this post was submitted on 26 May 2025
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In Europe, this is no biggie
I just saw a reputable 2400W kettle on a random online store for 50€
Looks like there are 3000W options too
Oh! I knew European outlets operated at higher voltage, but I didn't know the standard circuits supported such high current. Jealous!
It's the same current but double the voltage
And wiring is typically rated for current limits not voltage (within reason). Some 12 gauge wire doesn't care if you're pushing 12V, 120V, or 240V but is only rated for 20A.
The easiest way to think about it is that the conductor is rated for the current, and the insulator is rated for the voltage. Now, once you get into the nitty gritty, they're more intertwined than that, but it's close enough for a surface level explanation.
I live in a 50 year old house. All the breakers are 16A, so 220V x 16A = 3.5kW
The electric sauna does three-phase @ 400V. My energy tracker usually peaks around 9.5kW when it's heating.
Nominally EU voltage is 230V, and may be 240V. In fact, it can be as high as 230V +10% = 253V. Higher voltage means more power for a given current, so nominally it's 16A x 230V = 3.68kW, but you could have say 16A x 250V = 4.0kW.
If your sauna is 400V then it sounds like you'll be 230V (400V / sqrt(3) = 230). But the voltage can also be 230V -6% = 216V, so 220V is within scope.
But yeah, standard voltages in the EU are either 230V/400V or 240V/415V. They've been harmogenised, but if you look at the numbers you'll see the trick - 230V +10% is roughly the same as 240V +6%. So the range is 230V-6% and 240V+6%.
You've got a 3 phase connection though so you might find you've got different single phase breakers on different phases (eg lights on one phase, sockets on another), with slightly different voltages for each one.
The installation in my home follows my country's regulations as they were ~15 years ago. It's divided into several circuits, the 'general use' outlets one is rated for 25A in total AND at any point, ie you could plug a 5750W appliance in any of those outlets. The lights circuit is the lowest rated at 15A, still letting you 'plug' up to 3450W.
3600W is the maximum a power socket is rated for and the fuse triggers at 3800W. So, cutting it pretty close.
I wouldn’t use that kind of power continuously. AFAIK the sockets are supposed to handle 16A for at least six hours, when they are new. When charging your car on Schuko sockets it’s good practice to limit it to 10A and check for the socket temperature after a while. Also, any connections in the cabling can have increased resistance with age and heat up with heavy continuous use. That shouldn’t matter that much when running a kettle or toaster for a few minutes, but charging a car or gaming for hours can become a problem.
What about the rest of the computer though?
3840W per breaker. Minus 2400 leaves 1440W, for a CPU, the minor components, and monitors/other equipment. In theory it could work.
You would still need to run the computer off multiple plugs, as almost any 240v plug is 10a.
You'd likely need a dedicated breaker and plug, similar to a stove plug.
All UK plugs are 13A.
Here, plugs are 230V and 16A = 3680W. Not quite as much as I thought (most extension cords seem to be rated for a bit more, which makes sense), but definitely enough to run monitors of the same breaker.
I think the typical limit is around 3600W, with 16A at 230V
Just imagine the costs of running such a system on European energy prices. We're at ~0,35€/kWh here in Germany currently. That means that an hour of running this will cost you 0,84€. Add to that the energy use of the CPU, mainboard, Monitor and you're paying well over 1€ per hour of gaming.
Judges you from French 0.20€/kWh nuclear prices
If only you guys had listened to the science... You'd be gaming AND heating your place for cheap!
And regardless, unless the chip is radically different from what has been observed in currently available RTX 5090s, I don't see how 2400W can be anything other than a transient spike
Let's not start a discussion about nuclear energy here. France has enormous subvention on electricity and Germany a lot of taxes. And both countries have issues in their energy system, so yeah
France has taken away electricity subventions a long time ago, they were temporary relief during COVID only.
In fact, there are pretty high taxes here too, just the base cost is lower.
And I started this debate to challenge the notion that all of Europe has Germany's electrical management issues; they're the main ones to have failed.
The nuclear and hydro over here in Canada puts us around 0.10€/kwh on average. Really wish processes for nuclear were streamlined decades ago, power would be even better now if it was
I'm a little jealous of you guys, but we have mostly maxed out our potential in Europe for hydro power already...
Standard US outlets can't deliver 3000 watts.
That's why I started my sentence with "In Europe"
But I live in America so naturally you're referring to US outlets, right??
Yes, your are right, here is a map of Europe where you have chad power plugs in a-Murika (outside these towns only virgin plugs):
collapsed inline media
God forbid I supply information. I'm fucking done commenting with all you over sensitive weirdos who think everything is a fucking argument.