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Glacko222 OP t1_j5vpx3s wrote

Reply to comment by jimjamjahaa in Wall Heater Confusion by Glacko222

For some reason the house has a white wire for the other 120V instead of red or another black (it's an older house 1980s era with 3 wires and not 4

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jimjamjahaa t1_j5vqs35 wrote

well i'm out of ideas. i would imagine it's just a big resistive heating element inside which is about as basic as it gets. altho now i say that, i don't understand how your 240 volt system works with no neutral line. (oh i think i get it, the 2 live wires are out of phase creating a bigger potential... nice!)

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NuGundam7 t1_j5yjy3d wrote

Yeah, thats normal for a 120/240v system. Each 120v wire is the ground path for the other 120v wire. They combine and create 240v.

It was standard up to the 80s and 90s (USA) for the 240v circuits to never have a neutral. When electronics started being added to heaters, dryers, ovens, etc, then a neutral became a wanted feature for a clean 120v power source.

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