, easier to work with wires.

Maybe. Eg: 10A at 120V requires #14 wire minimum. 5A at 240V also
requires #14 minimum. So there's no particular "wire" advantage
either way in that example. 240V needs another breaker and slot tho.

Operating cost will be the same.

There's a very slight difference, depending on circumstances probably
not worth caring about.

The 150+ is 240V for the reasons described. You don't want to have to run
#8 wires for the lower voltage units.

Which is true.

It's kind of like electric heaters. You can get 1500W ones for 120V.
Plus all the plug-in ones. But anything over 1500W will almost always
be 240V, even the plugin ones. Here they're giving the "switch point"
in square feet.

If the installed price was the same for 120V vs 240V, and I had
the room in the panel, I'd go with the 240V simply because the panel
load is balanced.

In a floor application, the hazard is about the same either way.
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:25:39 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"HotRdd" wrote in message
...
240 V will be cheaper to operate.



How so? Watts is watts and you pay by watts.


Pay to replace those big wires when you trip over them?

The main advantage of the 120 volt system is that if you protect the circuit
with a GFCI device, the protection will cost a small fraction of the cost of
a 240 volt device. Most "line voltage" thermostats are 2 pole so that will
not be an issue.

Otherwise, just about everything says go for the 240 volt system. Smaller
wire, lower losses between the panel and the heater, less temptation to
"tap" the supply line.

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

I'm a little confused about the whole 120V vs 240V things. More
specifically, I'm now deciding whether to put in 120V or 240V mats to
heat the tile in my bathroom. My electrician told me to "of course,
put in 240V" because you then need a smaller current for the same
amount of energy. Yeah - I understand that from my physics class - but
so what? Is it safer? Is it more efficient? Does it work faster?

Further, I called the floor heat company and they told me that 120V is
for up to 150 sq ft and 240V is for 150 sq ft to 300 sq ft. So I don't
know which one to go with anymore.

Please shed some light on this issue. Thank you!

Aaron Fude

responding to
http://www.homeownershub.com/mainten...al-262332-.htm
kayostar wrote:
I agree. The 240V would be the cheaper and more efficient to get in the
long term.

On Jan 23, 9:44*am,
(kayostar) wrote:
responding tohttp://www.homeownershub.com/maintenance/120V-vs-240V-for-heated-floo...kayostar wrote:

I agree. The 240V would be the cheaper and more efficient to get in the
long term.

The only difference in "long term" is the tiny difference in wasted
energy
that you get from running 2X the current when using 120V. That tiny
loss
is due to the small resistance in the wire, assuming the same gauge
wire
is used. Otherwise, the costs and issues are all there on day one.
And
IMO and without doing the math, it would take a very, very long time
of
running that small bathroom floor heater for those losses to amount
to anything.

It would be helpful to also know how many watts this load actually
is. But
the core issues a

Can you use smaller wire in this case when going with 240V?
How long is that wiring and how much would you save?
Does it need to be GFCI protected? As someone pointed out
double pole GFCI is a lot more than a single pole.
Have a panel slot for a double?