Well, I guess my farm is defying all logic then.
I'm certainly pulling in over 200A total - all using 120V.
I'll post this to you again. You may not have read it:
Say we had a 200 AMP Main Service Panel and every circuit was 240V circuits by using 2 pole breakers... If every circuit was used at it's max [Not recommended if circuits are inside walls and/or conduit], you could have 10 x 20 amp / 240 Volt circuits for a total of 48,000 watts of power.
If we used 10 x 20 amp / 120 Volt circuits in a 200 amp Main Service Panel and maxed out each circuit to its full 20 amps each [Not recommended if circuits are inside walls and/or conduit], you would only have 24,000 watts available in power.
So, both Main Service Panels were rated for 200 Amps maximum. However, we can utilize the power much better with 240 Volts instead of 120 Volts. Does this make sense now?
notlist3d, is right...
It sounds like you need an electrician. Trust me on what I'm saying about available watts regarding 240 Volt verses 120 Volt. Your Main Service Panel is rated in Amps and Volts. It's limited for 120V/240V [Either can be used] and it is more than likely limited to 200 amps REGARDLESS of what voltage (120V or 240V) for your circuits in the home.
I agree with this statement to a point, but I believe the 200AMP main service is related per pole and not total - So if you approach 200A on either pole you will trip the breaker.
If you divide the 120V services up between the poles equally, end result would be the same with 48000 Watt capacity.
I know from experience a 200 amp main service panel is not rated for 200 amps for each pole. I purchased enough rigs to trip the main breaker at 200 amps on both poles combined. I was an electrician for 3 years in commercial work for Marathon Electrical Contractors. I was taking classes at night to get my masters certification but did not take it to completion. I've tripped my main service panel several times over the summer trying to figure out how many rigs maximum I could run on my 200 amp main service panel. All of my PDU's are "metered."
Trust me... I don't "believe" the 200 amp main service panel is 200 amps on each leg. I "know" It's NOT 200 amps on each leg. I "know" from experience.
I'm not saying this with a "tone" to be argumentative. I'm saying this in a manner to try to educate. That's all...
A 200 Amp Main using 10 x 240 Volt / 20 Amp 2 pole breakers with maximum draw on each 2 pole breaker would pull 48,000 watts of power at 200A/240V. Any more than this "should" trip the main breaker.
A 200 Amp Main using 10 x 120 Volt / 20 Amp single pole breakers with maximum draw on each single pole breaker would pull 24,000 watts of power at 200A/120V. Any more than this "should" trip the main breaker.
Also know this: Current (Amps) is not flowing in a circuit without a load on that circuit. Meaning, current (amps) will not flow without an appliance, light, TV, etc... actually turned on and running. So, just because you have breakers in your main service panel that probably total up to more than than what your main breaker states is because it's highly unlikely you have more than 50% of current draw on every circuit wired to the main service panel.
Just thought id chime in on this for a second.. I had an electrician install 400 amp service on my rent house.. We split the output into two 40 slot 200 amp service panels.. Those panels although not recommended i ran up to 170 amps on both legs(before the upgrade i was pushing it to 210 but i put a fan on the main breaker. Just because i got away with it for over 5 months dont mean you will have same results. 75% is recommended max load on a circuit.. the main breaker was rated at 200 amps. It barely broke a sweat.. Now what i think your mistaken on is your math.. Although its correct your missing that in a 20 slot box, yes it will hold 10 double pole or 20 single pole breakers not 10.. thus still giving you your 48000 watts total.. By the sounds of it your more versed in this area than i.. Please correct me if im wrong
Best Regards
d57heinz
edit found this with little search effort.. http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=109846
"Nope, the initial statement is correct. A 200 amp single phase 120/240 v service can provide 200 amps at 240 volts, or it can also provide 400 amps at 120 volts. I didn't mean to imply that it could provide both simultaneously.
If we look at this in terms of volt amps:
240v * 200a = 48000 VA
120v * 400a = 48000 VA
Either way the capacity is the same."
Best Regards
d57heinz
d57heinz - this was one of the EXACT sources I used in determining my electrical needs. If you look further you'll find the EXACT same thing being said in dozens of electrician forums on the internet.
I'm not claiming to be an electrician as are some, but I think the confusion comes from the fact that the 2 poles are 180 degrees out of phase and thus the MAIN does not see 340A simultaneously, but 170A on leg 1 with one phase and 170A on leg2 during the different phase. This is essentially the same as 240V - using 2 x 120V out of phase connections to achieve the 240V.
I can also concur that I'm utilizing 32000 watts sustained currently - majority on 120V - divided among the 2 poles/legs. Fluctuations go up to 38000 watts during use of misc items like washer/microwave/gaming machine/hot water heater/air compressor etc..