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Can I use a 110 V GFCI outlet on a 220V service?

Home Improvement Asked on July 11, 2021

I am in a country that uses 220v circuit. I want to install a GFCI outlet but I cannot find one that is 220v rated. I can buy in the US a 110V GFCI . Can I use it instead.?

2 Answers

No, no, no. Ignoring legalities, there's circuitry inside a GFCI. If it's designed to run with 110VAC, and you apply 220VAC, you'll let the magic smoke out of the device (and perhaps out of your home and loved ones).

Answered by Daniel Griscom on July 11, 2021

Actually, we had an asker from the Philippines who successfully used North American 2-pole GFCIs on a 240V system. However he was in former-USA-wired territory which use "center ground" (North American 120/240V split-phase arrangement, with neutral deleted), and because of this, both legs are "hot" and they use 2-pole breakers for all circuits.

The trick to using a North American GFCI in a 230V single-phase application is they must be 2-pole GFCI circuit breakers.

  • You must get a North American service panel/load center/consumer unit intended for 120/240V split-phase, and wire neutral as a hot: so Euro-hot+neutral go to "hot" L1 and L2. And nothing goes to the neutral bar on the panel. Ground the chassis to ground (so it will be near L2). You have to do that for safety.
  • Now, North American 2-pole GFCIs need 120V for their own internal power. This is tricky. You must obtain a 240V center-tap autotransformer (a primary/secondary transformer will also do if it has 240V center-tap on one side; or if it's 240V on one side and 120V on the other).
  • The outer legs of the transformer go to another 240V circuit breaker (NOT GFCI). The center tap of the transformer then becomes "pseudo-neutral". You must not use this for any load much bigger than these GFCIs, so do not wire it to the neutral bar. Pseudo-neutral will be HOT, so don't think of it as neutral!!
  • Simply wire-nut pseudo-neutral to the GFCI's neutral pigtails (or use a block connector or whatever is legal in your country).

Our person in the Philippines confirms this powers up and works great.

  • The neutral bar should remain conspicuously empty, to prevent some idiot from trying to put a 120V load on this panel and setting the transformer on fire.

Answered by Harper - Reinstate Monica on July 11, 2021

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