does electric heater make more power on 240 supply than 120?

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scootr8

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My reason for wanting to know this is a bit random so I won't explain. But lets say I have an electric heater sold in the US (where their houses are 120v) that says on the box its 400W.  If i plug the same heater into a wall outlet in the uk with 240v supply will it be more than 400W??  If you could explain how/why dumbed down (alot) that would be really helpful.  Thanks for reading.

 
If it does not melt, it will produce 1600W of heat. But it is most likely not designed for that so something will melt or burn out.

In this case watts = volts squared divided by resitance.  Resistance won't change.

 
My reason for wanting to know this is a bit random so I won't explain. But lets say I have an electric heater sold in the US (where their houses are 120v) that says on the box its 400W.  If i plug the same heater into a wall outlet in the uk with 240v supply will it be more than 400W??  If you could explain how/why dumbed down (alot) that would be really helpful.  Thanks for reading.


Geoff's answer is the True Dumbed down option..

But slightly less dumbed down.....

For anything to perform any work you need a force or pressure to make it work....

The voltage is like the pressure to make the electrical thing work..

Everything that is manufactured is designed to work within a particular specification....

No point over-engineering something to work outside of the range it is designed to work at, that just makes it more expensive to buy..

So consider a few things..

Car tyres have maximum Load (KG), Speed (MPH), and pressure (bar/psi) they are designed for....

A wind turbine has a max windspeed it can withstand for normal use...

An Ikea bookshelf has a max weight it can carry...

A Lift in a tower block has a max weight(persons) it can carry..

Outdoor devices have different levels of moisture they can withstand (rain - drop to submerged)..

A children's sleeping bag is designed for a certain size of person inside it.. 

An electric shower has a min & max water pressure it will operate at...

etc..

etc...

What do you think happens if you use any of these in an environment that is double or more what it is designed for..?

Simple.. it will break or be significantly damaged to reduce its usefulness...

All supply voltages fluctuate and vary over time so all appliances have a min-max tolerance they will work to..

But if you are trying to work something on double or half what it is designed to work at, don't expect a happy result.

:coffee  

 
It would be virtually twice the power ...for 2 seconds ..before it blew up , I'd say .  

If it was a light bulb from the US  it would glow very brightly ...and then it would explode .   (Possibly like the present President) 

 
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