It should be done, the current set up I think is stupid and stuck in the past. Converting to 240 with domestic appliances would be a piece of cake for most manufacturers in that many already make 230 volt equipment overseas. Having a global voltage of 230-240 cuts stock in half.
Changing over residential would not be to hard. We already have 240, all that would be needed are 240 volt plugs and swapping to double pole breakers. Wiring wouldn't need to changed at all, the conversion can literally be done in hours. 240 gives more KW per circuit and less copper in new construction.
If houses stayed at straight 240 it will solve a mountain of problems. The fire hazards associated with open neutrals will be eradicated, stray current on ground rods and water bonds will disappear. Neutral to ground faults going unnoticed will not exist. 3 wire sub panels and neutral/ground jumping seen literally in every other install will not be of issue. Greatly simplified wiring and no more confusion. Plus 10-2 for dryers and 6-2 for ranges
120 volts to ground will keep things safe as they are now.
Some would argue though having a side grounded leg at 240 would be better than a center grounded winding solely because double pole light switches would need to be used and the incandescent screw base socket would become dangerous. But as is GU24 sockets are being phased in and light switches shouldn't be used as service disconnects anyways. So 2 live legs should be a non issue.
Houses and light commercial have 5 options in the long run. 120-0-120 used as straight 240 (which will be our starting point since its already here), 0-240 which should be avoided for many reasons, 138/240Y with houses having the option of going 3 phase which in theory would increase efficiency and allow the use of 3 phase 240 AC and the final option would be 240/415Y, with houses either only getting 240 single phase or 240/415 3 phase. Utilities will love the 415 voltage in that it can travel farther meaning fewer transformers per neighborhood. 415 in houses will mean 12-3 for ranges, European ranges are 3 phase configurable as is.
Commercial will go 240/415Y. 415 is close to 480 which would mean only a slight increase in conductor size, but that almost always would be offset where 120 equipment now exists because there is no need for expensive and inefficient 480 to 120/208 step down transformers. Heavy, expensive, confusing and yup, even when no power is being drawn from the secondary the meter is still spinning with the primary pulling 140 plus watts for a 25kva unit, and of course higher with the kva. Intelli-volt fluorescent ballasts and LED drivers wont care for 277 going to 240. And fun fact, where 400 watt HPS lamps exist such as parking lot lighting and highways a simple reactor ballast can be used, just like with 150 watt and lower HPS lamps at 120 volts.
There is one irony here though, standardizing at 240 would phase out 208 with more ease, however because 277/480 is so close to 415, we will end up with dual rated 415-480 volt equipment, exactly equivalent percentage wise to our 208-240. Of course we could phase out 480, but who knows:roll:
Something else I would like to see, the NEC raising the 600 volt limit to 1000volts. I dont see 400 extra volts being an issue, but 415/718Y and a 577/1000Y would be beneficial to large commercial and industrial customers.
Also of thought would be to harmonize with the IEC colors, but that probably would never happen here.:roll:
