Can any one tell me if there are any advantages of using 240V lighting circuits over 115V lighting circuits? Any comments would be gratefully received.
The current for the 240V lights would be smaller than the 120V lights of the same wattage. This could potentially mean smaller gauge wire. This is the only advantage I can think of at the moment.
Yes the current would be reduced and wire could change but typical cicuits are 15 to 20 amps.Also it would be wiser to use a neutral rathe line to line 208 0r 277 or 347
A lot of serious industrial accidents occur with the use of 347 or 277 volt lighting. In many cases 277 or 347 saves the use of the transformer for a 480 or 600 V 4 wire Plant supply. 208 volt Y is also common and safer. With 208V 3phase 4 wire supply each luminaire is 120V (phase to neutral).
As for 240V verses 120 V, assuming it's a single phase supply the only advantage I can see is one can put more luminaires on the same feeder circuit. 240v lighting is usually used for longer runs e.g.: parking lots, park lighting, some street lighting, sports lighting, factory lighting, wall packs. It is usually not used for areas where a 3 phase voltage supply is available.
If you used a 120/240V lighting supply on a similar 240V run if one leg trips you would still have half of the lights on.
Ray Micallef, P. Eng.
Power Generation/Utility Industry
115V circuits need a higher current to produce the same wattage as 240V and thus wiring must be thicker and fuses and circuit breakers heavier. 115V switches can have smaller dimentions as their arc gap is less.
If you have situations where the lengths of circuits would be long such as big warehouses or site lighting applications for large parking lots, the 240 lighting would be recommended to cut down on voltage drop and the number of circuits required. I often use 208 single phase and 480 volt single phase cicuits in commercial site lighting applications. However, for indoor lighting in small commercial applications or in residential applications, I would not recommend it. People expect to see 120-volt lighting in those applications and therefore you could create situations where someone would try to replace a 240-volt lamp with a 120-volt lamp and poof. Other dangers are also created for maintenance personnel and other people that would come in contact with or work on the equipment.
