Europeans with a 3 phase system are even better off:
0.7 * 1.73 * 16A * 230V = 4461W
1.73 is the square root of 3 (number of phases).
0.7 * 1.73 * 16A * 230V = 4461W
1.73 is the square root of 3 (number of phases).
Thank you for your comment.
Yes, 3-phase distribution is sweet. More commonly installed in newer houses. If you have a 16A 3-phase circuit installed you can feel free to load that puppy up like this:
0.7 x 3 x 16A x 230V = 7728W Just be careful to load it equally. That's roughly 2500W per phase, the neutral is shared between the three phases. The best way to do this is with a 3 phase splitter, see: http://www.kvmchoice.com/detail_switch.asp?id=11135
You can use the sqrt(3) in phase-to-phase voltage calculations (the Voltage between two phases, not N):
0.7*sqrt(3)*398V*16A= 7721W
