Why choose 120 volts?

Tue May 26 20:05:36 UTC 2009

> From: Alex Rubenstein <alex at corp.nac.net>
> Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 15:43:20 -0400
> 
> > I have a pure curiosity question for the NANOG crowd here. If you run
> > your facility/datacenter/cage/rack on 120 volts, why?
> 
> Because we are stupid.
> 
> 
> > I've been running my facility at 208 for years because I can get away
> > with lower amperage circuits. I'm curious about the reasons for using
> > high-amp 120 volt circuits to drive racks of equipment instead of
> > low-amp 208 or 240 volt circuits.
> 
> That makes you smarter than the average guy.
> 
> But, if we were really smart, we'd run at least 277, or maybe
> 347. Countless amounts of money would be saved on losses
> (transformation), copper (smaller wire), and many other areas. Most of
> the stuff we all run is already insulated for these voltage levels.
> 
> Even better would be all two pole 2 pole 480's or 2 pole 600's, then
> we wouldn't need neutrals.

Oh, yeah! Nothing sounds like more fun than working in a room full of
480 or 600 delta. I LIKE neutrals. (Sort of like I like continuing to
have a functioning heart.)
-- 
R. Kevin Oberman, Network Engineer
Energy Sciences Network (ESnet)
Ernest O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)
E-mail: oberman at es.net			Phone: +1 510 486-8634
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