[QUESTION HAS BEEN ANSWERED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE DISCUSSION.] So, let’s start off with this: Volts * Amperes = Watts. The standard North American AC voltage is 120V and the standard amperage is 15A. That gives us 1800W to work with.
Let’s take a look at the British standard. BS 1363 is (most commonly) 230V and 13A which gives us 2990W. German standards also allow up to 4000W if I’m not mistaken. What caused these differences?
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You basically gave the answer yourself. Current. With voltage being fixed, current is limited to what the wire can handle. The given gauge can handle only a maximum amount of current. If you wanted to deliver the same power in both 230 V and 120 V areas, in the latter the wiring would have to use thicker wires with less resistance. The more current you push through a wire the hotter it gets, so if you overload a wire, you create a fire risk. That’s what breakers are intended to prevent.
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