Why does the US use 110v and the UK use 220v?

Question

Why does the US use 110v and the UK use 220v?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

110v was deemed to be safer than 220v. Thomas Edison was a big proponent of 110v.

220v needs half the current as 110v to deliver the same amount of power. So wires can be thinner. This made distribution cheaper, so most other countries went with the higher voltages.