In Europe there used to be similar 'split phase' systems to those found in the USA in some areas. They were 3-wire supplies that delivered 127V from Live to Neutral and 220V from Live to Live. The frequency was always 50Hz (preferred in Europe as it's more metric i.e. it's 100 oscillations per second, but 50 full cycles per second).
However, it was quickly realised that having two distinct voltages in a home was excessively complex, often quite impractical and a waste of copper wiring. It also meant having two different types of appliances on sale with different voltage ratings.
The safety of 127V systems is also not particularly greater than 220V systems, both can quite easily deliver a lethal shock in the right circumstances. Also, in modern systems RCD (GFCI) protection is compulsory so, it's really no longer such a big concern.
220V also meant that more power hungry appliances were possible. There was always a demand for portable space heaters and also more powerful heating kitchen appliances e.g. 3KW kettles.
So, 127V was abandoned and 220V 50Hz became the de facto standard across the entire European area, except the UK, Cyprus and Malta which settled on 240V 50Hz for some reason. Any remaining old systems were converted to provide only 220V using outlets with two lives. However, power companies would remove these as homes were rewired as there is a general preference for TN-C grounding with neutral referenced to ground. So, there are VERY VERY few of these installations left in service.
Then in the 1990s to remove that particular quirk they re-standardised on 230V 50Hz. Although, most appliances had always been rated 220V-240V 50Hz anyway. This means that ALL of Europe is now harmonised in terms of voltage and always has been in terms of frequency.
With regard to plugs over here, they're usually CEE 7/7 (aka Schuko) which uses a 16 amp recessed outlet, 2 round pins and a scraping side earth. The recessed nature of the outlet means that it's impossible to touch the live pins while inserting the plug. These plugs are used in ALL European countries, with the only exceptions being : the UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus which use a 13amp plug with rectangular pins, Switzerland which uses an odd 10 amp plug. There are no plans to change these.
However, in Italy and Denmark where plugs that are 'semi-compatible' with CEE 7/7 i.e. they had a common ancestor are still in use. These systems will accept non-grounded CEE 7 type plugs but, do not connect the ground on normal European plugs. As a result they're being phased out of use. In Italy modern outlets can accept both the Italian and CEE 7/7 system without any safety comprimise while in Denmark they're rolling out a version of CEE 7/7.
So, overall, things are actually very standardised, once you exclude "the awkward countries" i.e. those islands which also insist on driving on the wrong side of the road and in some instances (the UK) using weird obsolete measures for speed and distance hehe..
Anyway, to cut a long story short - you can easily draw up to 3000W from a European outlet (more on the continent) so, internal heaters in washing machines were always possible.
I still don't quite understand why the USA stuck to 110V so rigidly. It's really not the most practical approach to house wiring if you want to use appliances that have any kind of decent power.
However, it was quickly realised that having two distinct voltages in a home was excessively complex, often quite impractical and a waste of copper wiring. It also meant having two different types of appliances on sale with different voltage ratings.
The safety of 127V systems is also not particularly greater than 220V systems, both can quite easily deliver a lethal shock in the right circumstances. Also, in modern systems RCD (GFCI) protection is compulsory so, it's really no longer such a big concern.
220V also meant that more power hungry appliances were possible. There was always a demand for portable space heaters and also more powerful heating kitchen appliances e.g. 3KW kettles.
So, 127V was abandoned and 220V 50Hz became the de facto standard across the entire European area, except the UK, Cyprus and Malta which settled on 240V 50Hz for some reason. Any remaining old systems were converted to provide only 220V using outlets with two lives. However, power companies would remove these as homes were rewired as there is a general preference for TN-C grounding with neutral referenced to ground. So, there are VERY VERY few of these installations left in service.
Then in the 1990s to remove that particular quirk they re-standardised on 230V 50Hz. Although, most appliances had always been rated 220V-240V 50Hz anyway. This means that ALL of Europe is now harmonised in terms of voltage and always has been in terms of frequency.
With regard to plugs over here, they're usually CEE 7/7 (aka Schuko) which uses a 16 amp recessed outlet, 2 round pins and a scraping side earth. The recessed nature of the outlet means that it's impossible to touch the live pins while inserting the plug. These plugs are used in ALL European countries, with the only exceptions being : the UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus which use a 13amp plug with rectangular pins, Switzerland which uses an odd 10 amp plug. There are no plans to change these.
However, in Italy and Denmark where plugs that are 'semi-compatible' with CEE 7/7 i.e. they had a common ancestor are still in use. These systems will accept non-grounded CEE 7 type plugs but, do not connect the ground on normal European plugs. As a result they're being phased out of use. In Italy modern outlets can accept both the Italian and CEE 7/7 system without any safety comprimise while in Denmark they're rolling out a version of CEE 7/7.
So, overall, things are actually very standardised, once you exclude "the awkward countries" i.e. those islands which also insist on driving on the wrong side of the road and in some instances (the UK) using weird obsolete measures for speed and distance hehe..
Anyway, to cut a long story short - you can easily draw up to 3000W from a European outlet (more on the continent) so, internal heaters in washing machines were always possible.
I still don't quite understand why the USA stuck to 110V so rigidly. It's really not the most practical approach to house wiring if you want to use appliances that have any kind of decent power.
Thats LONG!
