The benefit is you can have more power delivered.

Wire is rated in amps (if you look in your breaker panel, you should have like 15A breakers, maybe some 20A, and some 30A).

This isn't to protect the devices, this is to protect the wire from melting/starting on fire.

Has nothing to do with voltage - amerage is what kills stuff (and people).


So, you can have 200A of 110 delivered from the electric company (common for most US houses built in the last few decades), or you could call them and have 200A of 220v delivered.

You're going to pay the same rate, but you'll have twice as much available capacity on the 220v circuit.



And yes, I have professionals do it too.  I just read a lot on the internet to learn about stuff so that A) I can talk to them intelligently, and B) I know enough that they aren't fucking it up or ripping me off.