32

My goal is to have a house where all loads are powered by 240V, that is fully livable in all the normal ways. And this question concerns the hard, in-house, built-in wiring; we will armwave the availability of plug-in appliances.

Under NEC 2014/17, will it be possible to a) serve all built-in (ordinarily hardwired) loads with 240V supply?

I am willing to switch appliances (e.g. to all hard-wired lamps, and to all socketless, light emitting or discharge lights). There won't be a conventional forced-air furnace; it'll be mini-splits, baseboard emergency heat, and electricityless Empire heaters.

Let us presume I have either found US-legal 240V plug-in appliances, or decided to do without them.

Code calls out a number of 120V circuits and receptacles that specifically must exist: kitchen counter receps within 2' of any point on a countertop, wall outlets within 6' of any point along a wall, laundry room, bathroom, outdoor etc. I'm willing to physically install them as well and just leave them de-energized. With 240V circuits right next to them. 120/240V multi-wire branch circuits will not be used.

Improve this question
1
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Michael Karas ♦
    Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 2:20

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
42

Several have mentioned The required 120v circuits include 2 small appliances for kitchen counters, 1 for the laundry, 1 for the bathroom(s).

But I think the main problem you run into is 210.6.

210.6 Branch-Circuit Voltage Limitations. The nominal voltage of branch circuits shall not exceed the values permitted by 210.6(A) through (E).
(A) Occupancy Limitation. In dwelling units and guest rooms or guest suites of hotels, motels, and similar occupancies, the voltage shall not exceed 120 volts, nominal, between conductors that supply the terminals of the following: (1) Luminaires
(2) Cord-and-plug-connected loads 1440 volt-amperes, nominal, or less than 1∕4 hp

This limits the voltage to 120v nominal between conductors for luminaries and cord and plug connected loads 1440 nominal or less. This means all those 240V devices other countries use would not be code compliant in the US with regard to lighting and appliances as most are under 1500W.

Improve this answer
13
  • So if I have 240V receptacles in a garage workshop for tools, with no neutral in that box, I can't run some lighting fixtures on the same circuit?
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Aug 12, 2020 at 19:24
  • @manassehkatz-Moving2Codidact there are provisions in 210.6(C) which allow luminaires on 277V circuits.
    – brhans
    Commented Aug 12, 2020 at 19:29
  • 1
    If I understand electricallicenserenewal.com/… correctly, it sounds like with the 2020 code, cord-and-plug-connected or permanently connected utilization equipment are permitted too. Which means that the only real limits of "120V only" (aside from required for kitchen, etc.) is the smaller sizes of Edison bulbs - which makes sense because you don't want to have a 240V light bulb socket where an unsuspecting user could screw in a standard 120V bulb.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Aug 12, 2020 at 19:35
  • 14
    @JACK, most of Europe uses 230V phase-to-ground and 400V phase-to-phase.
    – Nate S.
    Commented Aug 12, 2020 at 22:51
  • 2
    For what it's worth, I would parse that as "in (dwelling units) and (guest rooms or guest suites of hotels)" but I agree it's ambiguous. Could indeed be parsed as "in (dwelling units and guest rooms or guest suites) of hotels" as well, or even "in (dwelling units and guest rooms) or (guest suites of hotels)". Would've been better if they listed it differently.
    – SQB
    Commented Aug 13, 2020 at 12:19
38

Such a fun question deserves an equally fun answer.

Sure you can! And there's a neat trick that will help with all those troublesome NEC 2014/17 rules: simply make sure to build this house in a country where the NEC does not apply!

Most of the world uses 230V as their standard supply voltage, which is pretty close, but if that's not quite enough for you, there are 19 countries that use exactly 240V by default, and would make an ideal location to build a 240V-only house.

  • Brunei
  • Cook Islands
  • Cyprus
  • Falkland Islands
  • Fiji
  • Gibraltar
  • Isle of Man
  • Kenya
  • Kiribati
  • Kuwait
  • Libya
  • Nauru
  • Oman
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Qatar
  • St Lucia
  • Seychelles
  • Tonga
  • Uganda

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity_by_country)

Improve this answer
1
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Michael Karas ♦
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 3:44
-1

Actually my entire house is ran off of 240v circuit breakers. I live in the US. I bought an "off grid" house. That had brand new electric box put in, we went back on grid, but none of the electrical wires were ran from the breaker to throughout the house, only one was, and it was 240v. We ran our entire house, off one 240 v breaker. I don't have electric appliances besides a microwave and fridge, everything else is just every day things. Like TV and lights. I run normal lights, normal TV, normal plugs, off that 240v. My electric bill 😆 it's $35 a month and there's 3 of us, 2 adults one teen. But yeah u can totally run every off of 240v. I'm doing it. I'm completely ignorant when it comes to electric, I don't have a clue what I'm doing, but if it works, isn't catching the house on fire, then I'm happy.

Improve this answer
2
  • 4
    one 240V breaker can actually be a Multi-Wire Branch Circuit (MWBC) in which case it will provide 120V hot/neutral to "normal plugs" and 240V (hot/hot) to 240V receptacles. In other words, you may really have 120V and just not realize what you have.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Aug 11 at 16:52
  • Yeah, that's possible. My winter cottage runs on two 20A breakers, its territory was part of the Mexican Cession, so I blame the Spanish ;) Now they're on the same pole, but they could just as easily be on opposite poles, in fact I'm thinking of moving them there so I can do EVEMS.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Aug 11 at 23:31
-7

Pointless exercise. The "armwave" of the existence of all possible loads being available in 240V is not insignificant. Most major appliances are already 240V, so you are only referring to things like lighting, small appliances, entertainment, personal items, PCs etc. Yes, you could buy them from overseas in 230V versions, but you would then have to change the plugs to match legal 240V plugs available here or buy adapters and why on earth would you want to go through that hassle? There is NO ADVANTAGE to using 240V for small loads.

Improve this answer
2
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Michael Karas ♦
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 3:44
  • This does not appear to address the question that was asked, which is "is it code legal to do", not "is there a reason".
    – TylerH
    Commented May 28, 2023 at 18:26

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.