Comment on Does the 50Hz & 60Hz difference matter at all or not?
elmicha@feddit.org 1 day agoFor resistive loads like a light or heating element then it’ll pull more or less current than it’s used to,
Umm, are you sure about that? If it’s purely resistive, I would have thought that the frequency does not matter at all. It could even be DC. Or did someone revoke Ohm’s law, or smuggle a frequency into it?
pishadoot@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
You’re not wrong and my statement wasn’t truly accurate, I was simplifying a bit because OP probably isn’t well read on frequency dependent reactance, ballasts, LED drivers, etc. It’s pretty rare to have purely resistive devices these days.
Most modern “resistive” devices actually have more complicated circuitry or mechanisms that makes frequency relevant. I guess saying current changes was probably a bridge too far, but I was trying to translate into layman.
For example, a PURELY resistive space heater that just cycles on/off until a temp limit is hit will not be affected, but most have fans and are designed to transfer heat under specific conditions. Depending on how they measure heat the coils can overheat or pieces can melt.
A simple incandescent light will act the same regardless of freq, but anything with a ballast or driver likely wouldn’t, if it wasn’t dual rated. Most are, but really cheap/old ones often aren’t. They might flicker or burn out, burn brighter, etc.
Either way, stuff will likely act weird. Might be minimal effect or none for certain simple things but it’s not recommended.