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A split-phase or single-phase three-wire system is a type of single-phase electric power distribution. It is the alternating current (AC) equivalent of the original Edison Machine Works three-wire direct-current system.
Most of the Americas use 60 Hz AC, the 120/240 volt split-phase system domestically and three phase for larger installations. North American transformers usually power homes at 240 volts, similar to Europe's 230 volts. It is the split-phase that allows use of 120 volts in the home. Japan's utility frequencies are 50 Hz and 60 Hz.
(For industrial machinery, see industrial and multiphase power plugs and sockets.) Some countries have more than one voltage available. For example, in North America, a unique split-phase system is used to supply to most premises that works by center tapping a 240 volt transformer. This system is able to concurrently provide 240 volts and 120 ...
Both three-phase and single split-phase power can be supplied from a single transformer bank. Where the three-phase load is small relative to the total load, two individual transformers may be used instead of the three for a full delta or a three-phase transformer, thus providing a variety of voltages at a reduced cost.
Leg as in "hot leg" refers to one of multiple hot conductors in an electrical system. The most common residential and small commercial service in Canada and the U.S., single split-phase, 240 V, features a neutral and two hot legs, 240 V to each other, and 120 V each to the neutral. The most common three-phase system will have three hot legs ...
One voltage cycle of a three-phase system. A polyphase system (the term coined by Silvanus Thompson) is a means of distributing alternating-current (AC) electrical power that utilizes more than one AC phase, which refers to the phase offset value (in degrees) between AC in multiple conducting wires; phases may also refer to the corresponding terminals and conductors, as in color codes.
Because the phases are 120 degrees from each other, the voltage between any two phases is sqrt(3) * 230V = 400V, compared to the 2 * 120V = 240V in the North American split phase system. While three-phase power is almost unheard of in individual North American residences, it is common in Europe for heavy loads such as kitchen stoves, air ...
Neutral wires are usually connected at a neutral bus within panelboards or switchboards, and are "bonded" to earth ground at either the electrical service entrance, or at transformers within the system. For electrical installations with split-phase (three-wire single-phase) service, the neutral point of the system is at the center-tap on the ...