Electronic – line to line voltage supposed to meter at

multimeterthree phasevoltage

I'm pretty new to this but I know that in three phase power, when I'm metering line to line its usually at 208V, but I've been told that line to line meters at 240V. I don't know what would cause for it to meter different. Does it matter whether its WYE or Delta? Or is it only 208V when there is a common neutral or ground? I refer to USA and Canada.

Best Answer

Here are common arrangements in the US and Canada, taken from a cached FAQ from Schneider Electric:

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The 120/208VAC is common in residential complexes and some commercial situations (not ordinary houses, where single phase 120/240 is standard). In industrial installations you find other 3-phase options. For example, in one building I frequent the office lights operate from 347VAC, but phase-to-phase is 600VAC (Canada) so relatively heavy equipment such as screw compressors can be used. 277/480 would likely be used in the US.

Probably some huge houses are wired with 120/208 line-to-line.

As you can see, there are a few delta options with 240VAC.