Retooling the entire country would be a shit show at best, and prohibitively expensive, so they’d likely stay at their current spec. Also, energy trade is quite profitable, and for geographic regions it makes sense to keep standards aligned.
It’s not about selling electricity, it’s about having a single market for electrical devices. There’s no single market if most products don’t work in one country. Even different AC plugs are only allowed because adapters are cheap and using different plugs for Ireland and Italy is a minor change in the production line.
You do realize that many companies offer multiple or variable power supplies addressing different input voltages and frequencies, right? Most consumer electronics are functionally identical, they just have a varying types of charging cable mains adapters. Larger appliances and tools are a different story, but more manufacturers are offering variability in their equipment.
It’s theoretically possible with HVDC (high voltage direct current), as the AC -> DC -> AC transmission conversion allows linked grids to not have their AC waves synced, though that distance would probably be stretching the boundaries of distance.
Not really, no. There’s a link in the works between the UK and Iceland, hopping to Greenland and then to Canada would actually be shorter distances. Mostly it hasn’t happened yet because Iceland isn’t much of a fan of it, they enjoy their cheap electricity and don’t want to plaster their whole country in geothermal. Cable length isn’t an issue.
Retooling the entire country would be a shit show at best, and prohibitively expensive, so they’d likely stay at their current spec. Also, energy trade is quite profitable, and for geographic regions it makes sense to keep standards aligned.
It’s not about selling electricity, it’s about having a single market for electrical devices. There’s no single market if most products don’t work in one country. Even different AC plugs are only allowed because adapters are cheap and using different plugs for Ireland and Italy is a minor change in the production line.
Italy and Denmark are only different for earthed plugs, IIRC. Outside of the former British Empire, unearthed plugs within the EU are standard.
Nah Italian sockets have a different prong spacing. It’s close enough for europlugs to fit but those are only for low amperage applications.
You do realize that many companies offer multiple or variable power supplies addressing different input voltages and frequencies, right? Most consumer electronics are functionally identical, they just have a varying types of charging cable mains adapters. Larger appliances and tools are a different story, but more manufacturers are offering variability in their equipment.
Most and all are different things.
If you want to be pedantic, have at it.
If only it was realistic to export electricity from Canada to the EU.
It’s theoretically possible with HVDC (high voltage direct current), as the AC -> DC -> AC transmission conversion allows linked grids to not have their AC waves synced, though that distance would probably be stretching the boundaries of distance.
Not really, no. There’s a link in the works between the UK and Iceland, hopping to Greenland and then to Canada would actually be shorter distances. Mostly it hasn’t happened yet because Iceland isn’t much of a fan of it, they enjoy their cheap electricity and don’t want to plaster their whole country in geothermal. Cable length isn’t an issue.