The power in your house can be represented by a sine wave with a peak amplitude of 155 to 170 V. However, it is common knowledge that the voltage of the power in U.S. homes is 110 to 120 V. This discrepancy is due to the fact that these are root mean square (rms) values. The signal is squared and then the average amplitude is calculated. The peak value is equal to 2½ × rms value.