The US electrical system is not 120V
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters point to it to correct misconceptions about US voltage and to explain 240V availability in American homes.
What it is
Technology Connections explains that US household power is split-phase, with two 120V legs that combine to 240V for large appliances. It covers the breaker panel and how the system works.
Recommended by 4 HN commenters across 4 different months, 2021 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Recommends kruador · 2021-11 · on “Museum of Plugs and Sockets”
Relevant video: Technology Connections, "The US electrical system is not 120V", where there is a (long) discussion of how the breaker panel works and how you get 240V. [this video]
Recommends coreyp_1 · 2022-08 · on “A looming copper crunch and why recycling can’t fix it”
There's a lot of misconceptions about US electricity. This video does a nice job at pointing out the good and the bad. [this video]
Recommends Rimintil · 2023-01 · on “A US federal agency is considering a ban on gas stoves”
Single family homes in America are 240v rails for large appliances, like stoves/ovens, furnaces, and dryers (two-phase). Technology Connections (YouTube) explains this fairly well: > [this video]
Recommends jamesbfb · 2024-09 · on “Serving AI from the Basement – 192GB of VRAM Setup”
Huh, what?! Mega TIL moment for me as an Australian with an electric kettle and dryer plugged into whatever power socket I wish! Reminds me of this great Technology Connections video: [this video]
Cites breakingcups · 2022-06 · on “A lightning bolt would be worth only about a nickel (2015)”
There's probably a large overlap between software people and people who subscribe to Technology Connections: [this video]
Cites throw0101c · 2022-09 · on “USB 4 version 2 promises 80 Gbps speeds over existing cables”
The US (and CA) runs on 240V as well, it's just split in half for smaller appliances. See requisite Technology Connections video: * [this video] My stove and clothes dryer are certainly not 120V.
Cites andrybak · 2025-12 · on “My car charger can boil water really fast [video]”
A 2022 Technology Connections video explores various ways to boil water: [LINK] And a 2020 video about different voltages in the US electrical systems: [this video]
Cites kibwen · 2026-05 · on “California leaders report four to six weeks worth of gasoline and diesel supply”
> Also our infra not being 240v is hurting us. The rest of the world can just plug in overnight to any regular outlet and it is good enough for almost any commute. US homes don't need any significant accommodations for 240 volt infra. Plenty of US home appliances are already 240 volt; this is a solved problem. [this video]