ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades 240/480V AC 1-ph 3-w in England?

While driving some nearby rural backroads to take these pictures , I came across something else of interest:



I've driven past this transformer several times before, and at first glance it doesn't appear out of the ordinary. But this time I just happened to look up a little more closely and......... Wait! HOLD EVERYTHING! Did I see what I think I just saw? I had to stop and investigate!

The incoming HV line is a typical short 2-wire spur from the nearby 11kV delta network, and it's quite normal to see a spur like this feeding a single-phase transformer to provide a 2-wire 240V service to one or two isolated houses.

But this LV strung along the poles to the nearby homes has 3 wires:



Yep, definitely three secondary terminals on that transformer and two pole-mounted LV fuses:



I can't think of anything else this could be but a 240/480V system (houses tapped for 2-wire 240V as usual).

A 3-wire network at 200/400 to 250/500V was common for the old DC systems used in the older parts of some towns years ago, but I never knew that 1-ph 3-w AC was ever employed here.

This one is certainly a rarity!