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what is the typical commerical voltage in Australia?
I need to specify an electrical motor for a hydraulic pump in Australia. What is the typical power available in a warehouse, commercial/industrial building? 240v is for homes/houses, how about machine shops, manufacturing shops? is it 415v, 3 phase? What frequency?
2 Answers
- J. FrostLv 61 decade agoFavorite Answer
regular line voltage in australia for residential and factories is 415 volts 50Hz.
Very large consumers like large machines in factories may run from a higher line voltage eg 11kV.
- EckoLv 71 decade ago
An industrial or commercial premises might have three phase power, but single phase is also available by definition. The three phase supply is 240V between any line and neutral, and 415V between lines. Importantly it is 50Hz.
Australia is actually a 230V country, the same as Europe and the UK now, so 230V/398V x 50Hz supply. Certainly you can ask the electrical supplier to adjust the whole building to that - it probably saves power with lighting. However I would check the actual supply first.
The upper limits of nominal 240V (or in some areas it might be nominal 250V) are a bit much for 230V equipment. The upper limit can be well over 250V.
Be aware that the range for 230V/398V supply is (-6%/+10%) = 216V to 253V. In most parts of Australia it is still the same voltages as before, so more likely to be close to 240V. It is definitely not suitable for 220V equipment.
Generally three phase motors are better all around than single phase motors, and run more smoothly. Above a few kW, single phase motors are not used or even available. These motors run on delta, so 398V is nominal.
