Using US lamp in Europe?
May 5, 2008 | 1:55 am
#16
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 135
A 100 watt bulb draws 100 watts at 110v. Wattage = voltage x amperage. Double the voltage, you double the wattage. I think the bulb would blow, perhaps violently. Or maybe the switch you are turning. Either way, not a good thing.
If lamp cord is rated at 300v, I think putting 220v though it is getting too close.
A plain old floor lamp would not cost too much to rewire. If you are handy and can put your hands on the proper parts it could be a good do it yourself.
Otherwise, I'd use a transformer.
Electricity can be pretty unforgiving.
If lamp cord is rated at 300v, I think putting 220v though it is getting too close.
A plain old floor lamp would not cost too much to rewire. If you are handy and can put your hands on the proper parts it could be a good do it yourself.
Otherwise, I'd use a transformer.
Electricity can be pretty unforgiving.
May 5, 2008 | 7:19 am
#18
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Amps = Watts/Volts
Need someone from a 220V country to chime in here, but it seems to me that for a purely resistive device, like a lightbulb, you are going to be pulling the same current for a given brightness of bulb?
I don't see where any re-wiring would be needed.
Need someone from a 220V country to chime in here, but it seems to me that for a purely resistive device, like a lightbulb, you are going to be pulling the same current for a given brightness of bulb?
I don't see where any re-wiring would be needed.
May 5, 2008 | 8:00 am
#19
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A 100 watt bulb draws 100 watts at 110v. Wattage = voltage x amperage. Double the voltage, you double the wattage. I think the bulb would blow, perhaps violently. Or maybe the switch you are turning. Either way, not a good thing.
If lamp cord is rated at 300v, I think putting 220v though it is getting too close.
If lamp cord is rated at 300v, I think putting 220v though it is getting too close.
Last edited by Arthurrs; May 5, 2008 at 10:48 am
May 5, 2008 | 4:51 pm
#21
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Detroit; Formerly Dubai
Posts: 3,676
When I moved to Dubai, I rewired my lamps. I wasn't sure about the wire and just rewired it while I was at it. Once you are doing the other, the rewiring is easy. By a roll of lamp wire at the appropriate hardware store. Unhook the socket, tape new wire to the old wire and just pull it through.
Last edited by Dubai Stu; May 6, 2008 at 5:47 am
May 5, 2008 | 6:45 pm
#22
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May 5, 2008 | 7:05 pm
#23
Original Poster
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When I moved to Dubai, I rewired my lamps. I wasn't sure about the wire and just rewired it while I was at it. Once you are doing the other, the rewiring is easy. By a roll of lamp wire at the appropriate hardware store. Unhook the docket, tape new wire to the old wire and just pull it through.
May 5, 2008 | 7:23 pm
#24
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Does anyone know if an adapter is needed to use a US-purchased lamp in Europe?
I know that the US voltage is 110 and Europe is 220-240, but does that matter for a lamp, as opposed to electronics or motors? Can I simply stick in a bulb bought in Europe and use it?
Thanks...
I know that the US voltage is 110 and Europe is 220-240, but does that matter for a lamp, as opposed to electronics or motors? Can I simply stick in a bulb bought in Europe and use it?
Thanks...
May 5, 2008 | 8:09 pm
#25
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Also, UK uses a different type of socket altogether.
May 6, 2008 | 1:09 am
#26
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 135
You're misapplying Ohm's law here. The wattage of the bulb remains the same, it's the current draw that changes. So a 100 watt bulb draws 0.83 Amps at 120 volts, half of that at 240 volts. Nevertheless we are not exceeding 80% of the wire's voltage rating, shouldn't be a problem. The bulb needs to be changed out to one rated to handle 240 volts, a filament rated for 120 volts will indeed blow with 240 volts across it.
In any event, I'd rewire the lamp. It would make a nice little project.
May 6, 2008 | 7:18 am
#27
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I'm not sure. The advertised 240v is RMS (root-mean-square, kind of an average) voltage. Instantaneous voltage at the peak of the sine wave is about 1.4 (square root of 2) times that, or about 340v. While ratings include a safety factor, I wouldn't. Potential downside (short circuit, worse if circuit breaker doesn't kick in) is too big. Rewire. Not hard to do it yourself, not expensive to have someone else do it.
May 6, 2008 | 9:50 am
#28
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Does anyone know if an adapter is needed to use a US-purchased lamp in Europe?
I know that the US voltage is 110 and Europe is 220-240, but does that matter for a lamp, as opposed to electronics or motors? Can I simply stick in a bulb bought in Europe and use it?
Thanks...
I know that the US voltage is 110 and Europe is 220-240, but does that matter for a lamp, as opposed to electronics or motors? Can I simply stick in a bulb bought in Europe and use it?
Thanks...
May 6, 2008 | 9:59 am
#29
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 22,778
Amps = Watts/Volts
Need someone from a 220V country to chime in here, but it seems to me that for a purely resistive device, like a lightbulb, you are going to be pulling the same current for a given brightness of bulb?
I don't see where any re-wiring would be needed.
Need someone from a 220V country to chime in here, but it seems to me that for a purely resistive device, like a lightbulb, you are going to be pulling the same current for a given brightness of bulb?
I don't see where any re-wiring would be needed.
May 6, 2008 | 10:01 am
#30
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 135
Got to thinking about Ohms Law again. I'm trying to figure out if I'm missing something here.
The light bulb is rated in watts at a certain voltage, isn't it? The resistance of the bulb (as measured by an ohm meter for example) is a constant.
See http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~vawter/Physic...esistOhms.html
So if P = I E, and P=100w, E = 120v, then I = .83A
E = I R, and R is constant (139.5). so double the voltage, same load, you double the current. At 240v, same R, I = 1.66A
So P = 240v x 1.66A = almost 400w.
The light bulb is rated in watts at a certain voltage, isn't it? The resistance of the bulb (as measured by an ohm meter for example) is a constant.
See http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~vawter/Physic...esistOhms.html
So if P = I E, and P=100w, E = 120v, then I = .83A
E = I R, and R is constant (139.5). so double the voltage, same load, you double the current. At 240v, same R, I = 1.66A
So P = 240v x 1.66A = almost 400w.